Scape goat desert God.

by peacefulpete 10 Replies latest watchtower bible

peacefulpete

Azazel, the God of the Desert.
The primitive stages of the Hebrew civilisation are not sufficiently known to describe the changes and phases which the Israelitic idea of the Godhead had to undergo before it reached the purity of the Yahveh conception. Yet the Israelites also must have had a demon not unlike the Egyptian Typhon, for the custom of sacrificing a goat to Azazel, the demon of the desert, suggests that the Israelites had just emerged from a dualism in which both principles were regarded as equal.
We read in Leviticus xvi.:
"And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats; one for the Lord, and the other for Azazel. And Aaron shall bring the goat upon which the Lord's lot fell, and offer him for a sin-offering. But the goat on which the lot fell for Azazel, shall be presented alive before the Lord, to make atonement with him and to let him go to Azazel in the desert."
The name Azazel is derived from aziz, which means strength, and El, God. The god of war at Edessa is called Asisos (Ἄϩιϩος) the strong one. Bal-aziz was the strong god, and Rosh-aziz, the head of the strong one, is the name of a promontory on the Ph?nician coast. Azazel, accordingly, means the Strength of God.
The mention of Azazel must be regarded as a last remnant of a prior dualism. Azazel, the god of the desert, ceased to be the strong god, and became a mere shadow of his former power, for the scapegoat is no longer a sacrifice. Yahveh's goat alone is offered for a sin-offering, while the scapegoat carries out into the desert the curse of the people's sin, and thus the worship of Azazel changed into a mere recognition of his existence.
These sacrificial ceremonies, however, which, on account of their being parts of religious performances, were only reluctantly discarded, are the lingering vestiges in Hebrew literature of an older dualism in which the power of evil received an equal share of worship with the power of good.
peacefulpete

more good stuff:
Azazel
Azazel is the chief of the Se'irim, or goat-demons, who haunted the desert and to whom most primitive Semitic (most likely non-Hebrew) tribes offered sacrifices. The Old Testament states that Jeroboam appointed priests for the Se'irim. But Josiah destroyed the places of their worship, as the practices accompanying this worship involved copulation of women with goats.
The Se'irim, or hairy demons as the word itself means, are mentioned in Leviticus 17:7 and 2 Chronicles 11:15 as "goat-demons". Isaiah 34:14 says that the "goat-demons" greet each other amoung the ruins of Edom along with Lilith and other wild beasts.
The name 'Azazel' may be derived from 'azaz' and 'el' meaning 'strong one of God.' It is thought that Azazel may have been derived from the Canaanite god, 'Asiz, who caused the sun to burn strongly. It has also been theorized that he has been influenced by the Egyptian god, Seth.
Leviticus 16:8 tells that the Lord ordered his high priest, Aaron, to 'place lots upon the two goats, one marked for the Lord and the other marked for Azazel' on the Jewish Day of Atonement. The goat designated by lot for the Lord is to be used as a sin offering, while the goat designated for Azazel "shall be left standing alive before the Lord, to make expiation with it and to send it off to the wilderness for Azazel." (Lev 16:10) Aaron was to "lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat and confess over it all the iniquities and transgressions of the Israelites, whatever their sins, putting them on the head of the goat; and it shall be sent off to the wilderness through a designated an. Thus the goat shall carry on it all their iniquities to an inaccessible region; and the goat shall be set free in the wilderness." (Lev 16:21-22) Leviticus also says that "He who set the Azazel-goat free shall wash his clothes and bathe his body in water; after that he may reenter the camp." (16:26)
From this passage in Leviticus, it would seem that Azazel is conceived of as a personal being, as lots were drawn for the Lord and for him. Also, Leviticus mentions that Azazel lives in the wilderness, as do the Se'irim. Because of this ritual, Azazel is known as the "scapegoat." The goat that is sent to Azazel is not as a sacrifice, but as a symbol that there is no longer any unexpiated guilt. Both the goat and the man who leads away the goat are unclean, and the only way the man can reenter the camp is by washing his clothes and bathing.
In one account of the fall of the angels in the Book of Enoch, Azazel (Asa'el as in the Qumran texts) is the leader of the Watchers who educates humankind of heavenly secrets that lead humankind to sin. These teachings include making weapons of war and preparing cosmetics, which enabled the women to seduce the angels. The angels then charge Asa'el before the Lord with crimes of revealing the heavenly secrets which mankind was not supposed to know. Raphael was then assigned to punish Asa'el by binding him hand and foot and throwing him into the darkness among the sharp and jagged rocks, where he would remain until the day of judgment when he would be hurled into the fire. The story then claims that "the whole earth has been corrupted by [Asa'el's] teachings of his (own) actions; and write upon him all sin." . It was because of Asa'el's teachings that God sent the Flood to destroy the evil in the world including even the souls of the giants, so that all evil will be wiped away from the face of the earth.
"And Azazel taught the people (the art of) making swords and knives, and shields, and breastplates; and he showed to their chosen ones bracelets, decorations, (shadowing of the eye) with antimony, ornamentation, the beautifying of the eyelids, all kinds of precious stones, and all coloring tinctures and alchemy." - 1 Enoch 8:1
In the Apocalypse of Abraham, Azazel is portrayed as an unclean bird which came down upon the sacrifice which Abraham prepared. This is in reference to Genesis 15:11 "Birds of prey came down upon the carcasses, and Abram drove them away."
"And the unclean bird spoke to me and said, 'What are you doing, Abraham, on the holy heights, where no one eats of drinks, nor is there upon them food for men. But these all will be consumed by fire and ascend to the height, they will destroy you.' And it came to pass when I saw the bird speaking I said this to the angel: 'What is this, my lord?' And he said, 'This is disgrace, this is Azazel!' And he said to him, 'Shame on you Azazel! For Abraham's portion is in heaven, and yours is on earth, for you have selected here, (and) become enamored of the dwelling place of your blemish. Therefore the Eternal Ruler, the Mighty One, has given you a dwelling on earth. Through you the all-evil spirit (is) a liar, and through you (are) wrath and trials on the generations of men who live impiously."
- Apocalypse of Abraham 13:4-9
The Apocalypse of Abraham also associates Azazel with Hell. Abraham says to him "May you be the firebrand of the furnace of the earth! Go, Azazel, into the untrodden parts of the earth. For your heritage is over those who are with you" (14:5-6) There is also the idea that God's heritage (the created world) is largely under the dominion of evil. It is "shared with Azazel" (20:5) Azazel is also identified with the serpent which tempted Eve. His form is described as a dragon with "hands and feet like a man's, on his back six wings on the right and six on the left." (23:7)
Finally, the Apocalypse of Abraham says that the wicked will "putrefy in the belly of the crafty worm Azazel, and be burned by the fire of Azazel's tongue." (31:5) Here again, there is another reference to Azazel as being Hell.
His true form is supposed to have 7 serpent heads,14 faces and 12 wings.
Dictionnaire Infernal - Collin de Plancy (1863)
- paraphrased
Azazel is guardian of goats. On the 10th day of September, on the feast of the Expiation, it was Jewish custom to draw lots for two goats: one for the Lord and the other for Azazel. The goat for the Lord was then sacrificed and its blood served as atonement. With the goat for Azazel, the high priest would place both of his hands on the goat's head and confess both his sins and the sins of the people. The goat ("scapegoate") was then led into the desert and set free. Azazel then returned the goat. Milton described Azazel as the first gate-teacher of the infernal armies. Azazel is also the name of the demon that serves Mark the heretic.
Leolaia

