Texts in Conversation
The Hebrew version of Leviticus describes casting lots for two goats, one for God and one for Azazel. The Greek Septuagint reads the word not as the name Azazel but as a phrase, the one who carries away evil, dropping the demonic wilderness figure.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Leviticus 16:8
Hebrew Bible
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,
LXX Leviticus 16:8
Septuagint
7 And he will take the two he-goats and will make them stand in the presence of the Lord at the entrance of the tent of testimony 8 And Aaron will place a lot on each of the two he-goats: one for the Lord and one lot for the one who carries away evil 9 And Aaron will bring the he-goat on which the lot for the Lord came on it, and he shall offer it for a sin offering
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Notes and References
"... This divinely-ordered cleromancy is expressed through, probably, datives of possession, belonging to or designated 'for the Lord' (τῷ κυρίῳ) and 'for the one that carries away' (ἕνα τῷ ἀποπομπαίῳ, verse 8). By the rendering for the one that carries away, ostensibly the Septuagint of Leviticus translator dynamically interpreted the Hebrew scriptio continua as three lexemes, 'for the goat of departure' (לעז אזל), rather than two, 'for Azazel' (לעזאזל), possibly a desert goat demon; see Wright 1987: 21-25; Levine 1989: 102; Milgrom 1991: 1020-1021. ..."
* 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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