Why is the Goat Sent to Azazel?

Introduction

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Who or What is Azazel?

Vayikra 16 describes at length the rituals of Yom HaKippurim. Among the various rites and sacrifices which come to atone for and purify the nation, one in particular stands out, the offering to Azazel:

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(ה) וּמֵאֵת עֲדַת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל יִקַּח שְׁנֵי שְׂעִירֵי עִזִּים לְחַטָּאת... (ז) וְלָקַח אֶת שְׁנֵי הַשְּׂעִירִם וְהֶעֱמִיד אֹתָם לִפְנֵי ה' פֶּתַח אֹהֶל מוֹעֵד. (ח) וְנָתַן אַהֲרֹן עַל שְׁנֵי הַשְּׂעִירִם גֹּרָלוֹת גּוֹרָל אֶחָד לַה' וְגוֹרָל אֶחָד לַעֲזָאזֵל. (ט) וְהִקְרִיב אַהֲרֹן אֶת הַשָּׂעִיר אֲשֶׁר עָלָה עָלָיו הַגּוֹרָל לַה' וְעָשָׂהוּ חַטָּאת. (י) וְהַשָּׂעִיר אֲשֶׁר עָלָה עָלָיו הַגּוֹרָל לַעֲזָאזֵל יׇעֳמַד חַי לִפְנֵי ה' לְכַפֵּר עָלָיו לְשַׁלַּח אֹתוֹ לַעֲזָאזֵל הַמִּדְבָּרָה.

(5) And from the congregation of the Children of Israel he shall take two goats for a sin-offering... (7) And he shall take the two goats, and set them before Hashem, at the opening of the tent of meeting. (8) And Aharon shall cast lots on the two goats, one lot for Hashem and one lot for Azazel. (9) And Aharon shall bring forth the goat upon which Hashem's lot fell, and make it a sin-offering. (10) And the goat upon which Azazel's lot fell, shall stand alive before Hashem, to atone for him, to send it away to Azazel into the wilderness.

This procedure raises many puzzles, of which the first and foremost is the identity of "עֲזָאזֵל" (Azazel).¹  To whom or where is the goat being sent?  In verse 8, Azazel is juxtaposed with Hashem, suggesting that it might similarly be a proper noun, referring to a specific supernatural being. Verse 10, though, states that the goat is sent to the wilderness, perhaps implying instead that Azazel is a geographic location.²  Either way, it is unclear why the goat is being sent away.  If Azazel is some heavenly power, what purpose is served by offering him a goat?  Moreover, does the Torah not prohibit offering a sacrifice to anyone other than Hashem?³  On the other hand, if Azazel is a location, what is unique about this offering that permits it to be sent outside the confines of the Mikdash?⁴

Dead or Alive?

A second ambiguity relates to the fate of the goat.  The Torah repeatedly refers to it as "הַשָּׂעִיר הֶחָי"‎⁵ and speaks of it merely being sent away⁶ rather than ritually slaughtered or killed.  As such, this ritual would find a close parallel in the leprosy purification process described only two chapters earlier in Vayikra 14.  There, the Torah similarly mandates the bringing of two birds,⁷ one of which is slaughtered while the second is set free.⁸  Rabbinic tradition, however, dictates that the Azazel goat is to be thrown off a cliff.⁹  What leads the Rabbis to adopt this position, and how can it be squared with the plain reading of the Biblical verses?  Additionally, if the goat is indeed killed, does it have the status of a sacrifice?¹⁰

Transfer of Sins

The verses of 16:21-22 speak of placing the nation's sins on the head of the goat so that it can carry them away to an "אֶרֶץ גְּזֵרָה":

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(כא) וְסָמַךְ אַהֲרֹן אֶת שְׁתֵּי יָדָו עַל רֹאשׁ הַשָּׂעִיר הַחַי וְהִתְוַדָּה עָלָיו אֶת כׇּל עֲוֺנֹת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וְאֶת כׇּל פִּשְׁעֵיהֶם לְכׇל חַטֹּאתָם וְנָתַן אֹתָם עַל רֹאשׁ הַשָּׂעִיר וְשִׁלַּח בְּיַד אִישׁ עִתִּי הַמִּדְבָּרָה. (כב) וְנָשָׂא הַשָּׂעִיר עָלָיו אֶת כׇּל עֲוֺנֹתָם אֶל אֶרֶץ גְּזֵרָה וְשִׁלַּח אֶת הַשָּׂעִיר בַּמִּדְבָּר.

