Reconsider the Meaning of Scapegoat Ritual in Leviticus 16:20-22

Klementius Anselmus Loba; Antonius Galih Arga Wiwin Aryanto; Vincentius Indra Sanjaya Tanureja

doi:10.30648/dun.v10i1.1548

Reconsider the Meaning of Scapegoat Ritual in Leviticus 16:20-22

Klementius Anselmus Loba, Antonius Galih Arga Wiwin Aryanto, Vincentius Indra Sanjaya Tanureja

Abstract

The scapegoating ritual in Leviticus 16 is central to ancient Jewish religion as part of the Yom Kippur celebration. The sacrifice of a scapegoat thrown into the desert is a unique ritual because it only appears in Leviticus 16 of the entire biblical text, and the only story that uses an animal to take away all the sins of the Israelites. The issue that will be discussed in this study is to find the origins and meaning of this ritual. From the historical criticism interpretation approach to the text of Leviticus 16:20-22, it can be concluded that the meaning of this ritual can be used as a warning (threat) for the Israelites, in which expulsion/exile is a real possibility if they live in sin, and also as a means (ceremony) to reconcile God and man.

Keywords

atonement; Azazel; sin; symbol; Yom Kippur

Full Text:

PDF

References

Adu-Gyamfi, Yaw. “A Literary and Ritual Analysis of Leviticus 16.” Scriptura: Journal for Biblical, Theological and Contextual Hermeneutics 122, no. 1 (May 10, 2023): 1–21. https://doi.org/10.7833/122-1-2075.

———. “The Live Goat Ritual In Leviticus 16.” Scriptura: Journal for Biblical, Theological and Contextual Hermeneutics 112 (October 31, 2013): 1–10. https://doi.org/10.7833/112-0-61.

Asmat, David. “Identidad Y Función Del Macho Cabrío Para Azazel Según Levítico 16.” Theologika 30, no. 1 (2015): 2–37.

Gane, Roy E. Cult and Character, Purification Offerings, Day of Atonement and Theodicy. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2005.

Kaiser, Walter C. The Book of Leviticus. The New Interpreter’s Bible, Vol. 1. Nashville, TN: Abingdon, 1994.

Kalimi, Isaac. “The Historical Uniqueness and Centrality of Yom Kippur.” TheTorah.com, 2014. https://www.thetorah.com/article/the-historical-uniqueness-and-centrality-of-yom-kippur.

Kiuchi, N. The Purification Offering in the Priestly Literature: Its Meaning and Function. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1987.

Kurtz, J. H. Sacrificial Worship of the Old Testament. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1980.

Levine, Baruch A. Leviticus (The JPS Torah Commentary). Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 1989.

Milgrom, Jacob. “Israel’s Sanctuary: The Priestly « Picture of Dorian Gray ».” Revue Biblique (1946-) 83, no. 3 (1976): 390–99. https://www.jstor.org/stable/44088340.

———. Leviticus 1-16: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary. New York: Doubleday, 1991.

Peter, Rene. “L’imposition Des Mains Dans l’Ancien Testament.” Vetus Testamentum 27, no. 1 (January 1977): 48–55. https://doi.org/10.2307/1517355.

Rodriguez, A. M. “Transfer of Sin in Leviticus.” In The Seventy Weeks, Leviticus, and the Nature of Prophecy, edited by Frank D. Holbrook. Washington DC: Biblical Research Institute, 1986.

Roo, Jacqueline C.R. de. “Was the Goat for Azazel Destined for the Wrath of God?” Biblica 81, no. 2 (June 30, 2000): 233–42. https://doi.org/10.2143/BIB.81.2.3200433.

Ruane, Nicole J. “Constructing Contagion on Yom Kippur: The Scapegoat as Ḥaṭṭāʾt.” In Writing a Commentary on Leviticus, edited by Christian A. Eberhart and Thomas Hieke. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2019.

Schwartz, Baruch J. “The Bearing of Sin in the Priestly Literature.” In Pomegranates and Golden Bells: Studies in Biblical, Jewish and Near Eastern Ritual, Law, and Literature in Honour of Jacob Milgrom, edited by David P. Wright, David N. Freedman, and Avi Hurvitz. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 1995.

Tete, W. Randolph. Biblical Interpretation: An Integrated Approach. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 2008.

Vis, Joshua Marlin. “The Purification Offering of Leviticus and the Sacrificial Offering of Jesus.” Duke University, 2012.

Wright, David P. The Disposal of Impurity: Elimination Rites in the Bible and in Hittite and Mesopotamian Literature. Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1987.

———. “The Gesture of Hand Placement in the Hebrew Bible and in Hittite Literature.” Journal of the American Oriental Society 106, no. 3 (July 1986): 433–46. https://doi.org/10.2307/602103.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.30648/dun.v10i1.1548