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Leviticus 16:8
In the Day of Atonement ritual involving two goats, the Hebrew text calls the living goat azazel (Leviticus 16:8, 10, 26), often translated as "scapegoat." Scholars present numerous and conflicting interpretations of the living goat, and they cannot even agree on a definition of this word. Given that a basic tenet of Bible study is not to base a doctrine on the meaning of a Hebrew word—nor "to strive about words" (II Timothy 2:14)—we will skip the definition and consider the larger picture. The interpretation with the most biblical support is that this goat prefigures Jesus Christ: The Father laid our sins and iniquities on His innocent head (Isaiah 53:6), and He bore them as a substitutionary sacrifice (Isaiah 53:11-12; Hebrews 9:28; I Peter 2:24), just like the azazel. Paul writes in II Corinthians 5:21 that He became sin for us as the live goat did for the Israelites. Jesus, too, was led "outside the gate" (Hebrews 13:12) as the azazel was led "outside the camp" (see verse 11: The two phrases are parallel). And, just as being sent from God's presence signifies a curse, Christ became a curse for us (Galatians 3:13). Many scriptures readily support Christ's fulfillment of the live goat. A second interpretation is that the live goat represents Satan. Humanity's sins will be placed on Satan's head, and he will bear them. This interpretation is highly problematic, chiefly because the bearing of sin is what the Messiah does, not the Devil! Nowhere does Scripture support the idea that humanity's sins will be confessed over or laid on Satan's head. It is an assertion without any biblical fulfillment. Worldwide Church of God (WCG) leaders recognized that Satan cannot bear human sins and said so adamantly in their writings. Nevertheless, the WCG still interpreted the azazel as a type of Satan, claiming that the Day of Atonement pictures the Devil's sins being put on his own head. Yet, this explanation is also a non-starter because Atonement contemplates only human sins, not those of demons (Leviticus 16:21). This third interpretation is another assertion without biblical backing. It sounds plausible at first, but the Bible nowhere reveals a fulfillment.
David C. Grabbe
Inventing Goddesses and Demons (Part Three)
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