Azazel
Azazel (ah-zayʹzel), a demonic figure to whom
the sin-laden scapegoat was sent on the Day of Atonement (Lev. 16:8, 10, 26).
The Hebrew word has been traditionally understood as a phrase meaning ‘the goat
that escapes,’ giving us the word ‘scapegoat.’ But in light of modern research,
both this interpretation and those that understand it as a place name are
incorrect. The word is a proper name and means something like ‘angry god.’ Yet,
though Azazel is a demon, he does not play an active role in the rite as
corresponding figures do in similar rituals of the ancient Near East. (David
P. Wright, “Azazel,” in Harper’s
Bible Dictionary, ed. Paul
J. Achtemeier [San Francisco : Harper & Row, 1985], 81-82)
Though Azazel is a demonic
personality, caution must be observed in determining his exact character in the
Day of Atonement ritual. Just because he is a demon does not automatically mean
that he functions like demonic personalities in other religions of the ANE. In
fact, there is reason to suppose that in the biblical rite he was to be
considered a rather peripheral and impotent figure, hardly more than a
place-holder representing the geographical goal of the scapegoat’s dispatch
(Wright 1987: 21–25). A main reason for believing that the formulators of
Leviticus 16 thought of Azazel in this way is the tendency of Israel’s
monotheistic religion to reject or at least limit any power that would compete
with Yahweh (Duhm 1904: 28, 32). Another reason is that the Priestly writings
have very little to say about demons. The only other reference to demons
besides that to Azazel is in Lev 17:7. But the use of śĕʿı̂rı̂m (“goat-demons”) here seems to be more a pejorative
belittling of such beings than an expression of belief in their reality and
vitality (cf. similar use of demonic terminology in Deut 32:17; Ps 106:37).
The entirely different treatment
of corresponding demonic figures in rites of elimination from the ANE seems to
confirm this picture of Azazel (for examples from ancient Anatolia and
Mesopotamia, see Wright 1987: 31–74). Many of these rituals speak of offended
or angry deities or demons who must be propitiated so that a plague or other
evil might be lifted from mankind or an individual. The attacking supernatural
beings are addressed with incantations which reveal in some detail the
personality of the demonic beings. The human sufferers send offerings of
appeasement and substitution to assuage the demonic wrath. For example, in the
Hittite ritual of Ashella which seeks to dispel a demon-caused plague among the
Hittite army (see Wright 1987: 50–51), leaders of the army decorate rams with
colored wools and other materials. They recite: “Whatever god is moving about,
whatever god has caused this plague, for you, behold, these rams I have tied
up. Be herewith appeased!” The next day the animals are driven into the open
country with beer, bread, and perhaps milk as offerings. Before the rams are
sent away, the leaders place their hands on the animals and say: “Whatever god
has caused this plague—now, behold, the rams are standing; they are very fat in
liver, heart, and genital member. Let the flesh of humans be hateful to him.
Moreover, be appeased with these rams!” In other rituals, instead of being
attacking demons, gods may be custodians of evil. They are called upon to take
away and dispose of the evil caused by another source. For their help they
receive offerings of thanksgiving. For example, in the Hittite ritual of
Ambazzi (Wright 1987: 57), a woman cult officiator removes a bowstring with tin
on it from a ritual patient, puts it on a mouse, and says: “I have taken away
from you [i.e., the patient] evil and I have put it on the mouse. Let this
mouse take it to the high mountains, the deep valleys (and) the distant ways.”
After this she lets the mouse go, saying: “O Alawaimi [a god], drive this
(mouse) forth, and I will give to you a goat to eat.” In contrast, Leviticus 16
does not speak of Azazel in any of these terms: he causes no harm, he receives
no offerings (the scapegoat is not a sacrifice), prayers are not made to him.
Such a laconic treatment of Azazel in view of these other rituals suggests that
Azazel is not an active being that is due any sort of veneration or attention.
(David P. Wright, “Azazel,” in The
Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary, ed. David Noel Freedman, 6 vols. [New York:
Doubleday, 1992], 1:536-37)
Azazel is regarded as the name of
a demon in the Dead Sea Scrolls and other ancient Jewish books. In fact, in one
scroll (4Q 180, 1:8) Azazel is the leader of the angels that sinned in Genesis
6:1–4. The same description appears in the book of 1 Enoch (8:1; 9:6; 10:4–8;
13:1; 54:5–6; 55:4; 69:2). (Michael S. Heiser, Demons: What the Bible Really Says about the Powers of Darkness [Bellingham,
Wash.: Lexham Press, 2020], 25)
