The topic of this study deals with the activities of the High Priest on the Day of Atonement, more specifically, the confession of Yisra’el’s sins, which would fall on the head of the goat that was sent to the wilderness.
Leviticus 16:21 [The Scriptures - TS]
“Then Aharon shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, and shall confess over it all the crookednesses of the children of Yisra’el, and all their transgressions in all their sins, and shall put them on the head of the goat, and shall send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a fit man.
The Day of Atonement is one of Yahweh’s solemn feasts. On the tenth day of the seventh month of Yahweh’s scriptural calendar, the High Priest (Aharon) was commanded to atone for Yisrael’s transgressions. To do this, Aharon had to choose two kids of the goats from the congregation of the children of Yisra’el (Leviticus 16:5). Then he would draw lots to determine which one of the goats would be <for Yahweh>, which, would be for sin offering. The remaining goat would be the scapegoat. According to Strong’s Concordance, the word scapegoat comes from the Hebrew term «azazel» which by the Hebrew words «ez» (goat) and «azal» (to leave); it literally means the ‘goat of departure’ or <scapegoat>.
The exact meaning of the word has been the cause of many disputes. Some commentators believe that «azazel» refers to the name of the region to which the goat was sent, while others are convinced that it is the name of a spirit, a demon or even Satan himself. The interpretation suggested by Strong appears in the Septuagint as well as in the Vulgate and it is part of the rabbinic point of view (Mishnah Yoma 6:2).
Says Dr J H Hertz, former Head Rabbi of the United Kingdom, in Pentateuch and Haftorahs
The Hebrew term «azazel» is not, in fact, a proper noun, rather it is a strange Hebrew common noun…which means ‘to send’ or ‘to totally remove’
Soncino Press, 1990, pg. 481
It is the ancient technical word for completely removing sin and transgression, symbolised by sending the male goat to the desert.
RV Margin, Gesenius, Hoffman y el Oxford Hebrew Dictionary
This word is not used in any other part of the Scriptures, and considering that there are various opinions when it comes to the meaning of «azazel», we have to determine its true meaning and interpretation by means of other verses in Scripture.
We find the most important point concerning «azazel» in
Leviticus 16:10 [TS] “But the goat on which the lot for Azazel fell is caused to stand alive before יהוה, to make atonement upon it, to send it into the wilderness to Azazel.
If we choose to believe that «azazel» represents Satan, we have to question if Satan can atone for the people of Yahweh or not. But we read
Romans 5:11 [TS] ...we also exult in Elohim through our Master יהושע{Yehoshua} Messiah, through whom we have now received the restoration to favour.
Hebrews 1:3 [Hebraic Roots Bible - HRB] ...having made purification of our sins through Himself, He sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high
Hebrews 7:27 [HRB] ...who has no need, as do the high priests, to offer sacrifices day by day, first for His own sins, then for those of the people. For He did this once for all, offering up Himself.
Hebrews 9:26 [HRB] now once for all, at the completion of the ages, He did offer Himself to abolish sin.
Scripture clearly affirms that the Messiah himself atoned for us. However, many suggest that the first goat represented Yeshua’s work of atonement, while the other goat represented Satan. It is thought that since Satan is the ‘original cause’ of all sin, justice requires that the Eternal put the blame back on Satan’s head.
If this is true, where in Scripture is the fulfilment of Leviticus 16:21? The High Priest (not the traditional one but Yeshua) will have to lay his hands on Satan’s head and confess the transgressions of Yisra’el to him.
However, this is not what the Scriptures say. We can say that the angel mentioned in Revelation 20:1 represents the “man “commissioned” to send the goat (Satan) into the wilderness (representing the “bottomless pit”) but without the fulfilment of the actual laying on of hands or any other reference to Satan as the one who makes atonement on our behalf, it becomes an assumption, a mere theory.
Some may try to suggest that the angel is, in fact, Yeshua ( See Hebrews 1:5, where it is implied that Yeshua was never an angel).
