Leviticus 16:7
in Leviticus 16Then he shall take the two goats and present them before the LORD at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And he shall take the two goats, and set them before Jehovah at the door of the tent of meeting.
KJV
And he shall take the two goats, and present them before the Lord at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.
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This verse in Leviticus 16
Commentary
5 notes on this verseAnd he shall take the two goats - It is allowed on all hands that this ceremony, taken in all its parts, pointed out the Lord Jesus dying for our sins and rising again for our justification; being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit. Two goats are brought, one to be slain as a sacrifice for sin, the other to have the transgressions of the people confessed over his head, and then to be sent away into the wilderness.
This site's exposition
he shall take the two goats
on Leviticus 16:7-8
Both goats stand alive at the door and a lot decides which one dies. The word rendered scapegoat occurs here for the first time in Scripture, and the Hebrew behind it is azazel, which has been read as a goat that goes away, as a place, and as a name. The King James translators chose one of those readings, the alternatives are held by named scholars, and a reader should know the word is argued.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
), then go within the veil with some of the blood of his sin-offering, burn incense, and sprinkle the blood before the mercy-seat,
quarantine:debris,scripture (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens; scripture-overlap:83%@v13-15
And he shall take the two goats,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
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.
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How the passage was read
On Leviticus 16:1-34On Leviticus 16:1-34
The day Israel still fasts
This chapter founds the Day of Atonement, in Hebrew Yom Kippur, the most solemn day of the Jewish year: the one day the high priest entered the innermost room of the sanctuary with blood for the nation's sins. With no Temple standing since AD 70, the day is kept now as a full fast: roughly 25 hours with no food or drink, most of it spent in synagogue prayer, many wearing white.
The Mishnah (the first code of Jewish oral law, about AD 200) defines the day's five abstentions: eating and drinking, washing, anointing, leather shoes, and marital relations (Yoma 8:1). It also carries a saying worth any reader's time: the day atones for sins between a person and God, “but for sins between a person and his fellow, the Day of Atonement does not atone until he has appeased his fellow” (Yoma 8:9). Reconciliation with people is homework done before the day.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Sources: Mishnah Yoma 8:1 (the five abstentions) · Mishnah Yoma 8:9 (appease your fellow first) · The Day of Atonement (this site's study)
The words behind it
11 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְלָקַ֖ח | velakach | and he will take | H3947 → | 966 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| שְׁנֵ֣י | shenei | [the] two | H8147 → | 768 times |
| הַשְּׂעִירִ֑ם | haseirim | the male goats | H8163 → | 59 times |
| וְהֶעֱמִ֤יד | veheemid | and he will station | H5975 → | 521 times |
| אֹתָם֙ | ʾotam | <obj.> them | H853 → | 10935 times |
| לִפְנֵ֣י | lifnei | <to> before | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| יְהוָ֔ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| פֶּ֖תַח | petach | [the] entrance of | H6607 → | 164 times |
| אֹ֥הֶל | ʾohel | [the] tent of | H168 → | 345 times |
| מוֹעֵֽד׃ | moed | meeting | H4150 → | 223 times |
וְלָקַ֖חand he will take
velakachH3947 →966 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
שְׁנֵ֣י[the] two
sheneiH8147 →768 times
הַשְּׂעִירִ֑םthe male goats
haseirimH8163 →59 times
וְהֶעֱמִ֤ידand he will station
veheemidH5975 →521 times
אֹתָם֙<obj.> them
ʾotamH853 →10935 times
לִפְנֵ֣י<to> before
lifneiH6440 →2123 times
יְהוָ֔הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
פֶּ֖תַח[the] entrance of
petachH6607 →164 times
אֹ֥הֶל[the] tent of
ʾohelH168 →345 times
מוֹעֵֽד׃meeting
moedH4150 →223 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Romans 12:1Therefore I urge you, brothers, on account of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.
it leads to
- 1 Peter 2:5
you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
- Romans 6:13
Do not present the parts of your body to sin as instruments of wickedness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and present the parts of…
- Hebrews 13:15–16
Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise, the fruit of lips that confess His name.
- Romans 6:19
I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. Just as you used to offer the parts of your body in slavery to impurity and to escalating wickedness, so now…
- Ephesians 4:1
As a prisoner in the Lord, then, I urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling you have received:
- 1 Peter 2:5
Through
Leviticus 1:3If one’s offering is a burnt offering from the herd, he is to present an unblemished male. He must bring it to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting for its acceptance before the…
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 15:21
But if an animal has a defect, is lame or blind, or has any serious flaw, you must not sacrifice it to the LORD your God.
- Hebrews 9:14
how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself unblemished to God, purify our consciences from works of death, so that we may serve the living God!
- Leviticus 22:19–24
must offer an unblemished male from the cattle, sheep, or goats in order for it to be accepted on your behalf.
- Deuteronomy 15:21
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies10
On this chapter
About Leviticus
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.