Azazel

The word “Azazel” does not mean “scapegoat”!

This word is a compound of two etymons (root words).  The first word within the compound is “az” and means kid goat.  The second word is “etzel” meaning “to depart”.  The lamed (L) prefix is the preposition “for”.  This word לעזאזל/LeAzazel means “for he goat of departure”.  This goat was lead away to escape; it departed.

Why is this important?

In our modern English, when we hear the word “scapegoat” we envision one who was unjustly judged guilty.  We use the term “scapegoat” being synonymous with one who was treated unfairly.   This is not the case within Leviticus 16!  It is not a “scapegoat” but it is a “goat of escape”.  These two terms have completely different meanings. This errant translation has led many to draw wrong conclusions about these two goats.

Within this story found in Leviticus 16, we have two young/hairy he goats. The lot fell upon both goats! One was slaughtered and the other was led into the wilderness and allowed to escape. One goat belonged to YHVH and paid the death penalty.  The other goat would not bear the death penalty and was allowed to escape into the wilderness…or at least for a time!

More tomorrow… along with a Dead Sea Scroll fragment written in Paleo Hebrew. The fragment contains most of the text from Leviticus 16:1-6
By Tim Puzak