9/7/2019 Azazel - Wikipedia

Azazel
Azazel (/əˈzeɪzəl, ˈæzəˌzɛl/; Hebrew: ‫ עוזיאל‬,‫ ﬠֻזׇאֵל‬,‫ ;ﬠֲזָאֵל‬Arabic: ‫ﻋﺰازﯾﻞ‬, r om a n ized: ʿAzāzīl) is according to the Book of Enoch a fallen Angel. In the Bible, the Name Azazel appears in association with the
scapegoat rite; the name represents a desolate place where a scapegoat bearing the sins of the Jews during Y om Kippur was sent. During the Second Temple period, he appears as a fallen angel
responsible for introducing humans to forbidden knowledge. His role as a fallen angel partly remains in Christian and Islamic traditions.

Contents
Bible
Hebrew Bible
In Greek Septuagint and later translations
Judaism
Enochic literature
Azazel
In the Apocalypse of Abraham
Rabbinical Judaism
Medieval Jewish commentators

In Christianity
Latin Bible
Christian commentators
In Islam
See also
References

Bible Mount Azazel (Jabel Munttar) in the

Judean Desert.

Hebrew Bible
In the Bible, the term is used thrice in Lev iticus 16, where two male goats were to be sacrificed to Y ahweh and one of the two was selected by lot, for Y ahweh is seen as speaking through the lots. [1 ]
One goat is selected by lot and sent into the wilderness ‫ ַלﬠֲזָאזֵל‬, "for Azazel". This goat was then cast out in the desert as part of Y om Kippur.

In older English v ersions, such as the King James Version, the phrase la-azazel is translated as "as a scapegoat", howev er, in most modern English Bible translations, it is represented as a name in
the text:

6 Aaron shall offer the bull as a sin offering for himself and shall make atonement for himself and for his house. 7 Then he shall take the two goats and set them before the Lord at
the entrance of the tent of meeting. 8 And Aaron shall cast lots ov er the two goats, one lot for the Lord and the other lot for Azazel. 9 And Aaron shall present the goat on which
the lot fell for the Lord and use it as a sin offering, 10 but the goat on which the lot fell for Azazel shall be presented aliv e before the Lord to make atonement ov er it, that it may be
sent away into the wilderness to Azazel. Cliffs of Mount Azazel (Jabel Munttar).

— Leviticus 16:6-10, English Standard Version[2]

Later rabbis, interpreting azazel as azaz (rugged) and el (of God), take it as referring to the rugged and rough mountain cliff from which the goat was cast down. [3 ][4 ][5 ]

In Greek Septuagint and later translations

The translators of the Greek Septuagint understood the Hebrew term as meaning the sent away, and read: "8 and Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats, one lot for the Lord and the other lot
for the scapegoat (Greek apopompaio dat.).

9And Aaron shall present the goat on which the lot fell for the Lord, and offer it as a sin offering; 10but the goat on which the lot of the sent away one fell shall be
presented alive before the Lord to make atonement over it, that it may be sent away (Greek eis ten apopompen acc.) into the wilderness."

Following the Septuagint, the Latin Vulgate, [6 ] Martin Luther [7 ] and the King James Version also giv e readings such as Y oung's Literal Translation: "And Aaron hath giv en lots ov er the two
goats, one lot for Jehov ah, and one lot for a goat of departure".
"And Aaron shall cast lots"
According to the Peshitta, Azazel is rendered Za-za-e'il (the strong one against/of God), as in Qumran fragment 4Q180. [8 ]

Judaism

Enochic literature
In the Dead Sea Scrolls, the name Azazel occurs in the line 6 of 4Q203, The Book of Giants, which is a part of the Enochic literature found at Qumran. [9 ] Despite the expectation of Brandt (1889)[1 0 ] to date no ev idence has surfaced of Azazel as
a demon or god prior to the earliest Jewish sources among the Dead Sea Scrolls. [1 1 ]