Revelation 19:11-14 gives us a picture of Yeshua descending from heaven to earth to smite the nations, the beast and the false prophet. Then the angel of Revelation 20:1 descends from heaven to bind Satan. That angel is the only one who will lay his hands on Satan and not to confess sins on his head, but to cast him into the bottomless pit.
On the other hand, Scripture presents us with a beautiful picture of the fulfilment of Yeshua, as the great goat, sent to bear the sins of Yisra’el. But first let us read what it says in
Leviticus 16:21-22 [HRB]
21...and shall put them{the transgressions} on the head of the goat, and shall send it by the hand of a chosen man into the wilderness.
22 And the goat shall bear on him all their iniquities to a land not inhabited. And he shall send the goat away into the wilderness.
Let us note the following:
Isaiah 53:6c [TS]
... And יהוה{Yahweh} has laid on Him the crookedness of us all.
Yeshua bore the sins of Yisra’el, which were placed upon Him and nothing but Him.
Isaiah 53:11c [TS]
He bears their crookednesses. "
Isaiah 53:12d [TS]
...He bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.
Yeshua is the one who bore our sins. He bore them and put them away, bearing them on His own head.
Isaiah 53:4a [TS]
Truly, He has borne our sicknesses and carried our pains.
Yeshua is the one who bears sins, not Satan.
Hebrews 9:28a [TS]
...the Messiah, having been offered once to bear the sins of many
The laying on of hands (Leviticus 16:21; also; Leviticus 1:4; 3:2; 4:4, 15, 29, 33) symbolises the transfer of sins from those who are guilty (i.e., the children of Yisra’el) to the innocent («azazel»). The innocent then becomes the sin-bearer. Undoubtedly, Yeshua is the representative figure (Isaiah 53:4, 6, 11, 12). However, Satan cannot take the place of that figure because he was never innocent and cannot satisfy Yahweh’s justice, in that one cannot transfer the sins of the guilty to another who is also guilty. If we take into account that lots were cast for the purpose of deciding which goat was to be <for Yahweh> that means that both goats had to be undefiled. The anti-type of an undefiled goat was the Messiah, who was sinless. Can we say that Satan is sinless and was to be represented by an undefiled goat?
«Azazel» was to bear the iniquities of the people of Yisra’el to the land “uninhabited”. We have just read how the Scriptures undeniably teach that the Messiah is the only one who bears the sins. Therefore, He is the only person who is fit to play the role of «azazel», but in what way is Yeshua sent to an uninhabited land, and in what way is He sent into the wilderness?
Scripture makes several very clear statements about sin-bearing.
John 1:29
On the next day Yohanan saw יהושע{Yehoshua} coming toward him, and said, “See, the Lamb of Elohim{Yahweh the Eternal} who takes away the sin of the world!
Hebrews 9:26b [TS]
But now He has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the offering of Himself.
1 John 3:5 [TS]
And you know that He was manifested to take away sins, and in Him there is no sin.
Yeshua is the goat that bore the sins of Yisra’el. He took them upon Himself and <was made sin for us> (2 Corinthians 5:21). He therefore represents the non-traditional «azazel» figure. There is no need for Satan to bear anyone’s sins, since he has his own sins to bear and they will be unbearable.
The Hebrew term ‘uninhabited’ is «gezerah» and means ‘a wilderness (as separated)’ and comes from the root word «gazar» which means “removed or separated from”. There is no doubt that Messiah found Himself removed and separated not only from the land of the living, but also from His Father Yahweh. When Yeshua cried out «My El, my El, why hast thou forsaken me» (Matthew 27:46 )? it was because at that time He was separated from Yahweh, having borne the sins of the world upon Himself. It is clear that sin causes separation from Yahweh, as Isaiah said,
Isaiah 59:2 [ts]
But your crookednesses have separated you from your Elohim. And your sins have hidden His face from you, from hearing.
Yeshua’s disciples also separated themselves from Him by forsaking and denying Him. Yeshua was even separated by having to <suffer outside the gate> and <outside the camp> (Hebrews 13:11-13). He was sent into the wilderness of utter separation by taking our sins upon Himself.
