There are three categories
of contaminants and they are treated differently by Yahweh. Impurities ( טמאת )
are inevitable and simply a fact of life in the midst of the Israelites,
precisely as the latter half of v. 16 describes. Similarly, the contamination
caused from unintentional sins can be removed by bringing a purification
offering to the tabernacle (Lev 4). Transgressions ( פשעים ) and sins ( חטאת )
are something entirely different and are therefore disposed of in an entirely
different way. This is the purpose of the goat for Azazel. A few moments later
in Yahweh’s instructions, he tells Aaron that he will lay both of his hands on
the head of the goat for Azazel and confess the iniquities ( עונות ),
transgressions ( פשעים ), and sins חטאת) ) over its head (16:21). In this
verse, three categories are used – iniquity, transgression, and sin. These
categories are not explicitly defined by Yahweh. Indeed, the term פשע appears
only in Lev 16. The term עון appears a number of times, both in the context of
intentional sins and in the context of unintentional sins that have not been
recognized and therefore no sacrifice has been brought for them. The term חטאת
is used in numerous contexts throughout the Priestly Narrative and appears to
be a more general term for unintentional sin. These three terms, then, serve to
describe the whole range of sins in the Priestly Narrative, from unintentional
sin that has been recognized ( חטאת ) to unintentional sin that has gone
unrecognized or ignored ( עון ) to intentional sin ( .(פשע
Aaron’s act of hand-laying
and confession serves to transfer the contamination caused by these sins and
transgressions from the sanctuary to the goat. This goat is not slaughtered and
sacrificed like the other goat, however. Bearing the sins and transgressions of
the Israelites, it is led out of the tent of meeting and out of the camp
entirely into the wilderness (16:21b–22). This is what removes the
transgressions and intentional sins of the Israelites from Yahweh’s presence,
not the application of the blood on the outer altar.38 Unlike the contamination
caused by unintentional sins, which can be eliminated by the blood of a
purification offering, the contamination caused by intentional sins must be
understood as permanent. It can be removed and relocated, moved from one space
to another, but it cannot be eliminated entirely. When Aaron confesses over the
goat’s head, he relocates the contamination caused by intentional sins to the
goat. He also relocates any residual contamination from inadvertent sins,
whether that be because they went unrecognized or were ignored. When the goat
carries this contamination, it carries them out of Yahweh’s presence and to an
area that is far enough removed that they can no longer have an effect on him.
Just as a person afflicted with impurifying skin disease is sent beyond the
borders of the camp so they do not affect Yahweh, this goat is similarly
banished.
The distinction between
impurities and transgressions/intentional sins in these tabernacle purification
instructions serves to refine boundaries in the story. The multi-stage
purification procedure reinforces and adds detail to the different spaces already
sketched in Yahweh’s speeches in Lev 1–7 and 11–15. The whole premise of these
instructions is to emphasize that the inner sanctuary is off-limits to almost
everyone almost all of the time. It is Yahweh’s private space and must be
treated as such. Only Aaron is allowed to enter Yahweh’s inner chamber, and
then only for specific purpose of removing contamination that has accumulated
in it. The two-part structure to this ritual also furthers the characterization
of Yahweh in the story by revealing a certain level of optimism on his part.
While impurities are inevitable, they are also fixable. Intentional sins are
not. The individual who commits one cannot be forgiven and the effect it has on
the tabernacle cannot be completely eliminated, only displaced to another
location. The creation of a single ritual to remove the intentional sins from
his midst suggests that Yahweh does not expect intentional sins to be a
perennial problem for the Israelites. Even though he has created a safeguard in
case they do not, Yahweh expects that the Israelites will obey his commands (Liane
M. Feldman, The Story of Sacrifice: Ritual and Narrative in the Priestly
Source [Forschungen zum Alten Testament 141; Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2020],
163-65)
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