According to the Book of Enoch, which brings Azazel into connection with the Biblical story of the fall of the angels, located on Mount Hermon, a gathering-place of demons of old, [1 2 ] Azazel is one of the leaders of the rebellious Watchers in the
time preceding the Flood; he taught men the art of warfare, of making swords, kniv es, shields, and coats of mail, and taught women the art of deception by ornamenting the body , dy eing the hair, and painting the face and the ey ebrows, and also
rev ealed to the people the secrets of witchcraft and corrupted their manners, leading them into wickedness and impurity until at last he was, at Y ahweh's command, bound hand and foot by the archangel Raphael and chained to the rough and
jagged rocks of [Ha] Dudael (= Beth Ḥadudo), where he is to abide in utter darkness until the great Day of Judgment, when he will be cast into the fire to be consumed forev er. [1 3 ]

The whole earth has been corrupted through the works that were taught by Azazel: to him ascribe all sin.

— Book of Enoch 10:8

According to the Book of Enoch (a book of the Apocry pha), Azazel (here spelled ‘ăzā’zyēl) was one of the chief Grigori, a group of fallen angels who married women. This same story (without any mention of Azazel) is told in the book of Genesis
6:2–4: "That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wiv es of all which they chose. […] There were giants in the earth in those day s; and also afterward, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters
of men, and they bore children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown." Enoch portray s Azazel as responsible for teaching people to make weapons and cosmetics, for which he was cast out of heav en. The Book
of Enoch 8:1–3a reads, "And Azazel taught men to make swords and kniv es and shields and breastplates; and made known to them the metals [of the earth] and the art of working them; and bracelets and ornaments; and the use of antimony and
the beautify ing of the ey elids; and all kinds of costly stones and all colouring tinctures. And there arose much godlessness, and they committed fornication, and they were led astray and became corrupt in all their way s." The corruption
brought on by Azazel and the Grigori degrades the human race, and the four archangels (Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, and Uriel) “saw much blood being shed upon the earth and all lawlessness being wrought upon the earth […] The souls of men
[made] their suit, say ing, "Bring our cause before the Most High; […] Thou seest what Azazel hath done, who hath taught all unrighteousness on earth and rev ealed the eternal secrets which were in heav en, which men were striv ing to learn."
God sees the sin brought about by Azazel and has Raphael “bind Azazel hand and foot and cast him into the darkness: and make an opening in the desert – which is in Dudael – and cast him therein. And place upon him rough and jagged rocks,
and cov er him with darkness, and let him abide there forev er, and cov er his face that he may not see light.” Azazel's fate is foretold near the end of Enoch 2:8, where God say s, “On the day of the great judgement he shall be cast into the fire.

Sev eral scholars hav e prev iously discerned that some details of Azazel's punishment are reminiscent of the scapegoat rite. Thus, Lester Grabbe points to a number of parallels between the Azazel narrativ e in Enoch and the wording of Lev iticus
16, including "the similarity of the names Asael and Azazel; the punishment in the desert; the placing of sin on Asael/Azazel; the resultant healing of the land."[1 4 ] Daniel Stökl also observ es that "the punishment of the demon resembles the
treatment of the goat in aspects of geography , action, time and purpose."[1 4 ] Thus, the place of Asael’s punishment designated in Enoch as Dudael is reminiscent of the rabbinic terminology used for the designation of the rav ine of the
scapegoat in later rabbinic interpretations of the Y om Kippur ritual. Stökl remarks that "the name of place of judgment (Dudael) is conspicuously similar in both traditions and can likely be traced to a common origin."[1 4 ]

Azazel in 1 Enoch has striking similarities to the Greek Titan Prometheus. He might be a demonized counterpart of a heav enly creature, who prov ided knowledge for people to make weapons, thus causing bloodshed and injustice. The latter
might be identified with Greek kings and generals, who suppressed the Jews with military forces, but learned how to make their weapons by this specific expelled creature. [1 5 ]

In the fifth-century 3 Enoch, Azazel is one of the three angels (Azza [Shemhazai] and Uzza [Ouza] are the other two) who opposed Enoch's high rank when he became the angel Metatron. Whilst they were fallen at this time they were still in
Heav en, but Metatron held a dislike for them, and had them cast out.

