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In Leviticus, Aaron casts lots to decide which goat is sacrificed to God and which is sent into the wilderness for Azazel. The Samaritan Pentateuch interprets Azazel as an angel of destruction associated with the wilderness.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Leviticus 16:8
Hebrew Bible
6 Then Aaron is to present the sin-offering bull which is for himself and is to make atonement on behalf of himself and his household. 7 Next he must take the two goats and stand them before the Lord at the entrance of the Meeting Tent, 8 and Aaron is to cast lots over the two goats, one lot for the Lord and one lot for Azazel. 9 Aaron must then present the goat which has been designated by lot for the Lord, and he is to make it a sin offering, 10 but the goat which has been designated by lot for Azazel is to be stood alive before the Lord to make atonement on it by sending it away into the desert to Azazel.
Date: 750–400 BCE (based on scholarly estimates)
Samaritan Leviticus 16:8
Samaritan Penteteuch
Samaritan
6 And Aaron shall present the bull as the sin offering for himself, and make atonement for himself and for his house. 7 And he shall take the two goats and set them in the presence of Shema at the entrance of the tent of meeting. 8 And Aaron shall cast lots over the two goats, one lot for Shema and the other lot for Azazel. 9 And Aaron shall present the goat on which the lot fell for Shema and offer him for a sin offering, 10 but he shall set the goat on which the lot fell for Azazel alive in the presence of Shema to make atonement for him, to send him away for Azazel into the wilderness.
Date: 130–120 BCE (based on scholarly estimates)
Notes and References
"... Leviticus 16:8, 10, 26: “Ezaazel” — Name of Angel of Destruction, according to Israelite Samaritan tradition ..."
Benyamim Tsedaka and Sharon Sullivan, eds., The Israelite Samaritan Version of the Torah: First English Translation Compared with the Masoretic Version, trans. Benyamim Tsedaka (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2013), 267.
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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