Leviticus 16:8

Leviticus 16:8 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats; one lot for the Lord, and the other lot for the scapegoat.
• New International Version (NIV)He is to cast lots for the two goats—one lot for the Lord and the other for the scapegoat.
• English Standard Version (ESV)And Aaron shall cast lots over the two goats, one lot for the Lord and the other lot for Azazel.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Then Aaron shall cast lots for the two goats: one lot for the Lord and the other lot for the scapegoat.

Context of Leviticus 16:8

6Aaron must offer the bull as an atonement to the Lord for himself, his family and his servants. 7He must take the two goats to the door of the Tent of Meeting. They are a gift to the Lord. He must use the special stones. They will help him to decide what he should do. He must decide which goat is for the Lord. And he must decide which goat he must send away. 9Aaron must take the goat that is for the Lord. And he must kill it. It is a sin offering. 10He must not kill the other goat. It is an atonement to the Lord. It will pay for the bad things that the people have done. It is to take away the people's punishment. He must send it away into the desert.’

Leviticus 16:8 word by word

וְנָתַ֧ן אַהֲרֹ֛ן עַל־שְׁנֵ֥י הַשְּׂעִירִ֖ם גּוֹרָל֑וֹת גּוֹרָ֤ל אֶחָד֙ לַיהוָ֔ה וְגוֹרָ֥ל אֶחָ֖ד לַעֲזָאזֵֽל׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And Aaronאַהֲרֹן'ahărôn · AaronH175
• shall castנָתַןnâthan · to give: throwH5414
• lotsגּוֹרָלgôrâl gôrâl · allottedH1486
• upon the twoשְׁנַ֫יִםshenayim shettayim · twoH8147
• goatsשָׂעִירώâ‛îyr ώâ‛ir · he-goatH8163
• oneאֶחָד'echâd · oneH259
• for the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• for the scapegoatעֲזָאזֵל‛ăzâ'zêl · AzazelH5799

Cross-references for Leviticus 16:8

• Numbers 26:55You must use lots to decide the land that each tribe receive.
• Numbers 33:54You must use lots to choose how to give part of the land to each family. You must give more land to the larger clans and you must give less land to the smaller clans. The lots will decide which piece of land belongs to each family. Each of your ancestors' tribes will get its own part of the land.
• Joshua 18:10There at Shiloh, Joshua used lots to see how the Lord wanted to divide the land. He told each of the seven Israelite tribes which part of the land they would receive.
• 1 Samuel 14:41Then Saul prayed to the Lord, Israel's God. He said, ‘Please show us who has done this sin. Let the special stones, Urim and Thummim, show who has done it.’ The stones chose Jonathan and Saul. They did not choose the soldiers of the army.
• Proverbs 16:33People throw dice to choose what is right. But it is the Lord who decides the answer.
• Ezekiel 48:29That is how you must share the land among Israel's tribes. Each part will belong to one tribe and their descendants. I, the Almighty Lord, say this.
• Jonah 1:7Then the sailors said to each other, ‘We should throw dice to find out who has brought all this trouble to us.’ So they threw dice. The dice showed that Jonah had caused the storm.
• Acts 1:23So the apostles agreed the names of two men. One of them was Joseph. People also called him Barsabbas and sometimes people called him Justus. The other man was called Matthias.

Commentaries on Leviticus 16:8

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 8Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats - The Jews inform us that there were two lots made either of wood, stone, or any kind of metal. On one was written לשם Lashshem, for the Name, i. e., יהוה Jehovah, which the Jews will neither write nor pronounce: on the other was written לעזאזל Laazazel, for the Scape-Goat: then they put the two lots into a vessel which was called קלפי kalpey, the goats standing with their faces towards the west. Then the priest…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 8The two goats formed a single sin-offering, Leviticus 16:5. To bring out the meaning of the sacrifice it was necessary that the act of a living being should be performed after death. See Leviticus 16:22 note. As this could not possibly be visibly set forth with a single victim, two were employed, as in the case of the birds in the rite for the healed leper Leviticus 14:4-6. For the scapegoat - Rather, for Azazel. The word occurs nowhere else in the Old…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 8scapegoat: The Hebrew term 'aza'zel (Azazel) appears only in Leviticus 16:8, 10, 26. The word has four general interpretations: a term meaning "the goat of going away"; a demon that lived in the wilderness; a stronger form of the Hebrew word for "go, leave," meaning "complete loss"; and a rocky cliff over which someone pushed the goat. Since this goat represented the removal of Israel's sins from the camp, the first interpretation is probably the simplest…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 5-105-10. shall take of the congregation ... two kids of the goats ... and one ram--The sacrifices were to be offered by the high priest, respectively for himself and the other priests, as well as for the people. The bullock (Le 16:3) and the goats were for sin offerings and the rams for burnt offerings. The goats, though used in different ways, constituted only one offering. They were both presented before the Lord, and the disposal of them determined by…Read the comment

Topics related to Leviticus 16:8

• Atonement
• Azazel
• Church
• Lot, the
• Offerings
• Scapegoat

In the dictionaries

• Aaron
• Lot
• Atonement, Day of
• Attire
• Azazel
• Burnt offering
• Coat
• Divination
• Goat
• High priest

Commentaries on Leviticus 16

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings