Who is Azazel?

The name “Azazel” is found in some translations of Leviticus 16:8–10:

And Aaron shall cast lots over the two goats, one lot for the LORD and the other lot for Azazel. ₉ And Aaron shall present the goat on which the lot fell for the LORD and use it as a sin offering, ₁₀ but 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.

This passage describes a ceremony that the high priest would do during the Day of Atonement. The high priest would take two goats and cast lots over them. One of the goats would be chosen “for YHWH”. This goat would be sacrificed to YHWH as a sin offering. The other goat would be sent away into the wilderness.

In the Hebrew text, this other goat is described as laʿăzāʾzēl (לַעֲזָאזֵל). Some Bible translations render this expression as “for Azazel”, as if the word ʿăzāʾzēl was proper noun, “Azazel”. Because of this, it is natural to wonder who or what Azazel was. It has been suggested that Azazel was a fallen angel, a demon, or a place.

However, given the context, the original readers of Hebrew text would perceive that ʿăzāʾzēl was made up of two parts:

1. the word ʿēz (עֵז), meaning “goat”, and
2. a form from the verb ʾāzal (אָזַל), meaning “to go away; to disappear”.

Notably, the word for “goat” in this passage is śāʿiyr (שָׂעִיר). In the other Bible passages, the word for “goat” is śəʿiyr ʿizziym—meaning, a śāʿiyr of the ʿēz-kind (Lev. 4:23; 9:3; 23:19). This indicates that a śāʿiyr is actually a type of ʿēz.

Therefore, this goat is described as laʿăzāʾzēl—not because it was “for Azazel”, but because it was chosen “as a goat which goes away” into the wilderness.