We all know about the Day of Atonement right? Well, I bet what you didn’t know is that the goat that they sent out into the wilderness (as opposed to the one they sacrified) was sent out to the desert demon, Azazel!

Okay, let me backtrack. This week, I am gleeful over my newest discovery in my journeys with the Hebrew language, thanks to Dr. Snyder having pointed a student in his Pentateuch class in my direction for help with a paper she is writing. The topic: the Hebrew word for scapegoat.

First of all, for reference, here are the pertinent verses, in the NKJV, NASB, and ESV, since those are the versions I will be referencing:

NKJV: 8 Then Aaron shall cast lots for the two goats: one lot for the LORD and the other lot for the scapegoat. 9 And Aaron shall bring the goat on which the LORD’s lot fell, and offer it as a sin offering. 10 But the goat on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat shall be presented alive before the LORD, to make atonement upon it, and to let it go as the scapegoat into the wilderness….
26 And he who released the goat as the scapegoat shall wash his clothes and bathe his body in water, and afterward he may come into the camp.

NASB: 8″Aaron shall cast lots for the two goats, one lot for the LORD and the other lot for the scapegoat.
9″Then Aaron shall offer the goat on which the lot for the LORD fell, and make it a sin offering.
10″But the goat on which the lot for the scapegoat fell shall be presented alive before the LORD, to make atonement upon it, to send it into the wilderness as the scapegoat….
26″The one who released the goat as the scapegoat shall wash his clothes and bathe his body with water; then afterward he shall come into the camp.

ESV: 8And Aaron shall cast lots over the two goats, one lot for the LORD and the other lot for Azazel. 9And Aaron shall present the goat on which the lot fell for the LORD and use it as a sin offering, 10but the goat on which the lot fell for Azazel shall be presented alive before the LORD to make atonement over it, that it may be sent away into the wilderness to Azazel….
26And he who lets the goat go to Azazel shall wash his clothes and bathe his body in water, and afterward he may come into the camp.

I already knew that the word for “scapegoat”, transliterated, was “azazel,” but, of course, I still had to look it up in my Hebrew Bible, and, obviously, it was there where it was supposed to be. Well, sort of. But I’ll get to that later. Now, this word only appears 4 times in the entire Hebrew Bible, and they are all in Leviticus 16, which is the chapter on the Day of Atonement. The first thing I noticed in the original language before I even did any further research was that the word was not just plain old “azazel,” or even “the azazel” but it was “to azazel” (or “for azazel”). This interested me as it didn’t really make sense - they are sending the goat to the scapegoat? That was wierd. But, I kinda ignored that for the time being and went on to look up the word in some Hebrew resources.

BDB says that the word is a masculine noun meaning “entire removal” (presumed related to the Arabic “azal” which means “remove”). “Entire removal” kinda makes sense if you plug it in to the NASB or NKJV translations, the problem is as I soon discovered (of course) that the ESV is the most accurate here. The other two translations switch around some words, making it sound like the second goat is called a “scapegoat”, or if you want to plug in BDB, the second goat is “for entire removal.” Now, that sounds nice and everything, but the language insists that the second goat was sent “to” azazel, not that it *was* azazel. In other words, the NASB, NKJV (and NIV and every other translation, except, once again, the JPS) interprets what azazel means and kinda changes it a little to make it fit.

Well, I realized off the bat that’s not good enough for me. Entire removal was okaaay but the language didn’t support it actually being the literal translation. Whether or not the author meant that is a different story, and one we’ll get to later. So, I read a little more in BDB under the word, trying to dicipher what this meant:

Me in Schenkel; > most, n.pr. of spirit haunting desert, Thes Di Dr [a fallen angel, Lv 16:8ff being late, acc. to Che, who der. fr (Hebrew) ; cf. Benz as in Jewish angelology, where prob. based on interpret. of Lev. 16:8ff; name not elsewhere

Obviously the first things that caught my eye were the words “spirit haunting desert,” “a fallen angel,” and “Jewish angelology.” I had no idea what that was all supposed to mean, but it sounded like something that would get me called a liberal if I went around talking about it so of course I had to find out more. I did the easiest thing first and googled the word to see what would come up, and quickly found many references to the word in relation to Azazel, the goat-desert-demon-Satan and many other exciting things. Going to a more reliable source than the Internet, I then booted Calvin off of his computer and started up our new copy of the Logos Scholar’s Edition.

