What is meant by the ancient Jewish tradition of the Azazel on the annual Day of Atonement?

According to the Law of Moses, each year on the Day of Atonement the high priest was to obtain two young goats from the congregation of Israel and present them before Yahweh at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. He would then cast lots, one for Yahweh and the other for la-azazel (Lev. 16:8). The goat on which Yahweh’s lot fell was to be sacrificed as a sin offering, and the other goat, selected as la-azazel, signified atonement and was to be released into the wilderness (v. 10). After the appropriate sacrifices were made, the high priest was to lay his hands on the living goat’s head, confess all the sins of the people, then send the goat into the wilderness to represent Yahweh’s removal of the guilt of the people’s sins for another year (vv. 20-22). The released goat was thus regarded as la-azazel (v. 26). 

Commentary

The Hebrew expression la-azazel occurs in scripture only in Lev. 16:8, 10, 26. Its meaning is uncertain but does not identify a particular geographical location. It is variously rendered in standard English translations as “the scapegoat” (NASB, N/KJV, NIV), “an uninhabitable place” (CSB), or merely transliterated “Azazel” (ASV, ERV, ESV, N/RSV), the latter two options omitting the definite article. Contextually it implies a sense of removal and stands in contrast to Yahweh, whether applicable to the guilt or origin of sin, or the released goat symbolizing the removal of sin, or the desolate place to which the goat is released. Although we currently lack precision of meaning here, its usage in this section of scripture is reasonably clear.

Application

The old covenant rituals, sacrifices, and offerings were never intended to adequately deal with the sin problem or to completely remove the guilt of anyone’s sin (Heb. 10:4, 11). The “atonement” offered to ancient Israelites was in anticipation of what Jesus would eventually accomplish on the cross (Heb. 9:15). Rather than us having to repeat the la-azazel ritual every year (Heb. 10:1-3), Jesus has become the once-for-all-time sacrifice to offset the problem of sin (Heb. 7:27; 10:10, 12). Instead of the two goats of the annual Jewish atonement ceremony, the sacrifice of Jesus both propitiates and expiates, appeasing God’s wrath and atoning for our sins (Rom. 3:25; 5:9; Heb. 2:17; 8:12; 1 John 2:2; 4:10). Every first day of the week we commemorate Christ's atoning sacrifice with unleavened bread, representing his crucified body that bore our sins, and fruit of the vine, representing his blood that cleanses our sins (Matt. 26:26-29; Heb. 9:12-14, 22; 10:4; 1 Pet. 2:24).

--Kevin L. Moore

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