Here's a pretty good academic article on the subject published in Biblica:
http://www.bsw.org/project/biblica/bibl81/Ani06m.html
It pretty much presents all the relevant data. It's main flaw however is that it insists on monotheism for pre-exilic Judaism (untenable in view of Mark Smith's work), and so it unduly rejects the possibility of Azazel as a demon god. Incidentally, a similar ritual is described in Ugarit texts (cf. KTU 1.127). I strongly suspect that Passover was originally a similar ritual and the narrative in Exodus refers more distinctly to a demon type of deity (most probably Resheph).
Narkissos

Interesting. I personally tend to favor the "demon" explanation over the "god" one. Whatever the origin of the name, in Hebrew there is probably a pun intended with `ez, meaning she-goat (probably from the same `zz root as `oz, meaning "strength"). Hardly a true etymology however, since it fails to explain the 'aleph in `aza'zel. Incidentally the goats in Leviticus 16 are sa`irim, he-goats, just like the desert demons in Isaiah (a pretty good case of polysemy).
Btw, I doubt the early Israelite religion can be adequately termed as "dualistic"; dualism is a later conception which mostly comes to Israel as a Persian influence. However, this may well be the perspective of the Leviticus text, which gives a post-exilic form to an old ritual, while probably retaining a very old demon name.
Leolaia

Hey Pete, you know the first post in the thread was the 1,000,000th post to the forum? Congrats.
peacefulpete

