A. The name of the goat that was sacrificed (Leviticus 16:8, 10)
B. Similar to the “Judas goat,” which leads other animals to slaughter
C. The name of the “goat demon” mentioned in Leviticus 17:7
D. Another name for Joseph, who was sold by his brothers (Genesis 27:31)
ANSWER
None of the above.
No Hebrew word in the Bible means “scapegoat.” To understand what happened during the Yom Kippur service in Leviticus 16, we need to clarify what each goat represented. On Yom Kippur, the High Priest performed a special ceremony and sacrifice.
A lot was cast, and one goat was chosen לַיהוָה, for the LORD, while the other was לַעֲזָאזֵל, for Azazel (Leviticus 16:8). This second goat was neither Azazel nor a scapegoat.
How did the scapegoat come into the picture? The Greek Septuagint, translated centuries before Yeshua, interpreted Azazel as being sent away or removed (as the second goat). The Latin Vulgate later adopted a similar interpretation, calling the goat “sent away.” Eventually, William Tyndale’s English translation used the term “scapegoat,” which the King James Version later preserved.
So, scapegoat is an interpretive translation of the Hebrew word Azazel. Once again, that second goat was designated for Azazel and sent into the wilderness to Azazel (Leviticus 16:8, 10, 26).
Exactly what Azazel means has been debated since antiquity. Ancient and Medieval rabbis believe it to be the chief of demons, the devil. Understanding it this way helps us explore another incredible facet of this mysterious ritual: that the second goat may indeed foreshadow the work of the Messiah, and that it may be the asham, the guilt offering not mentioned at all in the Yom Kippur service.