The Book of Enoch & the Bibleनमुना

The Scapegoat

Nobody wants to be the scapegoat, blamed for the wrongdoing of others. But where did this term originate?

Leviticus can be a challenging book to read, filled with the rules and regulations of a bygone age. But in chapter 16, we encounter a strange scene commanded by the Lord. The priest Aaron, offers two goats, setting them before the Lord. One is selected for the people’s sins and sacrificed but the other is designated the “scapegoat” and sent into the wilderness.

Why was this done? The first goat was a sin offering for the people, so the second goat served another purpose. The word in the Bible for “scapegoat” is Azazel. That’s a name you might remember from Enoch:

“Bind Azazel hand and foot,

and cast him into the darkness.

Make an opening in the desert of Dudael,

and cast him in.” (En 10:4 MSV)

Enoch follows that up with an interesting phrase a few verses later:

“The whole earth has been corrupted

through the works taught by Azazel:

accuse him of every sin.” (En 10:8 MSV)

To summarize, Enoch tells us Azazel was imprisoned beneath the wilderness and accused of all sin. Then in Numbers 16, the ESV says “the goat on which the lot fell for Azazel shall be presented alive before the Lord to make atonement over it, that it may be sent away into the wilderness to Azazel.”

All the fallen angels in Enoch committed terrible sins, and they were all punished. But Azazel is singled out for having corrupted the whole world. Clearly he was the one driving the false teachings that led to total wickedness, prompting the great flood.

But why, hundreds of years later were the sins of Azazel still being addressed through a goat?

Leviticus 17:7 tells us that the Hebrews were making sacrifices to “goat demons.” We also know from later chapters that giants were in the wilderness. Close by, the Nephilim show up in the promised land. All these themes intertwine.

The Hebrews faced the same corruption and influence in the wilderness that the ancient world faced through the fallen angels. It was the worship of false gods and the intimidation of giants. God told his people to send a goat to Azazel as a reminder of Azazel’s punishment and to warn them against worshiping demonic forces associated with the goat.

This background information from Enoch turns an otherwise invisible scripture into one alive with meaning. Next, we’ll see if we can discover more about Enoch himself.