(21) And Aharon shall place his two hands on the head of the living goat, and he shall confess upon it all of the iniquities of the Children of Israel and all of their transgressions in all of their sins, and he shall place them upon the head of the goat and send it away by the hand of of a ready man to the wilderness. (22) And the goat shall bear upon him all of their iniquities to an uninhabited land, and he shall release the goat in the wilderness.

What is the meaning of "אֶרֶץ גְּזֵרָה", and why are the sins being sent there? Is there a literal transference of sin, or is this to be understood merely symbolically? What significance, if any, lies in the choice of specifically a goat ("שָׂעִיר")‎?¹¹ Finally, how does this ceremony work in tandem with the atonement achieved via the sprinkling of the blood of the goat sacrificed to Hashem (verses 15-19),¹² and how do both of these relate to the (presumed) need for the nation to actually repent from their sins?¹³

¹ Azazel appears nowhere else in Tanakh besides Vayikra 16.

² "עֲזָאזֵל" and "מִדְבָּר" are used interchangeably throughout the chapter to describe the address to which the goat was sent (see 16:21,22,26), and this might support their identification as one and the same place. Alternatively, one could argue that the phrase "לַעֲזָאזֵל הַמִּדְבָּרָה" in 16:10 should be rendered as a being who dwelt in the wilderness, and that the use of both words together in the same phrase proves that they are not identical.

³ The conducting of a lottery is a further anomalous departure from usual sacrificial rite, and this also requires explanation.

⁴ In fact, in the very next chapter of Vayikra 17, the Torah specifically prohibits the offering of any sacrifice (and perhaps even the profane slaughtering of meat) outside the Mishkan.

⁵ See verses 16:10, 20-21. Alternatively, this designation can simply be explained as a contrast to the goat offered to Hashem which is sacrificed immediately.

⁶ See 16:21-22.

⁷ This process applies to the purification of both a person (Vayikra 14:4-7) and a home (Vayikra 14:49-53).

⁸ Our chapter's formulation of "וְשִׁלַּח אֶת הַשָּׂעִיר בַּמִּדְבָּר" is also reminiscent of the language employed in Vayikra 14:7 (see also Vayikra 14:53) of "וְשִׁלַּח אֶת הַצִּפֹּר הַחַיָּה עַל פְּנֵי הַשָּׂדֶה".

⁹ See Mishna Yoma 6:6.

¹⁰ Verse 5 appears to state that both goats are taken "לְחַטָּאת", but subsequently (see verses 9,15,25,27) the term is used only to describe the first goat offered to Hashem and not the goat designated for Azazel.

¹¹ Goats are offered as atonement sacrifices in many other instances (see Vayikra 4:23,28, 5:6, 9:3, and Bemidbar 15:24,27).  However, see above that it is unclear whether the Azazel goat is indeed a sacrifice.

¹² Both verse 16 (regarding the sacrificed goat) and verse 21 (regarding the Azazel goat) speak of the same "פִּשְׁעֵיהֶם לְכׇל חַטֹּאתָם" of the nation, thus highlighting the question of the relationship between the purposes of the two goats.

¹³ This question leads some commentators to circumscribe the effectiveness of the Azazel goat to only particular categories of sins. However, the Torah's language of "כׇּל עֲוֺנֹת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וְאֶת כׇּל פִּשְׁעֵיהֶם לְכׇל חַטֹּאתָם" appears to be fairly inclusive.