In the Apocalypse of Abraham

In the extra-canonical text the Apocaly pse of Abraham (c.1st CE), Azazel is portray ed as an unclean bird who came down upon the sacrifice which Abraham prepared. (This is in reference to Genesis 15:11: "Birds of prey came down on the
carcasses, but Abram drov e them away " [NIV]).

And the unclean bird spoke to me and said, "What are y ou doing, Abraham, on the holy heights, where no one eats or drinks, nor is there upon them food for men? But these all will be consumed by fire and ascend to the height,
they will destroy y ou."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azazel 1/3
9/7/2019 Azazel - Wikipedia
And it came to pass when I saw the bird speaking I said this to the angel: "What is this, my lord?" And he said, "This is disgrace – this is Azazel!" And he said to him, "Shame on y ou, Azazel! For Abraham's portion is in heav en, and
y ours is on earth, for y ou hav e selected here, [and] become enamored of the dwelling place of y our blemish. Therefore the Eternal Ruler, the Mighty One, has giv en y ou a dwelling on earth. Through y ou the all-ev il spirit [was] a
liar, and through y ou [come] wrath and trials on the generations of men who liv e impiously .

— Abr. 13:4–9

The text also associates Azazel with the serpent and hell. In Chapter 23, v erse 7 , it is described as hav ing sev en heads, 14 faces, "hands and feet like a man's [and] on his back six wings on the right and six on the left."

Abraham say s that the wicked will "putrefy in the belly of the crafty worm Azazel, and be burned by the fire of Azazel's tongue" (Abr. 31:5), and earlier say s to Azazel himself, "May y ou be the firebrand of the furnace of the earth! Go, Azazel, into
the untrodden parts of the earth. For y our heritage is ov er those who are with y ou" (Abr. 14:5–6).

Here there is the idea that God's heritage (the created world) is largely under the dominion of ev il – i.e., it is "shared with Azazel" (Abr. 20:5), again identify ing him with Satan, who was called "the prince of this world" by Jesus. (John 12:31 (http
s://www.biblica.com/bible/?osis=niv :John.12:31–12:31) )

Rabbinical Judaism
The Mishnah (Y oma 39a[1 6 ] ) follows the Hebrew Bible text; two goats were procured, similar in respect of appearance, height, cost, and time of selection. Hav ing one of these on his right and the other on his left, the high priest, who was
assisted in this rite by two subordinates, put both his hands into a wooden case, and took out two labels, one inscribed "for Y ahweh" and the other "for Azazel". The high priest then laid his hands with the labels upon the two goats and said, "A
sin-offering to Y ahweh" (thus speaking the Tetragrammaton); and the two men accompany ing him replied, "Blessed be the name of His glorious kingdom for ev er and ev er." He then fastened a scarlet woolen thread to the head of the goat "for
Azazel"; and lay ing his hands upon it again, recited the following confession of sin and pray er for forgiv eness: "O Lord, I hav e acted iniquitously , trespassed, sinned before Thee: I, my household, and the sons of Aaron Thy holy ones. O Lord,
forgiv e the iniquities, transgressions, and sins that I, my household, and Aaron's children, Thy holy people, committed before Thee, as is written in the law of Moses, Thy serv ant, 'for on this day He will forgiv e y ou, to cleanse y ou from all y our
sins before the Lord; y e shall be clean.'"

