These verses describe the fourth and most striking phase of this day's ceremony. The second goat symbolically bore the sins of the people taking them to an unclean place far from God. There is difference of opinion among the authorities about what "Azazel"means (vv. 8, 10, 26). The etymology of this Hebrew word is obscure. Some believe it means a rocky precipice or some other place where the goat died or that it refers to the goat's function. Others think it refers to a demon to whom the Israelites sins were returned so it would not accuse them. Whatever its exact meaning, the symbolism is clear enough. The live goat symbolically removed the sins of the Israelites from God's presence.
The two goats used in the ritual represented two aspects of the atonement that God provided. Both animals taught the Israelites that a sinless agent was removing their sins by vicarious atonement. The goat slain represented the judgment on sin that resulted in death necessary for atonement. The goat sent off into the wilderness with the sinner's guilt imputed to it symbolized the removal of guilt (cf. 14:4-7).178
There were two forms of the laying on of hands in the Old Testament. The Jews performed one by placing two hands on persons in nonsacrificial contexts. They performed the other by placing one hand on animals when they sacrificed them (v. 21). The two-handed form emphasized who the recipient of the ritual action was. The one-handed form drew attention to the person who put his hand on the animal.179Another view is that the imposition of two hands intensified the idea of transferring guilt, specifically for intentional sins.180