There, I checked out Harper’s Bible Dictionary, Tyndale Bible Dictionary, and Easton’s Bible Dictionary. I also read up in the Theological Wordbook of the Old Testment on the word. Paraphrased and summed up, here seem to be the main four views on this whole issue:

1. Azazel refers to the second goat itself, the “scapegoat.”
2. Azazel is the name of a place to which the second goat was sent.
3. Azazel is an abstract concept symbolizing entire removal of sin, and the goat was sent away to this abstract place of “unbeing” or nothingness.
4. Azazel is the personal name of a being, such as a demon, that the second goat was sent to.

Now after doing this quick search, my mind was spinning with excitment. The scandal! The second goat was sent to the desert demon! Well, of course there are some other interpretations, but the fourth is certainly the most exciting. Who wants boring old symbolism when we could have desert demons? Ah, you say, now at last she has come to the point!

Here are some of my thoughts (and maybe some stolen from the people I read) on the four views:

1. This is unlikely, and many agree, though it seems to be the view that all translations except the ESV and JPS take. Or, more likely, it is how the King James Version translated it and no one else had enough guts to change it. Anyways, it’s unlikely because verses 10 and 26 say that the goat was sent “to” Azazel. I think it’s fairly obvious that the second goat cannot = Azazel, unless it’s being sent to itself.

2. This is apparently the view of many Jewish scholars, based on some tradition and their own writings and such. Some say it was a cliff the goat was thrown off of. (I read some interesting legend about why they supposedly started throwing it off of a cliff, but that’s for another blog entry.) This is okay, but, really, it’s rather boring. Besides, I don’t think (at least from my quick study) that there is any other support for it other than the Jewish tradition.

3. The concepts here are certainly supported in the text. The idea of the live goat “bearing away” the sins of the people is stated clearly (see v. 20-22). I don’t want to say that the symbolism isn’t there, because it is - Aaron was supposed to confess all the sins and put them onto the goat’s head and then it takes all the sins away into the wilderness. So certainly, this idea of the removal and sending away of sins is there. However, is that what azazel means, or is that just what is symbolized by the sending the goat away? I think the latter, personally. Some think, such as BDB above, that the word itself means “removal”. That doesn’t seem to be well supported though. I *think* that is an older idea, meaning modern research doesn’t agree.

4. Modern scholarship (read: not conservative Christian scholars) supports the fourth viewpoint. This, to me, has some good points to it. First, textually, if we look at verse 8, “And Aaron shall cast lots over the two goats, one lot for the LORD and the other lot for Azazel,” we can see a certain parallelism here. One goat (the sacrifice) was a sin offering for Adonai (personal name here), and the live goat, was for Azazel (personal name?). It parallels it nicely. Second, there is support in the book of Enoch, my favorite noncanonical book, where Azazel is one of the ringleaders of the fall of the “watchers,” who are the sons of God in Genesis 6. Third, some say that the word itself means “angry (azaz) god (el)”. Fourth, (now these are internet sources so I don’t know) I found a few sources that cite Azazel as being an evil being cast from heaven in Moslem demonology. Fifth, I also found serveral internet sources that cite Azazel as the chief of the goat-demons.

So, yes, basically, the support for the fourth point comes from extrabiblical sources (though the literal translation lends as much support as it does to options 2 and 3). But, it is interesting, and I just say *interesting*, that this Azazel is apparently an evil being of some type in other Semitic mythologies , religions, and writings. That fascinates me, as I know that the Bible in many other places interacts with these mythologies readily. However, I’m not sure that until now, I’ve seen it interact in quite this way in narrative. What does that mean? What did Moses and the Israelites think it meant? I don’t know. It doesn’t mean they *believed* in a desert demon, it could just be the interaction with the idea of the desert demon, lending to the symbolism of the event. So in that way it dips into viewpoint 3. And I’m not even saying that it is a personal name - it could just be number 2 - who knows?

However, most conservative Christians want to write off (and I noticed this in reading my conservative Christian sources) option 4 (though they will mention it) because their box just doesn’t know how to handle it.

I say, expand your box!

