Azazel, Not “Scapegoat”: What Leviticus 16 Really Says and Why It Matters

Bible Believing Christian
Sep 16
4 min read

Azazel, Not “Scapegoat”: What Leviticus 16 Really Says and Why It Matters

Words shape theology. Call the live goat in Leviticus 16 a “scapegoat,” and you’ll imagine a patsy punished for everyone else’s crimes. But the Bible’s Hebrew points another direction: Azazel (עֲזָאזֵל). This isn’t about blaming an innocent animal; it’s about God removing defilement from His people and banishing it from His camp. Getting this right clarifies the gospel patterns that Yom Kippur foreshadows—and keeps us from preaching a half-story of atonement.

Biblical Foundation

“Aaron shall cast lots for the two goats, one lot for the LORD and the other lot for Azazel.” (Leviticus 16:8)

“Then Aaron shall lay both of his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over it all the wrongdoings of the sons of Israel and all their violations in regard to all their sins; and he shall place them on the head of the goat and send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who stands in readiness.” (Leviticus 16:21)

“So the goat shall carry on itself all their wrongdoings to a solitary land; and he shall release the goat in the wilderness.” (Leviticus 16:22)

A closely related warning follows in the next chapter: “They shall no longer offer their sacrifices to the goat demons [śeʿîrîm, שְׂעִירִים] with which they play the prostitute.” (Leviticus 17:7)

Historical & Contextual Notes

Two goats, one sin offering. Leviticus 16:5 describes the pair collectively as “for a sin offering.” The first goat’s blood purifies God’s dwelling; the second removes Israel’s sins from the camp. Cleansing and removal are both essential.

What is “Azazel”? Grammatically, לַעֲזָאזֵל (la–ʿAzazel) reads naturally as a proper name, in parallel with “for the LORD” (לַיהוָה). Early Jewish tradition often took Azazel as a personal being associated with wilderness rebellion.

How “scapegoat” happened. William Tyndale (1530) rendered la–ʿAzazel as “escape goat” (the goat that escapes). Over time English slurred it into scapegoat, and the modern connotation—someone unfairly blamed—drifted from the Hebrew.

Ancient translations.

Septuagint (LXX): ἀποπομπαῖος τράγος (apopompaíos trágos)—“the goat that is sent away.”

Vulgate: hircus emissarius—“the sent-away goat.”

Both stress banishment, not punishment.

“Goat-demons” next door. Leviticus 17:7 bans sacrifices to śeʿîrîm (goat-demons). In the Torah’s narrative logic, the live goat isn’t offered to a demon; it is driven away toward the wilderness—the symbolic sphere of uncleanness and rebellious powers—carrying the people’s sins with it.

Misconceptions / Objections

1) “Scapegoat” means a victim who gets blamed.That’s our idiom, not Moses’. The text never says the live goat is punished. It survives and leaves, bearing confessed sin far away. (Lev 16:21–22)

2) The live goat is a sacrifice to a demon.No. The only blood applied in the ritual is to the sanctuary “before the LORD.” The second goat is not killed; it is expelled. The ban on demon sacrifices in Leviticus 17 clarifies the point.

3) Azazel just means “goat that goes away.”Possible, but the parallelism “for the LORD / for Azazel” (Lev 16:8) reads most naturally as two recipients. Early Jewish sources—including Qumran texts and 1 Enoch—treat Azazel as a personal, rebellious being associated with the wilderness. Scripture does not require us to accept Enoch as canonical, but it preserves how ancient readers understood the term.

4) The two goats teach competing theologies.They teach paired truths: purification by blood and removal of sin’s record. Ignore either, and you distort the gospel pattern.

Theological Reflection

Leviticus 16 dramatizes two sides of atonement:

Propitiation/Purification (Goat One): Sin’s defilement is addressed before God; His dwelling is cleansed by blood. (“For the life of the flesh is in the blood… it is the blood by reason of the life that makes atonement.” Lev 17:11)

Expiation/Removal (Goat Two): The confessed wrongdoings are carried away—out of sight, out of camp, out of bounds. Sin doesn’t merely get forgiven; it gets banished.

The Hebrew reinforces the point. “Wrongdoings” (עֲוֹנוֹת, ʿăvōnōt) are placed on the live goat, which then bears (נָשָׂא, nāśāʾ) them “to a solitary land.” This is not blame-shifting; it is divine eviction of impurity.

Azazel, Wilderness, and 1 Enoch (What To Do with the Backstory)

1 Enoch portrays Azazel as a rebel bound in the desert until judgment (Enoch 8; 10). While not Scripture, it explains why Jews linked Azazel with the wilderness of rebellion. The Torah leverages that cultural map without endorsing demon veneration: the live goat is expelled toward the realm of unclean powers, carrying Israel’s sins with it. God cleans house—and dumps the trash at the gates of the enemy.

Connection to Christ

The New Testament gathers every thread and ties them to Jesus:

Once-for-all High Priest: “[Christ] entered the holy place once for all time, not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, having obtained eternal redemption.” (Hebrews 9:12)

Sin Removed and Powers Shamed: “He erased the certificate of debt… and He has disarmed the rulers and authorities, having made a public spectacle of them.” (Colossians 2:14–15, sense)

Outside the Camp: As the live goat went outside, “Jesus also suffered outside the gate” to sanctify the people (Hebrews 13:11–13).

Not a ‘scapegoat,’ but the willing Lamb: “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29) He bears sin and removes it, fulfilling both goats in one Person.

Christ-Centered Conclusion

The live goat of Leviticus 16 is not a punching bag—it’s a vehicle of removal. The blood goat purifies God’s dwelling; the live goat exports our guilt and grime to the wilderness. Together they preach the gospel Jesus completes: sin judged, defilement cleansed, record erased, powers shamed, people made clean. Don’t preach a “scapegoat” myth of unlucky blame; preach the Azazel pattern God ordained and Christ fulfilled—forgiven and gone.