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,
Date: 5th Century B.C.E. (Final composition) (based on scholarly estimates)
Source
Onkelos Leviticus 16:8
Targum
7 And he shall take the two goats, and make them to stand before the Lord, at the door of the tabernacle of ordinance. 8 And Aharon shall put lots upon the two goats; one lot for the Name of the Lord, and one lot for Azazel. 9 And Aharon shall offer the goat whose lot came up for the Name of the Lord, and make him a sin offering;
Date: 100-200 C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
Source
Notes and References
"... The literal biblical wording “one lot for the Lord” could be understood as anthropomorphic since it seems to say that the lot was handed to a corporeal deity. The Sperber and Berliner texts of the Targum replace Scripture’s “to” in verse 8 with “the name” (implying that the goat is thought of as dedicated to God but not given to Him), and Sperber does the same in verse 9 ... The meaning of the term azazel is obscure. It is only found here in the Bible, and may refer to the goat, a location, or a semi-divine being ... in an ancient legend, these angels enticed humans into the illicit sex acts that are hinted at in Genesis 6:1 (1 Enoch 10:45) ... Nachmanides anticipated the biblical prohibition in Leviticus 17:7 that prohibits sacrifices to demons. He claimed that the practice of 16:8 is an exception, God not only gave Jews permission to bribe Sammael in chapter 16, He told the Israelites to do so ..."
Drazin, Israel, and Stanley M. Wagner
Onkelos on the Torah, Leviticus: Understanding the Bible Text
(p. 123) Gefen, 2006
* 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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