The telling of the Day of Atonement begins with the reminder of Aaron’s sons’ deaths. Aaron is alert to the mortal danger that he and those who succeed him could face when they enter the Holy of Holies on this day. “When they come forward” (16:1) is a verb regularly used regarding appearing before the divine presence. Whenever unsanctioned, you’ll usually see a different verb that’s translated as “to encroach.” The cover of the ark in Hebrew is kaporet, and the term for atonement is closely related: kipur. There on the cover, blood is sprinkled and atonement made. In the Greek Old Testament, the word is “propitiation” in English.
When we arrive at 16:8, there’s a term translated as “scapegoat.” In Hebrew, it’s a proper name: Azazel. The name could mean something like, “The rage of God,” or “God is fierce/strong.” In Mesopotamian and Phoenician sources, there’s a god named Azuz/Aziz. Since the gods are demons, this may refer to a demoted demon. The goat that goes to the Lord is sacrificed, while the scapegoat that goes to Azazel is sent to the wilderness, carrying the sins of Israel away from the Lord (16:21–22). The goat sent to Azazel isn’t sacrificed and is sent to the desert, a place connected with chaos and death. Therefore, Azazel receives the impurity as an elimination ritual. When the Old Testament was translated into Greek, the terms used for Azazel were rendered as “the one who eliminates” or “the one who wards off evil.” In Greek religion, these were divine agents responsible for warding off evil. Why is it translated as “scapegoat?” In Hebrew, ‘ez is how you translate “goat.”
It’s not only the people that receive atonement, but secondarily, it’s the temple and altar (16:16, 18–20, 33). Considering the sacrifices throughout the year to atone for accumulated sins, pollution threatens the holiness of the tabernacle. This purgation scrubs the holy precinct clean, making it viable for another year’s worth of sacrifices. The people are told to afflict themselves (16:29–31). A rabbinical writing states, “On Yom Kippur one is prohibited from eating, drinking, bathing, anointing, wearing sandals, and engaging in sexual intercourse” (M. Yoma 8.1). Self-neglect is an expression of grief over sins and of repentance.
While chapter 16 is addressed to Aaron, chapter 17 begins with an address to him, his sons, and Israel. From chapter 17 through chapter 26, a code of holiness appears for all of the people. This is seen in verse three when God instructs “every man of the house of Israel.” If a priest doesn’t sprinkle some of the blood on the altar, the man is regarded as guilty of murder (17:4). The offering of the blood to God is a manner of atonement, but not offering is murder. There’s another allusion to Azazel in 17:7. Our English versions read, “demons,” but it’s literally “goat-demons.” Some suggest that Azazel was half-man and half-goat based on this description. These may have been archaic gods of the wild that people believed in, but that God uses in his own way, because just as monogamy is a metaphor for monotheism, so playing the harlot is an act of promiscuity.
A Minister's Study 