Jacqueline C.R. De Roo, «Was the Goat for Azazel Destined for the Wrath of God?», Vol. 81 (2000) 233-242

This article is a proposal to read the enigmatic word lz)z(, occurring in Lev 16,8.10.26, as a metathesized form of l)zz( on the basis of textual, semantic and contextual evidence, and to interpret it as a reference to ‘the powerful wrath of God’. This interpretation of the expression Azazel fits its biblical context, because the ‘goat for Azazel’ evidently had an atoning function (Lev 16,10), it was a means to atone for sin (vv. 21-22). Elsewhere in the Hebrew Bible, making atonement for sin is equated with appeasing God’s wrath (Num 16,46-48; 25,6-13). Likewise, ‘the goat for Azazel’, carrying the sins of the people, is for ‘the powerful wrath of God’, to placate his anger. The proposed interpretation of the ‘goat for Azazel’ ritual may also have been in the mind of some post-biblical interpreters, both Jewish and Christian.

to God’s wrath upon Jesus strengthen the possibility that Barnabas interpreted ‘the goat for Azazel’ as a type of Christ who bore the wrath of God as a divine retribution for sin.

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        This article has been a proposal to read the enigmatic word lz)z(, occurring in Lev 16,8.10.26, as a metathesized form of l)zz( on the basis of textual, semantic and contextual evidence, and to interpret it as a reference to ‘the powerful wrath of God’. The spelling l)zz( occurs in the Samaritan Pentateuch and in the Dead Sea Scrolls. The most basic meaning of the word z(w)z( and its synonym z( is ‘strength, fierceness’, which, in particular contexts, becomes an expression to describe God’s powerful wrath as a retribution for sin (Ps 66,3; 90,11; Isa 42,25; Ezra 8,22). The word l) is more likely to be taken as a reference to YHWH than to some other deity, since Israelite religion as represented in the Hebrew Bible is clearly monotheistic. This interpretation of the expression Azazel fits its biblical context, because ‘the goat for Azazel’ evidently had an atoning function (Lev 16,10), it was a means to atone for sin (vv. 21-22). Elsewhere in the Hebrew Bible, making atonement for sin is equated with appeasing God’s wrath (Num 16,46-48; 25,6-13). Likewise, ‘the goat for Azazel’, carrying the sins of the people, is for ‘the powerful wrath of God’, to placate his anger. The proposed interpretation of the ‘goat for Azazel’ ritual may also have been in the mind of some post-biblical interpreters, both Jewish and Christian. The identification made between the Azazel of Leviticus 16 and the Asael of Enoch in Enoch-like stories may well reflect a Jewish interpretation of the demon’s name as a description of his destiny: God’s wrath will be poured out on the author of sin. Moreover, it is likely that the author of the Epistle of Barnabas, who identifies the goat for Azazel with Christ while calling it accursed, viewed the ritual as foreshadowing God’s wrath upon Jesus in order to deliver humans from the guilt of sin.