I got a new computer, and I have named it Aleph-Patach - Allie for short! That is because the motherboard is an AOpen, so, aleph is for the A, of course, and open is patach in Hebrew…well…actually it’s “to be open”, but close enough.

We finally decided that my computer was just getting too old, so Calvin built me a new one about 2 weeks ago for under $500 - and here are the specs:

AMD AthlonXP 3200+
AOpen AK77-600 Max Mobo
512MB RAM
Samsung 120GB HD
NVidia GeForce 6600 256MB Video Card

And I even helped put it together! I put the processer in and everything! Well anyways, no sooner do we get it set up than it starts causing problems with EVERY single game I install. Crashing to desktop, random reboots, error messages - all while playing games. Calvin decided that it must be overheating (running 48-49C idle and 57-58C after a crash), so we put two more fans in the thing, one in the front and one in the back, and I haven’t had any problems since, not even in Neverwinter Nights, which was causing me the most problems. So, we’re crossing our fingers and hoping we solved the problem. It’s running about 41-42C idle and 47-48 after I close a game down, so I guess that’s good. It is a little loud though, between the 5 fans (2 on the chassis, one for my power supply, one for the processer, and one for the video card). Oh well. I can’t have everything, I guess.

Today, though, I decided to install one of my old favorites, Roller Coaster Tycoon, the original, and it’s expansion packs, and I get it all installed, and it runs fine. So, I transfer over my saved games from my backup and that’s fine too. However, obviously after a fresh install the game isn’t going to have my scenario progress information (it unlocks new scenarios after having won old ones). Seeing as I had won all the scenarios in the original RCT and all but two in Corkscrew Follies, the first expansion, I wanted that information! I tried copying over my entire RCT folder from my backup, but it didn’t like that too much and I broke it. Calvin said that was a bad idea. I don’t know these things! Anyways, I uninstalled it and reinstalled it and searched far and wide trying to figure out where it kept the saved game info. Finally, I find that it is kept in CSS0.dat, but you can’t just transfer the file over ’cause the new install won’t like the time/date stamp of the old file and it will just trash it. So Calvin came to the rescue as always, and opened up the old file (dating back to 2004) with notepad, put some random stuff at the top, and saved it. Then, he opened it back up, deleted the random stuff so it was back to the original. Then, of course, the date stamp said modified today, which matched the one of my new install. So we copied the modified old file over, and voila! It worked! I have all my scenario progress info, which makes me very happy!

What would I ever do without my own personal tech support?

I don’t actually plan on giving that “letter” to anyone. It is merely a vent of years of anger and frusteration. I think I’m entitled to that every once in awhile….and that’s one of the many reasons I have a blog.

You might not know it, but the reason that I speak so harshly to the place where I graduated is because, like the church, I for some irritating reason really do care about what happens to it.

And before you call me arrogant, I will say one thing that the school as an institution certainly never taught me to say, but have learned to suffix nearly every bold statement I make with.

I could be wrong.

An anonymous alumnus of higher education, disgruntled but well-educated - but only because of the rouge academics department - infuriated, indignant, incensed and irate, and feeling quite insubordinate.

To all those whom it may concern in positions of over-inflated importance in my alma mater’s regime.

Foremost, I want to express my heartfelt gratitude for everything I have learned during my internment at your college. For my knowledge of Christianity continued to abound more and more with every day I spent there. You have taught me with crystal-clear accuracy all that I will face in my ministry among God’s people, as I have already even now begun to see.

For you taught me what the inner workings of hypocrisy in every area looked like, before I was able to experience it fully for myself. Theological hypocrisy, spiritual hypocrisy, financial hypocrisy - my eyes were opened to the true nature of my chosen religion.

You preached the grace of God, and freedom from the law, yet showed me so clearly how not to go about living those things out. You see, I know now that what Paul wrote is true - where there is a law, sin abounds, because it is in our nature to want to break it. You gave me every opportunity to experience this feeling for myself. While I had learned previous to entering my education there that conforment to God’s holy standards was a matter of humbly submitting my own will to His daily, you showed me so clearly that God’s standards really aren’t enough. No, you taught me how what really matters is to put on the the outward facade of holiness to cover the true corruption within. Thank you for this knowledge; I see now how perfect of an image of the church this reflects, and, after all, I did come to prepare for ministry in the church.