This pray er was responded to by the congregation present. A man was selected, preferably a priest, to take the goat to the precipice in the wilderness; and he was accompanied part of the way by the most eminent men of Jerusalem. Ten booths
had been constructed at interv als along the road leading from Jerusalem to the steep mountain. At each one of these the man leading the goat was formally offered food and drink, which he, howev er, refused. When he reached the tenth booth
those who accompanied him proceeded no further, but watched the ceremony from a distance. When he came to the precipice he div ided the scarlet thread into two parts, one of which he tied to the rock and the other to the goat's horns, and
then pushed the goat down (Y oma v i. 1–8). The cliff was so high and rugged that before the goat had trav ersed half the distance to the plain below, its limbs were utterly shattered. Men were stationed at interv als along the way , and as soon as
the goat was thrown down the precipice, they signaled to one another by means of kerchiefs or flags, until the information reached the high priest, whereat he proceeded with the other parts of the ritual.

The scarlet thread is sy mbolically referenced in Isaiah 1.18 (https://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt1001.htm#18); and the Talmud states (ib. 39a) that during the forty y ears that Simeon the Just was High Priest of Israel, the thread actually
turned white as soon as the goat was thrown ov er the precipice: a sign that the sins of the people were forgiv en. In later times the change to white was not inv ariable: a proof of the people's moral and spiritual deterioration, that was gradually
on the increase, until forty y ears before the destruction of the Second Temple, when the change of color was no longer observ ed (l.c. 39b). [1 ]

Medieval Jewish commentators

The mediev al scholar Nahmanides (1194–127 0) identified the Hebrew text as also referring to a demon, and identified this "Azazel" with Samael. [1 7 ] Howev er, he did not see the sending of the goat as honouring Azazel as a deity , but as a
sy mbolic expression of the idea that the people's sins and their ev il consequences were to be sent back to the spirit of desolation and ruin, the source of all impurity . The v ery fact that the two goats were presented before God, before the one
was sacrificed and the other sent into the wilderness, was proof that Azazel was not ranked alongside God, but regarded simply as the personification of wickedness in contrast with the righteous gov ernment of God. [1 ]

Maimonides (1134–1204) say s that as sins cannot be taken off one’s head and transferred elsewhere, the ritual is sy mbolic, enabling the penitent to discard his sins: “These ceremonies are of a sy mbolic character and serv e to impress man with
a certain idea and to lead him to repent, as if to say , ‘We hav e freed ourselv es of our prev ious deeds, cast them behind our backs and remov ed them from us as far as possible’.” [1 8 ]

The rite, resembling, on one hand, the sending off of the basket with the woman embody ing wickedness to the land of Shinar in the v ision of Zechariah (5:6-11 (https://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt2305.htm#6)), and, on the other, the
letting loose of the liv ing bird into the open field in the case of the leper healed from the plague (Lev 14:7 (https://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt0314.htm#7 )), was, indeed, v iewed by the people of Jerusalem as a means of ridding
themselv es of the sins of the y ear. So would the crowd, called Baby lonians or Alexandrians, pull the goat's hair to make it hasten forth, carry ing the burden of sins away with it (Y oma v i. 4, 66b; "Epistle of Barnabas," v ii.), and the arriv al of the
shattered animal at the bottom of the v alley of the rock of Bet Ḥadudo, twelv e miles away from the city , was signalized by the wav ing of shawls to the people of Jerusalem, who celebrated the ev ent with boisterous hilarity and amid dancing on
the hills (Y oma v i. 6, 8; Ta'an. iv . 8). Ev idently the figure of Azazel was an object of general fear and awe rather than, as has been conjectured, a foreign product or the inv ention of a late lawgiv er. More as a demon of the desert, it seems to hav e
been closely interwov en with the mountainous region of Jerusalem. [1 ]

In Christianity

Latin Bible
The Vulgate contains no mention of "Azazel" but only of caper emissarius, or "emissary goat":

8 mittens super utrumque sortem unam Domino et alteram capro em issario 9 cuius sors exierit Domino offeret illum pro peccato 10 cuius autem in caprum em issarium statuet eum v iv um coram Domino ut fundat preces
super eo et emittat illum in solitudinem