What about the ‘attendant’ who accompanied the goat where the wilderness began? If the angel of Revelation 20:1 is not the representative figure, then who is? Does there need to be a figure to serve and take the place of the attendant? Since, in neither case, is there any mention of a representative figure of this man in verse 28 who burns the carcasses of Yahweh’s ox and goat, there need not be a representative figure of this attendant either. We offer the following as a possible anti-type of the steward.
‘The steward’ has its origin in the Hebrew meaning “timely, suitable, at hand.” Some translations render ‘timely man’, ‘the man of opportunity’, or ‘a man who has been appointed’. Scripture reveals that there was a man who was in place at the right time, appointed by Yahweh to lead Yeshua during His separation, in the wilderness. That man was Judas.
Acts 1:16 says that Judas was “the guide of those who seized him (Yeshua)”. It also says in
Matthew 26:24 [ TS]
Indeed, the Son of Adam goes as it has been written concerning Him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Adam is delivered up! It would have been good for that man if he had not been born.
Yeshua was ‘going’ into the wilderness, bearing sins upon Himself, and Judas was the man appointed to lead and guide Yeshua on that journey into the wilderness, into utter separation.
Some may object that Yeshua represented “azazel” based on the fact that the Day of Atonement falls in the seventh month between two feasts, which have not yet been fulfilled. Therefore, Messiah cannot celebrate the Day of Atonement in its entirety. They reason, therefore, that its future fulfilment must be carried out by Satan.
Although Yeshua has represented the two goats, there remains one important aspect of the Day of Atonement that has not yet been realised. The Jubilee trumpet, which is atypical, and which marks the beginning of the Jubilee year (normally blown on the Day of Atonement) has not yet sounded. When Yeshua returns, after that trumpet sounds, to release the captives from death, it will be fully fulfilled on the Day of Atonement.
It is the mistaken view that Yeshua will return on the Day of Trumpets that has led to the belief that Satan plays the role of «azazel». It is argued that if the Day of Trumpets represents the return of the Messiah and if Tabernacles represents the Millennium, there can only be one event in between that represents the goat being sent into the wilderness and that is when Satan will be cast into the bottomless pit.
The truth of the matter is that, when Yeshua returns, only one trumpet will sound, while the Day of Trumpets (plural) represents more than one trumpet. The Day of Trumpets represents the beginning of the “Day of Yahweh” when the trumpets of Revelation 8 will begin to sound. Yeshua will return when the seventh and final trumpet sounds, which is the trumpet of Jubilee, marking the resurrection of the dead (Revelation 11:15-18; 1 Corinthians 15:52;
1 Thessalonians 4:16).
Another possible objection could be that Yeshua, as «azazel», does not represent all aspects of the figure as such and that no one, in fact, laid hands on Yeshua’s head in order to confess sins upon Him. Yeshua died while the goat sent into the wilderness is still living there, etc. etc. etc. And as with other figures, Yeshua did not exactly represent every aspect. For example, he could not play the role of the High Priest slaying Yahweh’s goat and, at the same time, be the goat or else he would have to kill himself (v. 15). He did not have to present a sin offering for Himself as High Priest (v. 11); Yeshua did not confess the sins of Yisra’elon His own head
(v. 21); He did not need to wash His flesh (v. 24); His body was not burned outside the camp (v. 27); He died as an atoning sacrifice on Passover, not on the Day of Atonement. His body was not burned as a Passover sacrifice; Yeshua died at the time of the evening sacrifice and the Passover sacrifice, but not at the time of the morning sacrifice.
The fundamental truth is that Scripture declares that Yeshua was the only one who bore the sins, who not only died for the remission of sins, but was also the only one who took away those sins. When we see Yahweh’s goat and «azazel» as one atonement offering, rather than two offerings separated by thousands of years, we more easily understand and appreciate the symbolic fulfilment. Yeshua is the perfect fulfilment of the atypical atoning sacrifice. As Yahweh’s goat His blood cleansed the heavenly sanctuary (Hebrews 9:23) and Yahweh’s Yisra’el (Leviticus 16:17). As «azazel» He bore our sins and removed them forever. Hallelujah!
Source :
Yosef Alvarez