The second half of the two-goat sin offering executed on Yom Kippur involved the goat for Azazel. While the priest carried the life of the goat for YHWH into the Holy of Holies, purifying YHWH’s throne and His dwelling place from Israel’s uncleanness, a strong man led the live goat for Azazel, burdened with Israel’s sins, into the wilderness, the dwelling place of death. Both goats were presented before YHWH as one sin offering to make atonement for the children of Israel. This blog investigates the symbolism of the goat for Azazel.

Azazel (עֲזָאזֵל, azazel) comes from two Hebrew root words. Goat, ez (H5795), means “to be stout,” translated as “harden, impudent, prevail, strengthen (self), be strong” (H5810). This word “can be used for either God or man, however, when used for God, it always indicates that God is inherently strong and the source of all power. When used for any being other than God, it is always in a negative sense as in one’s strength to prevail in a struggle/war in belligerence to God. Acts of defiance are seen in the strong man or being who chooses to trust in his riches and to strengthen himself in his [evil] desire rather than to strengthen himself in God, showing impudence, strong countenance, invariably to become an enemy” (TWOT, H5810). The second word, azal, meaning “to fail, to go away, disappear,” is translated as “fail, gad about, go to and fro, to be spent as in gone” (Strong’s H235). While the Word of God endures forever, azal signifies a wilderness habitat because of failing to hit the mark of tamim, the geographic domain of chaos, tohu (against life) and bohu (empty, without inhabitants).

These two root terms apply to the live goat when the high priest pressed both hands onto its head and confessed (revealed) all Israel’s iniquities, transferring to it their sins, which were carried with it into the land of no return.¹ The goat for Azazel represented Yeshua, inherently strong in salvation but laden with His people’s sins. The Azazel goat’s removal to the wilderness (a place not inhabited) loaded with Israel’s sins depicted Yeshua’s death. The wilderness is the space of threatening chaos, tohu and bohu, unholy ground outside of the camp of Israel. Yeshua was strong in God’s power of life, and upon Him was placed the strength of sin—death. He was led outside of the city and crucified. The Day of Atonement’s sin-laden goat for Azazel left the temple via Solomon’s porch to the Mount of Olives and then to the wilderness, taking away the world’s sins so we could acceptably worship God,² free from sin’s pollution. While God is strong in the power to save, Yeshua took upon Himself our wrestling with Him and its effects to a place of not knowing God, the grave, the ultimate separation from God and life.

Who was Azazel? According to the Dead Sea Scrolls (4Q 180, 1:8), Azazel is the name of a demon, the leader of the angels who rebelled against God.³ The Book of 1 Enoch 10:4-5 describes Azazel as the commander of the angels that sinned in Genesis 6:1-4.⁴ “Azazel was the name given to the demonic ruler of the wilderness and has a thematic relationship to goat demons”.⁵ Azazel’s wilderness, filled with idolatrous howling creatures and wild beasts, was the place of death, the underworld.⁶ The live goat for Azazel was sent into the dwelling place of demonic non-life.

Blocking Israel’s defilement by fellowship with other gods, YHWH forbade Israel to seek out and worship other deities (Lev. 19:31; Deu. 18:11-12). Israel must be blameless (tamim) before YHWH Elohim (Deu. 18:13). Just after Leviticus 16’s Yom Kippur ceremony, YHWH spoke to Aaron and all the children of Israel that they must bring all their sacrifices to Him as an offering at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. “They shall no more offer their sacrifices to goat demons, after whom they have played the harlot” (Lev. 17:7). If they killed it outside the camp and prostrated themselves to the sinister Azazel, they were guilty of murder. Worship of any other god is death (Lev. 17:4).

YHWH was the Source of Life, and the Word had that life in Him (Jhn. 1:1,4). His people, connected to Him, would also bear witness to the light of life. YHWH gave ancient Israel a list of those things that resulted in being cut off from the Source of Life. Neglecting circumcision (Gen. 17:14), failing to celebrate the Passover (Num. 9:12-13), eating leavened bread during the seven days of unleavened bread (Exo. 12:15, 19), compounding the holy anointing oil and putting it on an outsider (Exo. 30:33), making the holy incense and using it for the self (Exo. 30:38), working on the Sabbath (Exo. 31:14), eating the peace offering while unclean (Lev. 7:20-21), eating the fat of the offerings or drinking blood (Lev. 7:25-27), burning children to Molech and profaning YHWH’s name (Lev. 18:21), sexual perversions (Lev. 18:22-23, 29), and not afflicting one’s soul on the Day of Atonements are a few He mentions. The idea of being cut off from Israel means a person must bear the consequences of his sin. If we bear our own sins into the wilderness (east), we will die in our sins. If Yeshua bears our sins into the wilderness (east) to the dwelling place of death, He will die and return, having conquered death by His blameless life. Yeshua told the Pharisees, “You are from beneath; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. Therefore, I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins” (Jhn. 8:23-24).

When Yeshua was tried, condemned, and crucified, humanity’s sins were placed upon His head. Atonement’s goat for Azazel ceremony enacted having Israel’s sins confessed over its head. Interestingly, Aaron’s high priest turban with its engraved gold plate bore any iniquity connected to the holy things the Israelites gave and offered for acceptance before YHWH (Exo. 28:36–38, 39:28–31, Lev. 16). Year by year, these accumulated iniquities symbolically were carried on the high priest’s forehead so that Israel could draw near and worship Him and they were removed to the goat for Azazel on the Day of Atonements. Taking on our sins, our High Priest Yeshua put away our sins by sacrificing Himself once and for all so that we may offer up sacrifices acceptable to God, not wanting us to have fellowship with demons (1Co. 10:20; Heb. 9:23-26; 13:15-16). As living stones of His spiritual house, we can offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Yeshua (1Pe. 2:5).

Takeaway: 
After the high priest had finished atoning for the Holy of Holies, the tabernacle of meeting, and the altar with the blood of the goat for YHWH, he brought the live goat before YHWH to confess over it Israel’s sins. A strong man led the blameless goat for Azazel, loaded with Israel’s sins, into the dark dwelling of Azazel, completing Israel’s purification. The two goats went in opposite directions, one into the realm of life and the other into the realm of the dead. The goat for Azazel was exiled to a land of ravenous beasts. It represented Yeshua going through death ahead of us, bearing our sins, so that we could enter into His holy space pure and worship only Him, reconnected to life.

Fun Factors:
John 8:24, “Therefore, I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins” has 103 letters in 21 words, totaling 10502. What is remarkable about this statement of finality is that it matches the complete finish of the creation in Genesis 2:1-3 totaling 10502, containing three sentences of seven words, but in a negative way. Instead of a complete and full life, there is a complete and full death.