“And Aaron shall cast lots over the two goats, one lot for the LORD and the other lot for Azazel.” (Leviticus 16:8)
To the average bible reader he/she may see no problem with the above verse. Before we dwell into this problematic verse we need to understand what the context to this verse is. So in a nutshell Aaron was not allowed to enter the holy place of Yahweh until he brought a sin offering and presented it before the Lord. The verses go,on saying what type of offer he needs to bring and how to make it.
“This is how Aaron is to enter the Most Holy Place: He must first bring a young bull for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering. He is to put on the sacred linen tunic, with linen undergarments next to his body; he is to tie the linen sash around him and put on the linen turban. These are sacred garments; so he must bathe himself with water before he puts them on.From the Israelite community he is to take two male goats for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering.“Aaron is to offer the bull for his own sin offering to make atonement for himself and his household. Then he is to take the two goats and present them before the Lord at the entrance to the tent of meeting.. (Leviticus 16:3-7)
The Interesting part and the main topic of this paper is found in verse 8 (“And Aaron shall cast lots over the two goats, one lot for the LORD and the other lot for Azazel.”) we know from context Yahweh has commanded Aaron to offer two goats one to himself and the other to Azazel. You may wonder who's Azazel? Well if you read the KJV bible you'll notice it reads scapegoat?. The Hebrew text reads Azazel (עֲזָאזֵל) which has been translated in english as the scapegoat.
The question is what does Azazel (עֲזָאזֵל) mean? Let's find our before we hit the nail:
John Eadie who was Professor of Biblical Literature and Exegesis to the United Presbyterian Church writes:
“The language in the original is precise and peculiar. It reads “And Aaron shall cast lots on the two goats – ONE FOR JEHOVAH, ONE FOR AZAZEL.” What we are to understand by Azazel has been much disputed. The language appears to us to imply the personality of Azazel – “One for Jehovah, One of Azazel.” By Azazel we are inclined to understand Satan, as do almost all ancient versions, which leave the word, as they do the names of other persons, untranslated.”
Professor Craig A. Evans writes:
“It was believed that in the last days Satan would be bound: “the Lord said to Raphael, ‘Bind Azazel hand and foot” (1 Enoch 10:4). Raphael is an archangel and Azazel is an archdemon, possibly Satan himself (cf. 1 Enoch 21:4, 6)”
Bishop of Natal Reverend John William Colenso writes:
“The acceptance of Azazel, v.8,10,26, as the name of a personal being placed in opposition to Jehovah, seems to be the only mode of justifying the relation in which the two lots stood to each other … The greater number of critics are inclined to take Azazel as the name of an evil spirit to whom the goat was sent…. Several Jewish traditions point to the same conclusion. The name Azalzel, easily corrupted from Azazel, is applied to a fallen angel in the book of Enoch, which was most likely written by a Jew about 40 A.C. … Origen expressly says that Azazel denoted the Devil…. ”
Barnes’ Notes of the Bible states that “the two goats formed a single sin-offering... Azazel is the pre-Mosaic name of an evil personal being placed in opposition to Yahweh.
Jewish understanding
The traditional Orthodox Jewish understanding of the word עזאזל, it's my personal belief that the Hebrew word עזאזל, which occurs four times in the Tanakh (Lev. 16:8 x1; Lev. 16:10 x2; Lev. 16:26 x1), is the proper name of a fallen angel, i.e. an evil spirit/ demon. This Hebrew name is very similar to one found in 1 Enoch.
For example it is written in the book of Enoch
And the whole earth has been corrupted hrough the works that were taught by Aza(z)el: to him ascribe all sin. (1 Enoch 10:8-9)
Rabbi Moshe ben Nachman (רמב"ן)
In his commentary on Lev. 16:8, Rabbi Moshe ben Nachman makes a similar assertion to Rabbi Ibn Ezra concerning the meaning of the word עזאזל. He writes :
Now the Torah has absolutely forbidden the acceptance of gods and all worship to them. However, the Holy One, blessed be He, commands us on Yom ha-Kippurim (the Day of Atonement) that we should release a goat in the wilderness, to the "prince" who rules over wastelands, and this (goat) is fitting for it because he is its master, and destruction and waste emanate from his power, which in turn is the cause of the stars of the sword, wars quarrels, wounds, plagues, division and destruction... Also in his portion are the devils called "destroyers" in the language of our rabbis, and in the language of our scriptures, "se'irim" (demons).
According to Pirḳe R. El. xlvi. (comp. Tos. Meg. 31a), the goat is offered to Azazel as a bribe that he who is identical with Samael or Satan should not by his accusations prevent the atonement of the sins on that day.
The fact that Azazel occupied a place in Mandæan, Sabean, and Arabian mythology (see Brandt, "Mandäische Theologie," pp. 197, 198; Norberg's "Onomasticon," p. 31; Reland's "De Religione Mohammedanarum," p. 89; Kamus, s.v. "Azazel" [demon identical with Satan]; Delitzsch, "Zeitsch. f. Kirchl. Wissensch. u. Leben," 1880, p. 182), renders it probable that Azazel was a degraded Babylonian deity. Origen ("Contra Celsum," vi. 43) identifies Azazel with Satan; Pirḳe R. El. (l.c.) with Samael; and the Zohar Aḥare Mot, following Naḥmanides, with the spirit of Esau or heathenism; still, while one of the chief demons in the Cabala, he never attained in the doctrinal system of Judaism a position similar to that of Satan.
There you have it Yahweh commanded Aaron to make an offering of two goats one to himself and Satan, imagine that! On top of that Christians fall into another dilemma because to them Jesus was also a scapegoat a sacrificial lamb.
Now the ultimate question is if Jesus was a ransom as stated in Mark 10:45 to whom was the Ransom paid?. Was the ransom paid to Yahweh or Satan ? Could his so called alleged father be responsible for such a murder to set people free?, or does the the Ransom go to Satan who eventually wins his way by killing the so called alleged son of God and walks away scoot free?. We can conclude one thing and that is if Jesus of the bible was this scapegoat then his sacrifice was given to Satan.