You preached community and genuineness, yet taught me how what really matters is exuding the appearance of community. You boldly, for the sake of my education, dared to claim one year the word of the year to be “community”, and then crush in the mud any real acting out of that. “Community standards” weren’t set by the community at all, but by those who felt their own standards good enough to shove down the rest of our throats. You also taught me that honesty is a virtue - virtuous to talk about, but not virtuous to practice. Rather, it is better, apparently, to lie and deceive and manipulate, and then try to cover it up by claiming ignorance. My gosh, it amazes me how incredibly accurate of a picture of the church this is! Truly, and I can’t say this enough, you did an incredible job of preparing me for reality.

You preached knowing what you believe, and why you believe it. I can’t agree more with this sentiment! And you showed me that this means that everyone else who believes differently must be wrong. You taught me that theology impacts life, and then presented for me in a neat package how exactly it should affect my life, and above all, what parts should stay on the shelf and dust, because if it affected anything - nevermind life - it could destroy the rest of the theology that affected my life! Even more, you showed me how pretending to have within my grasp the unattainable knowledge of God, with answers to every contradiction, question, and apparent flaw, is what keeps the Christian life together. To allow fragile minds to touch the darkness and mystery of the faith - may it never be allowed!

And above all else, you preached education and always reaching for improvement and change. However, I know now that improvement and change only come at the cost of those who fund it. I know that without the approval of those deemed to be “important,” change will not happen. Improvement happens in the priority not of the most practical need, but in the order of who can give the most money. And in this striving to make yourselves better, I learned, once again, that what really matters is tricking people into thinking that you want to make yourselves better, so that the real agenda can go on behind the scenes. The whole struggle of power and web of deception sings in harmony with that of the church. My preparation has been complete.

And, now, to cut to the chase and through the satire.

I am not the same person I was when I came to your institution. But let me assure you, that is not because of a glowing, untarnished testimony of what a Christian should be by the school. It is because of what is at the heart of the school - a faculty that, thankfully, does not subscribe to the overlay of corruption that so stains your school.

You can take your stupid rules and you can throw them in the Susquehanna. May they lie at the bottom and rot for all eternity. You think by all your rules you keep everyone holy? If only you cared to even look at the dank cesspools of sin that are alive - hidden, of course - beneath the surface of your pristine, whitewashed tomb. If you cared more about that instead of what people wear and how late they stay out at night, maybe instead of sin festering in the hearts of people who need accountability, maybe some glint of true community might begin to shine forth - and real victory achieved.

You can also rip up your little paper signs for mandatory this and mandatory that - maybe one day some manner of intelligance will awaken within the bureaucracy and realize that making something mandatory screams to all students who listen: “I’m not good enough for you to want to come to you on your own!” That applies to all manner of things - chapel, missions week, bible conferences. Oh sure, it’s part of our education. Well, you know what? I don’t think you really ever gave a rip about our education. I think you wanted to make the school look good to anyone who comes in. And if that means using the students as trophies, then that is what it will take.

Let’s reach even further. Your president is so out of touch with reality he could be on the moon. If the administration had enough guts to quit being bobbing heads on the dashboard of a car driving nowhere, maybe the school would actually turn around and start driving toward progress. But, man, I don’t even want to say it - I am appalled to say it, I am sickened - if anyone spoke up, there might be jobs on the line. Let’s not trouble the waters. Thank you for teaching me that lesson, my dear alma matter!

And have you ever heard of something called communication? Do you realize at many times there are near-riots murmering beneath the surface among the students mostly because of lack of communication? Whoever’s right and whatever should change or shouldn’t change, you need to learn how to talk honestly about it. One day you’re going to face mutiny, and the worst part is, you’re going to stare dumbly in it’s face and scratch your head saying, “Duh, where did that come from?”

Get with the program! You sit there and stare blankly around wondering why Seniors say they wouldn’t recommend this school to their worst enemy. I’d recommend this school for one thing and one thing only - to get in, get out, and learn the Bible. And don’t look around, and keep your head buried in the sand. You’ll learn well what you came there to learn, but I warn you, if you peek, IF YOU PEEK, at what’s really going on around you, I’ll tell you what you’ll find.

You will truly find how incredibly “beyond belief” this school really is.