— Latin Vulgate, Leviticus 16:8–10

English v ersions, such as the King James v ersion, followed the Septuagint and Vulgate in understanding the term as relating to a goat. The modern English Standard Version prov ides the footnote "16:8 The meaning of Azazel is uncertain;
possibly the name of a place or a demon, traditionally a scapegoat; also v erses 10, 26". Most scholars accept the indication of some kind of demon or deity , [1 9 ] howev er Judit M. Blair notes that this is an argument without supporting
contemporary text ev idence. [2 0 ]

Ida Zatelli (1998)[2 1 ] has suggested that the Hebrew ritual parallels pagan practice of sending a scapegoat into the desert on the occasion of a roy al wedding found in two ritual texts in archiv es at Ebla (24th C. BC). A she-goat with a silv er
bracelet hung from her neck was driv en forth into the wasteland of 'Alini' by the community . [2 2 ] There is no mention of an "Azazel". [2 3 ]

According to The Expositor's Bible Commentary, Azazel is the Hebrew word for scapegoat. This is the only place that the Hebrew word is found in the whole Hebrew Old Testament. It say s that the Book of Enoch, (extra-biblical Jewish
theological literature, dated around 200 B.C.) is full of demonology and reference to fallen angels. The EBC (Vol 2) say s that this text uses late Aramaic forms for these names which indicates that The Book of Enoch most likely relies upon the
Hebrew Lev iticus text rather than the Lev iticus text being reliant upon the Book of Enoch. [2 4 ]

Christian commentators
Cy ril of Alexandria sees the apompaios (sent-away one, scapegoat) as a forety pe of Christ.

Origen ("Contra Celsum," v i. 43) identifies Azazel with Satan. [2 5 ]

In Islam
In Islam, Azazel appears in relation to the story of Harut and Marut, a pair of fallen angels mentioned in the Quran. Although not explained by the Quran itself, Muslim exegetes, such as Al-Kalbi and Al-Tha`labi, [2 6 ] usually linked the reason of
their abode to a narration related to the Watchers known from 3 Enoch. Just as in 3 Enoch, angels complained about humans iniquity , whereupon God offered a test, that the angels might choose three among them to descent to earth, endowed
with bodily desires, and proof that they would do better than humans under the same conditions. Accordingly , they choose Aza, Azzay a and Azazel. Howev er, Azazel repented his decision and God allowed him to turn back to heav en. The other
two angels failed the test and their names were changed to Harut and Marut. They ended up on earth, introducing men to illicit magic. [2 7 ][2 8 ]

See also
Azazel (Marvel Comics) The Master and Margarita Watcher (angel)
Azazel in popular culture Palorchestes azael (Australian large extinct marsupial) Zazel (spirit)
Baphomet Samyaza Zazel (erotic art film 1997)
Dudael Scapegoat

