Biblical Meaning of the Scapegoat and the Goat
The scapegoat — the Yom Kippur goat sent into the wilderness carrying the sins of Israel — is the ancient ritual from which "scapegoat" entered every language, and one of the most powerful types of the one who bears what belongs to the community.
The Two Goats
The scapegoat (Hebrew: la'Azazel — "for Azazel" or "for the sending away"; the origin of English "scapegoat" — coined by William Tyndale in 1530 as "escape-goat" — the goat that escapes into the wilderness; the Greek translation: apopompaios tragos — "the goat sent away"). Leviticus 16 — the Day of Atonement ritual: two goats were brought before the High Priest. Lots were cast. One goat was sacrificed as a sin offering for the people (the blood brought into the Holy of Holies to sprinkle on the mercy seat). The second goat — the scapegoat — had the High Priest lay both hands on its head, confessing over it all the sins and transgressions of Israel, symbolically transferring the community's guilt to the animal, which was then led into the wilderness to a desolate place where it was released, never to return to the camp.
The Type of Christ
The two-goat structure has been read throughout Christian theology as a double type of Christ's atoning work: the first goat (the blood sacrifice — the death that purifies) and the second goat (the sin-bearer who removes — the one on whom the sins are laid and who carries them away from the community permanently). Hebrews 13:12-13: "Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through his own blood. Let us, then, go to him outside the camp, bearing the disgrace he bore." The scapegoat went outside the camp; Jesus was crucified outside the city gate — the geographical correspondence as the theological identification. Isaiah 53:6: "We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all" — the scapegoat principle at its deepest expression.
Key spiritual meanings of Biblical Meaning of the Scapegoat and the Goat
- Two goats
- one sacrificed (the blood of purification), one sent away (the removal of guilt) — the double type
- La'Azazel
- for sending away: the original term for the goat whose departure carries away the transferred sin
- Hands laid on the head
- the physical transfer of the community's guilt — the confession spoken over the scapegoat's body
- The wilderness never to return
- the permanent removal — the sins sent to a desolate place from which they will not come back
- Hebrews 13
- 12 — outside the gate: Jesus and the scapegoat sharing the geography of the outside, the disgrace-place
- Isaiah 53
- 6: "the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all" — the scapegoat principle at its prophetic fullest expression
- The modern meaning of scapegoat
- the one blamed for what belongs to the community — the corruption of the sacred type into injustice
- Spiritual meaning
- the sin-bearer carried it away permanently; what the scapegoat types was fulfilled once and not to be repeated
Frequently asked questions
What does Biblical Meaning of the Scapegoat and the Goat mean spiritually?
The scapegoat — the Yom Kippur goat sent into the wilderness carrying the sins of Israel — is the ancient ritual from which "scapegoat" entered every language, and one of the most powerful types of the one who bears what belongs to the community.
The Two Goats
The scapegoat (Hebrew: la'Azazel — "for Azazel" or "for the sending away"; the origin of English "scapegoat" — coined by William Tyndale in 1530 as "escape-goat" — the goat that escapes into the wilderness; the Greek translation: apopompaios tragos — "the goat sent away"). Leviticus 16 — the Day of Atonement ritual: two goats were brought before the High Priest. Lots were cast. One goat was sacrificed as a sin offering for the people (the blood brought into the Holy of Holies to sprinkle on…
The Type of Christ
The two-goat structure has been read throughout Christian theology as a double type of Christ's atoning work: the first goat (the blood sacrifice — the death that purifies) and the second goat (the sin-bearer who removes — the one on whom the sins are laid and who carries them away from the community permanently). Hebrews 13:12-13: "Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through his own blood. Let us, then, go to him outside the camp, bearing the disgrace he bore."…
What are the 8 spiritual meanings of Biblical Meaning of the Scapegoat and the Goat?
1. Two goats: one sacrificed (the blood of purification), one sent away (the removal of guilt) — the double type 2. La'Azazel — for sending away: the original term for the goat whose departure carries away the transferred sin 3. Hands laid on the head: the physical transfer of the community's guilt — the confession spoken over the scapegoat's body 4. The wilderness never to return: the permanent removal — the sins sent to a desolate place from which they will not come back 5. Hebrews 13:12 — outside the gate: Jesus and the scapegoat sharing the geography of the outside, the disgrace-place 6. Isaiah 53:6: "the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all" — the scapegoat principle at its prophetic fullest expression 7. The modern meaning of scapegoat: the one blamed for what belongs to the community — the corruption of the sacred type into injustice 8. Spiritual meaning: the sin-bearer carried it away permanently; what the scapegoat types was fulfilled once and not to be repeated