ALPHA MAAMA (A.M.)

Tokonaki ‘Epeleli 22, 2023

עזאזל The Goat for Azazel

 KO E KOSI MA’AE ‘ASASELI

LEVITICUS 16:7-8

"THEN [AARON] SHALL TAKE THE TWO GOATS AND SET THEM BEFORE THE LORD AT THE ENTRANCE OF THE TENT OF MEETING. AND AARON SHALL CAST LOTS OVER THE TWO GOATS, ONE LOT FOR THE LORD AND THE OTHER LOT FOR AZAZEL."

LEVITIKO 16:7-8

7 Pea te ne to‘o ‘a e ongo kosi, ‘o fokotu‘u ‘i he ‘ao ‘o Sihova, ‘i he mata Tēniti Fe‘iloaki‘anga. 8 Pea ‘e talotalo ‘e ‘Ēlone ki he ongo kosi, ko e taha ma‘a Sihova mo e taha ma‘a ‘Asaseli.

Older translations understood Azazel not as a proper noun but a combination of ez ("goat") and azal ("to go away"). Thus we get "scapegoat" (short for "escaped goat"). Most scholars today, however, identify Azazel as a desert demon, as indeed some rabbis did, calling him Azael. This goat is not an innocent victim that bears the blame (as we colloquially say, "The boss is using Cindy as a scapegoat for his mistakes"). Rather, on Yom Kippur, the sins have already been atoned for by the first goat sacrificed (Lev. 16:15-19). When the high priest lays his hands on the head of the Azazel goat, confesses, and sends him into the wilderness, this goat bears witness not of guilt but of absolution. The goat goes to the devil, as it were, parading the atonement on the accuser's own turf.

When Jesus, after his death, descended into hell, he was parading before the Enemy in a victory march that beat the drum of forgiveness. After the final Yom Kippur of Calvary, Satan had no claim on us. It is finished.

Lord Jesus, the Lamb of our absolution, all glory be to you for the atonement by which you trampled underfoot all our foes.