References
1. Singer, Isidore; et al., eds. (1901–1906). "Azazel (Scapegoat, Lev. xvi., A.
V.)" (http://jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/2203-azazel). The Jewish
Encyclopedia. New York: Funk & Wagnalls.
2. ESV Leviticus 16 (http://www.esvbible.org/Leviticus+16/)
3. "Azazel". Jewish Encyclopedia (http://jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/2203-az
azel). Jewish Encyclopedia. JewishEncyclopedia.com. 1906.
4. Yoma 67b; Sifra, Aḥare, ii. 2; Targ. Yer. Lev. xiv. 10, and most medieval
commentators
5. For a delineation of the various Rabbinic opinions here, see R. Aryeh Kaplan's
note (http://www.bible.ort.org/books/pentd2.asp?ACTION=displaypage&BOOK=
3&CHAPTER=16#C2414) on "Azazel" (Lev 16:8).
6. 16:8 mittens super utrumque sortem unam Domino et alteram capro emissario
7. 3 Mose 16:8 German: Luther (1545) Und soll das Los werfen über die zween
Böcke, ein Los dem HERRN und das andere dem ledigen Bock.
8. D.J. Stökl in Sacrifice in religious experience ed. Albert I. Baumgarten p. 218
9. Loren T. Stückenbruck The Book of Giants from Qumran: texts, translation, and
commentary
10. Brandt "Die mandäische Religion" 1889 pp. 197, 198; Norberg's "Onomasticon,"
p. 31; Adriaan Reland's "De Religione Mohammedanarum," p. 89; Kamus, s.v.
"Azazel" [demon identical with Satan]; Delitzsch, "Zeitsch. f. Kirchl.
Wissensch. u. Leben," 1880, p. 182)
11. Ralph D. Levy The symbolism of the Azazel goat 1998 "the midrash is less
elaborate than in 1 Enoch, and, notably, makes no mention of Azazel or Asa' el
at all."
12. Enoch xiii.; compare Brandt, "Die mandäische Religion," 1889, p. 38
13. Enoch viii. 1, ix. 6, x. 4–6, liv. 5, lxxxviii. 1; see Geiger, "Jüd. Zeit." 1864,
pp. 196–204
14. Andrei Orlov (2009), "Azazel as the Celestial Scapegoat (http://www.marquette.
edu/maqom/azazelscapegoat.html)". An excerpt (pp. 79-111) from his
contribution "The Eschatological Yom Kippur in the Apocalypse of Abraham:
Part I: The Scapegoat Ritual" to A. Orlov and B. Lourié, eds., Symbola
Caelestis. Le symbolisme liturgique et paraliturgique dans le monde Chrétien.
15. George W. E. Nickelsburg. Apocalyptic and Myth in 1 Enoch 6-11. Journal of
Biblical Literature, vol. 96, no. 3, 1977, pp. 383–405
16. Yoma 39 (https://www.sefaria.org/Yoma.39a?lang=bi)
17. Israel Drazin, Stanley M. Wagner, Onk elos on the Torah: Understanding the
Bible Text Vol.3 (https://book s.google.com/book s?id=4s5cLrx_n8gC&pg=PAP
A122), p. PA122, at Google Books. Gefen, 2008. p. 122. ISBN 978-965-229-
425-8.
18. Guide to the Perplexed 3:46 (http://www.sacred-texts.com/jud/gfp/gfp182.htm#p
age_366), featured on the Internet Sacred Text Archive
19. Wright, David P. "Azazel." Pages 1:536–37 in Anchor Bible Series. Edited by
David Noel Freedman et al. New York: Doubleday, 1992.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azazel 2/3
9/7/2019
20. Judit M. Blair De-demonising the Old Testament: An Investigation of Azazel,
Lilith, Deber p. 23–24
21. Ida Zatelli, "The Origin of the Biblical Scapegoat Ritual: The Evidence of Two
Eblaite Texts", Vetus Testamentum 48.2 (April 1998):254–263)
22. David Pearson Wright, The Disposal of Impurity: Elimination Rites in the Bible
and in Hittite and Mesopotamian literature (https://book s.google.com/book s?id
=uc7YAAAAMAAJ) at Google Books. Scholars Press, University of Michigan,
1987. ISBN 978-1-55540-056-9
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Azazel - Wikipedia
23. Blair p. 21 27. Haggai Ben-Shammai, Shaul Shaked, Sarah Stroumsa (and Patricia Crone in
24. Gabelein, Frank E. (1990). The Expositor's Bible Commentary. Grand Rapids: this certain chapter) Exchange and transmission across cultural boundaries
Zondervan. p. 590. ISBN 978-0310364405. Yehuda Greenbaum 2005 ISBN 928-965-208-188-9 p. 30
25. John Granger Cook The interpretation of the Old Testament in Greco-Roman 28. Kristof d' Hulster, J. van Steenbergen Continuity and Change in the Realms of
paganism 299 Islam: Studies in Honour of Professor Urbain Vermeulen Isd, 2008
ISBN 9789042919914 p. 192
26. Johannes Hendrik Kramers Shorter Encyclopaedia of Islam uzac Verlag, 1961
p. 135
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