Azazel: In the Bible and Beyond

Halloween may be over but we're still feeling spooky. Today we're going to look at Azazel; a figure known from occult sources but one thati also shows up in the Bible. In Leviticus 16 there is a ritual called the "scapegoat ritual." In it two goats are selected by lot - one for Yahweh and one for Azazel. The goat for Azazel is driven into the wilderness to Azazel. So who is this figure and what can we learn about him? Is this a sanctioned sacrifice to a demon in the Israelite priestly material? Let's take a look...

#Bible, #Archaeology, #angelsanddemons, #angels, #demons, #demon #spirits #halloween #Azazel #Asael #Enoch #scapegoat #Ebla #thescapegoat #Leviticus #satyr #thedevil #watchers #nephilim #MaryDouglas #JacobMilgrom #JuditBlair

If you are interested in learning more about this topic we suggest you start here:

Blair, Judit. De-demonising the Old Testament : an investigation of Azazel, Lilith, Deber, Qeteb and Reshef in the Hebrew Bible. Dissertation. University of Edinburgh: 2009.

Douglas, Mary. Leviticus as Literature. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999.

Heiser, Michael. The Unseen Realm: Recovering the Supernatural Worldview of the Bible. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2015.

Heiser, Michael. Demons: What the Bible Really Says About the Powers of Darkness. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2020.

Hayim Tawil, “ʿAzazel, the Prince of the Steppe: A Comparative Study,” ZAW 92.1 (1980): 43–59.

Karol van der Toorn, Bob Becking, and Pieter W. van der Horst, editors. Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible. 2nd Edition. Leiden: Brill, 1999.

Follow us on Facebook and Twitter @BeneathTheBible so you don’t miss any future videos!

If you enjoyed this video be sure to leave a like and if you want to see more content like it then subscribe!

We believe all images and audio used qualify as Fair Use.

Music By: "After The Fall"
Track Name: "Voices"
License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0)

DaniSogen – Aisuru
Provided by Lofi Records

00:00 Who is Azazel
01:00 Finding Azazel in the scapegoat ritual
03:30 Who or what is Azazel and why does he get a goat?
04:14 "to" or "for" Azazel?
04:41 The first scapegoat at Ebla
05:20 So who, or what, is Azazel anyways?
06:52 Azazel in Second Temple Literature
07:23 Summary of who/what Azazel is...
08:21 Is Israel sacrificing a goat to a demon in Leviticus 16?
08:37 Azazel may not be a demon... but also still is...
10:39 Mary Douglas' note on Azazel
11:27 Concluding Thoughts
13:09 Don't forget to subscribe!

[TruthWillprevail]

Help me holy Spirit! Move me and guide me. My fellow Christians pray for me. I lost my job over my poor health (heart attack) and for not getting the jab. I have two beautiful boys who are autistic. I’m struggling to provide for them. With them being special needs it cost a little more to provide for them. I’m a single mother. Soon we will be facing homelessness. Please keep me in your prayers. I have faith God will provide abundantly. Stay strong I know things are hard durning this time. But keep Faith because Our Lord and savior is coming soon.

[robertocruz]

The message on this is that if we don"t confess our sins and depart from evil we will carry our sins and they will kill us at the end, I rather have the devil take mine so he can pay the final penalty at the end of the 1000 years REVELATION 20:10, EZEKIEL 28:18, 19.

[lmcpainting]

Good stuff! Jesus was the scapegoat the same as the serpent on the staff.
Ps. What are you guys smoking back there?😂

[pielukas]

My Bible teacher said that, the scapegoat is just that a scapegoat even if it is named Azazel or sent into a place by that name. It has nothing to do with demons. The first goat was offered as a sin offering and the second goat which was made an atonement was sent into the wilderness to let people know that our sins have been removed and forgotten. Proven by psalms 103-12 which says " As far as the east is from the west, so has he removed our transgression from us (goat being sent away). Jeremiah 31:34 says that God will forgive the people their sins and He will remember them no more (goat being sent away). Jesus is both goats. Jesus dying on the cross was the sin offering and if we walk with him, God will remember our sins no more.

[lincolnliking]

Enjoyed this. You should also take a look at the relationship between the scapegoat and Cain and Abel.

[TerryEllinger-kc]

That's coherent. Who's the 2cd stringer

[TroySan]

you can find him in the book of Enoch too

[Dybbouk]

Some have seen the Jesus/Barabbas choice as a reenactment of the scapegoat story.

[narrowistheway]

The scapegoat is a picture of Barabbas(who represents us all getting off the hook freely while Christ takes our punishment for us) and the sacrifice is a picture of Christ. That simple, it’s probably also the day on the Hebrew calendar that Jesus was born but that’s a little more theoretical based on the fact that he was definitely born right around this time of the year either way based on the Biblical narrative

[tiktokuniverse]

great video! what exactly is your source for claiming that "they defiled the sanctuary so the sanctuary needed to be regularly purged of that defilement". The text does not mention that Azazel was meant for purifying the sanctuary itself. Rather the text states that the people must be purged. Is there a specific verse or scholar you had in mind when stating this? Im curious. Thanks for your content!

[cinnamongirl]

Azazel is referred to in other writings as a proper noun. It's not confused translation.

[ericktucker]

The word occult means hidden like christ said his mysteries are hidden if your not looking into the hidden are you even his! Read Ezra 14:10- end of chapter that’s Gods words

[isabelletheisel]

Hail Azazel can You teach me with Azazel please

[NgandabrianMoteke]

I wilderness is a bushes an abandon land that isn't cultivated

[josephdtn]

Without believing 1Enoch, it is convienient to ascribe Azazel to the wilderness

[sevennpure]

I am a bit confused here if anyone could clarify. The first goat is offered to Yahuah for forgiveness of sins and the second goat sends the sins into the wilderness to go back to azazel? Why not just skip the second one and ask Yahuah for forgiveness of all sins?
I am quite sure I'm missing something here.

[reginaldlott]

I believe Azazel is The Satan. After he led the original revolt, he influenced Shem’Jaza, the leader of the Watcher Class of Angels to revolt. This revolt, according to Enoch, and Genesis 6, this was the reason for the flood. I agree in part with his answer about the reason for scapegoat being sent to Azazel for assigning of sin. I also believe it was YHWH showing His Devin Grace too.

[johncope]

Another way of looking at it is the sins put on the goat for Azazel were a testimony against Azazel for leading man astray.

[Nowhiscar]

Maybe one of azazels tricks is that he fakes all the fakers into calling on Ba’al God and Yahweh instead of stating YAHUWAH’s REAL name and recognizing his true identity.

[rhondadearborn]

Why not look at the Mishnah and rabbinical scholars/commentary and Talmud? Weird not to explore thousands of years of biblical scholarly work. Also not mentioning that this is all part of Yom Kippor is strange.