what do I get?
Narkissos

A she-goat perhaps? (Cf. your other thread)
Leolaia

The article by de Roo argues that the name has been metathesized (for ideological reasons), and was originally 'zz -'l "wrath of God". Seeing things through a Canaanite lens, I can easily interpret this as "El's wrath" and view Azazel as a lesser god that does El's bidding. This would be similar to ytpn, who was Anat's henchman in the Aqhat Cycle. Yatpan attacked Danel's son Aqhat "like an eagle in her scabbard, like a vulture in her sheath," thereby reddening El's hoary beard with blood (cf. KTU III Aq 6:11-18). Azazel coming down from heaven and giving the sons of Adam the weapons of war (cf. 1 Enoch 8:1-4) of course is exactly like Kothar in the Aqhat Cycle (equivalent of Greek Hephaestus), who bequeathes a divine bow to the newborn Aqhat. Kothar (ktr) also stood in obvious relation with the ktrt, the guardian goddesses of the newborn, givers of all good bounty, and the source of musical and intellectual talent (cf. the Charities and Muses of Greek mythology). We thus may have a dim recollection of the kotharot in the fallen angels of 1 Enoch 8, as well as the "seven sages" or apkallu from Sumerian and Akkadian myth. That there is a connection with the Aqhat Epic is also revealed by the name Danel as one of these fallen angels (1 Enoch 6:7). The term kosheret survived in Hebrew (cf. Psalm 68:6-7; Tos. B. Batra 10:2) and it is thought that they were originally devotees of the ktrt, the patron goddesses of minstrelry and midwifery, but later the term only referred to songstresses in general.
JCanon

Interesting stuff. But DUALISM in a formal sense would not be my take on this. The "dualism" between good and evil, christ and Satan (the "woman") was established in Eden. This context between Michael/Jesus and Satan/his ex-woman/wife is clear. So just because Azazel is mentioned doesn't mean it was an act of worship.
I have to analyze this with the Bible, but it seems to represent, since it says this goat "dies outside the camp" that its related to the second coming when Christ appears as the "prodigal son". In Isa. 53 it describes some of his physical characteristics but speaks of his taking away sin or carrying the sins of mankind. This is done in the sense, per JIOR doctrine (anointed secret JWs, et al) by actually having lived the life in the imperfect state and thus understanding the difficulties therein and thus allowing for more mercy. For instance, a former drug addict will be more understanding and patient with a recovering addict than say someone else who has not had the problem and would have little tolerance. A person who is working mother understands what's that like than someone who hasn't been there, etc. Thus what is forgiven of the "prodigal son" passes onto others as a sin offering.
It's being taken out to Satan, "outside the camp" if Azazel is representative of Satan represents Satan's ownership of the prodigal son while he is in his death like state before returning to become the Messiah.
The contrast between the first and second coming is most evident by the "first fruits" WAVE OFFERINGS where the first is one associated with "unleavened bread" meaning a sinless body of Christ. The second is specifically WITH LEAVEN, thus with sin and indicates Christ would take up the body of the prodigal son once he reappeared before God. In the second coming the Christ is like Melchizedek, with no specific lineage and is a king-priest. Thus Zechariah 3 shows the prodigal son at the time he becomes a king, represented by high-priest Joshua. Joshua though stands before the throne with befouled garments, representing the past sins he had born when he was dead. He is thus given "new robes", robes of state, belonging the Messiah and the heir to the kingship. Because of the "shame" of the prodigal son and what he goes through, even being seen as "Lazarus" OUTSIDE THE GATE OF THE RICH MAN, representing his being outside the camp of holiness and respectability but still being the chosen Messiah, this sacrifice is killed outside the temple and outside Jerusalem and belongs to Satan in that sense. ??? I'm just calling this from the cuff, generally, so I may need to revise this at bit, but basically that seems to be consistent with that.
By the say, the COPPER SERPENT relates to this as well. Jesus at the second coming comes as COPPER. Note that when the tree is cut down that has the seven times pass over it, 2520 years from the fall of Jerualem and removal of the last king that the tree is bound by two bands; one iron and one copper. The second is copper!! That's because at the second coming, the Messiah would appear in the form of the Ethiopian eunuch, thus copper in color. The iron represents his first coming as a royal Jew from the tride of Judah as a white (fair skinned, grey=iron) man. This thus links the COPPER SERPENT with the second coming and also the association with Satan as the serprent. The message behind the copper serprent is that even though the prodigal son Messiah is under the control of Satan during the time of his death-like state and is in a despicable form, one must still look to him for salvation since he is God's choice for that salvation. Thus looking upon the despicable copper serpent for salvation and healing, to overcome sins, relates to the copper serpent carrying their sins if they believe upon him, even though he's the prodigal son, in the form of the copper serpent, the lowly creature from which they were being plagued.
So bottom line, yes LILITH (and thanks for the great references) and the concept that Satan is "the woman" and tempress of mankind originally and associated with the serprent is part of the backdrop of sin and salvation and worship of God vs Satan, that competition. But that's not DUALISM, that's good vs evil.
JC
peacefulpete

Leolaia...Margaret Baker made some interesting observations about the Enochian version of the fall of man. (article : Attonment: The Right of Healing by Margaret Baker) The role of Azazel seems to absolve humans from responsibility. She sees this tradition directly opposed to the Genesis story as we have interpreted it, with humans being responsible and wicked. Another site proposed that the writer of Romans 8:20 shared the view that Azazel was the 'him' responsible for human suffering.

Scape goat desert God.

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