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

6“Aaron will present his own bull as a sin offering to purify himself and his family, making them right with the Lord. 7Then he must take the two male goats and present them to the Lord at the entrance of the Tabernacle. He is to cast sacred lots to determine which goat will be reserved as an offering to the Lord and which will carry the sins of the people to the wilderness of Azazel. 9Aaron will then present as a sin offering the goat chosen by lot for the Lord. 10The other goat, the scapegoat chosen by lot to be sent away, will be kept alive, standing before the Lord. When it is sent away to Azazel in the wilderness, the people will be purified and made right with the Lord.

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 26:55But you must assign the land by lot, and give land to each ancestral tribe according to the number of names on the list.
• Numbers 33:54You must distribute the land among the clans by sacred lot and in proportion to their size. A larger portion of land will be allotted to each of the larger clans, and a smaller portion will be allotted to each of the smaller clans. The decision of the sacred lot is final. In this way, the portions of land will be divided among your ancestral tribes.
• Joshua 18:10And there at Shiloh, Joshua cast sacred lots in the presence of the Lord to determine which tribe should have each section.
• 1 Samuel 14:41Then Saul prayed, “O Lord, God of Israel, please show us who is guilty and who is innocent.” Then they cast sacred lots, and Jonathan and Saul were chosen as the guilty ones, and the people were declared innocent.
• Proverbs 16:33We may throw the dice, but the Lord determines how they fall.
• Ezekiel 48:29“These are the allotments that will be set aside for each tribe’s exclusive possession. I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken!
• Jonah 1:7Then the crew cast lots to see which of them had offended the gods and caused the terrible storm. When they did this, the lots identified Jonah as the culprit.
• Acts 1:23So they nominated two men: Joseph called Barsabbas (also known as Justus) and 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