Leviticus 16:21–22
On the day of atonement, the people's sins are placed on a goat
Study it word by word21And Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat and confess over it all the iniquities of the sons of Israel and all their transgressions, for all their sins; and he shall put them on the head of the goat and send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who is ready.
22And the goat shall carry on itself all their iniquities to a land cut off; and he shall let the goat go in the wilderness.
In its context
19And he shall sprinkle on it some of the blood with his finger seven times and cleanse it and sanctify it from the uncleanness of the sons of Israel.
20And when he has finished making expiation for the Holy Place and the tent of meeting and the altar, he shall present the live goat.
…
23Then Aaron shall come into the tent of meeting and take off the linen garments that he put on when he went into the Holy Place, and leave them there.
24And he shall bathe his body in water in a holy place and put on his garments, and come out and offer his burnt offering and the burnt offering of the people, and make expiation for himself and for the people.
Its words in the original
- סָמַךְsamach· sustain, lean on
Prop up, sustain, uphold; provide for. Also lean on, lay one's hand on.
- אַהֲרֹןaharon· Aaron
Aaron, the older brother of Moses, his spokesman before Pharaoh and the first high priest of Israel.
- שְׁתֵּיshete· two
Two.
- יָדָיyaday· hand, power
Hand. Figuratively, power or control ("into the hand of" = into the power of); also side, part, or share. Also a projecting piece, such as a tenon.
- רֹאשׁrosh· head, chief
Head. From there the first or the chief of a group, the top of a mountain, the beginning of something, or the sum; also the branches of a river.
- שָּׂעִירsair· hairy, male goat
Hairy, shaggy; also male goat.
- חַיchay· living, animal, life
Living, alive; also fresh (of water). As a noun, "living thing" or "animal" (above all wild animals); in the plural, "life".
- הִתְוַדָּהhitvada· praise, give thanks; confess
In one form of the verb, praise, give thanks. In another, confess: acknowledge sins or the name of God aloud. Its root sense is to throw.
- עֲוֺנֹתavonot· iniquity
Iniquity: wickedness, a serious wrong. The same word covers the wrong, the guilt it leaves and the punishment it brings.
- בְּנֵיbene· son
Son. In the plural it can include sons and daughters, and also grandsons and descendants. "Son of..." also says what group someone belongs to ("sons of Israel" = Israelites).
- יִשְׂרָאֵלyisrael· Israel
Israel, the new name Jacob received from God, explained as "you have striven with God" (Genesis 32:28); then the name of the people that came from him and, after the division, of the northern kingdom.
- פִּשְׁעֵיpishe· transgression
A serious wrong against someone: rebellion, transgression.
- חַטֹּאתָchatota· sin, sin offering
Sin: missing the mark of what God asks; also the guilt and the punishment. In the laws the same word also names the sacrifice offered for sin.
- נָתַןnatan· give, put, set
Give, in a very wide sense: hand over, put, place, grant, allow, make something be.
- שִׁלַּחshilach· send, stretch out
Send; stretch out (the hand); let go, send away, set free.
- אִישׁish· man, husband, each
Man, male; with a possessive, husband. Also "each one", "anyone". It is "ish", distinct from "adam" (human being); it is used for the man in contrast with the woman ("ishah").
- עִתִּיiti· appointed, ready
Ready, appointed for that moment. It appears only in Leviticus 16:21.
- מִּדְבָּרָmidbara· wilderness
Wilderness: in the Bible it is not only sand; it is dry, untilled land, where flocks can be led but people cannot live by sowing.
- נָשָׂאnasa· lift, carry, bear
Lift up, carry, bear. "Bear sin" is to suffer its consequences; said of God, "taking away" sin is forgiving it. "Lift up the eyes" is to look.
- אֶרֶץerets· earth, land
The earth, in two senses: the whole world in contrast with the heavens, or a particular country or region ("the land of Egypt").
- גְּזֵרָהgezera· cut-off land
A remote place, cut off from everything, without inhabitants. It appears only in Leviticus 16:22.