Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Jonathan D. Safren" <yonsaf AT beitberl.ac.il>]

> Is  there a difference between the sins Azazel's goat
> carries off and that atoned for by the goat to YHWH?
> I notice that the word pe$a' is used only for the goat for
> Azazel. That connotes willful transgression. Is it the case
> that sins committed through willful transgression cannot be
> atoned for, and must be carried off? Milgrom seems to imply
> that the sins are the same, first they're atoned for and then
> carried off. That seems odd. Am I understanding this right?
>
> Thanks,
> Liz
>

The root p$' is used for both goats.
The goat of purgation (xata't): Lev. 16: 15-16;
The goat for Azazel: Lev. 16:20-21.
The first goat is used to purge the sanctuary of all the impurities
("tum(ot") of the Israelites that have accrued to it (16:17), just as the
bullock is used to purge the sanctuary of the impurities caused by the
priests (16:6). I understand "p$'" - and "(won" -in this context as
referring to deeds causing ritual impurity and therefore in need of
purgation - "we-khipper 'al haqqode$ mittum'ot benei yisra'el umippi$(eyhem
le-khol xato'tham", v. 16.
With Milgrom and Y. Kaufman, I understand the pi'el of xt' as referring to
purgation, not atonement. Nothing is "atoned" for here; the sanctuary is
being ritually "cleansed", or "purged" of ritual impurities (cf. Akk.
"kuppuru"). The idea of atonement for sin is late Second Temple or
Rabbinic - but ask an expert; I haven't studies that yet.
The goat for 'Azazel is a receptacle to which are transferred any or all
Israelite misdeeds which might cause or might have already caused any
additional impurity not already taken care of by the purgation goat -
"we-hithwaddah alayw eth kol 'awonoth benei yisra'el we-eth kol pi$'eyhem
le-khol xat'atotham we-nathan 'otham 'al r'o$ has's'e(ir we-4illax...". Or,
alternatively, you can accept Milgrom's thesis that the same impurities are
gotten rid of twice, in two different ways, for extra added protection.

The goat, according to the text, is freed ("shillax") to go to the demon
Azazel in the desert (16:8,10 +21-22); according to the late Second Temple
ritual described in the Mishna, the goat was thrown off a cliff called
Azazel. Whatever the case, we have here a remnant of an ancient  rite of
imitative magic, similar to the modern Jewish customs of "kapparot" on the
eve of the Day of Atonement (< purgation) and "tashlikh" on the first day of
Rosh Hashanah - both of which are disapproved by some rabbinical halakhic
authorities because one cannot atone for sin by a mechanical, ritual act.
Sincerely,
Jonathan D. Safren
Dept. of Biblical Studies
Beit Berl College