Chapter Sixteen

The Great Day of Cleansing: 1–10. Preparatory rites; rites and sacrifices of cleansing. 11–28. The rites of the high priest’s entry beyond the veil into the Holy of Holies. 29–34. The divine indication of the necessity and meaning of the Day of Cleansing.

Leviticus 16:1. And the Lord spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they drew near before the Lord and died. Leviticus 16:2. And the Lord said to Moses: Tell your brother Aaron that he shall not come at all times into the Holy Place behind the veil before the mercy seat that is on the ark, so that he may not die; for I will appear in the cloud upon the mercy seat. This chapter forms the center of the entire book of Leviticus by the extraordinarily important religious ideas expressed in the institution of the Day of Cleansing, inasmuch as it presents: a) the fact of universal and varied sinfulness and uncleanness before God even of the chosen people; b) the necessity of their periodic cleansing; c) the means for this: national repentance and contrition for sins with a specific sacrificial ritual. Not technically named in Lev 16, this day in two other books Lev 23:27 and Lev 25:9 is called by the Hebrew jom hakkippurim, by the LXX: ἡμέρα ἐξιλασμοῦ (day of cleansing or expiation), Vulg.: dies expiationum. According to Josephus Flavius (Antiquities Иуд.14:4–3 and Иуд.16:4) and Philo (Opera II, p. 206, ed. Mangey), it is called the day of fasting or the festival of fasting (ἡ τῆς νηστείας ἡμέρα or νηστείας ἡμέρα). In Talmudic literature the usual name of the Day of Cleansing is joma (the Day par excellence; a whole tractate of the second volume of the Talmud, devoted to the ordinances concerning the Day of Cleansing, is called Yoma), or joma rabbah (the Great Day). On this greatest day in the sense of the importance of the sacrifices, which was observed on the tenth day of the month of Tishri (Lev 23:27; cf. Num 29:7), all the mysterious cleansing rites in the tabernacle or temple were performed exclusively by one high priest. To him, and also to the priests, it was impressed above all with profound reverence for the sanctuary, by virtue of which the high priest himself could enter the inner part of the Old Testament sanctuary only once a year. The ordinances concerning the Day of Cleansing are connected historically with the tragic event of the sudden death of the sons of Aaron, Nadab and Abihu (Lev 10:1-2), and logically they follow quite naturally from the laws concerning clean and unclean (Lev 11-15). The veil, parocheth, behind which the high priest entered the Holy of Holies only on the Day of Cleansing—this so-called second veil (Heb 9:8) (Exod 26:31)—is distinct from the first veil that divided the sanctuary from the courtyard. The “mercy seat,” also called “propitiation,” Hebrew kapporeth, LXX: ἱλαστήριον, Vulg.: propitiatorium—is probably a lid on the ark of the covenant, symbolizing the throne of Jehovah, where He was pleased to appear in the “cloud.” This cloud (Lev 16:2) some commentators (Rosenmüller) identify with the “cloud of incense,” Lev 16:13. But Jewish tradition identified this cloud of the Holy of Holies with that miraculous cloud which showed the Hebrews the way in the wilderness (Exod 13:21) and later covered the tabernacle when it was set up (Exod 40:34-38; Num 9:15-23). And according to blessed Theodoret (question 21 on Leviticus), God appeared in the tabernacle “in a cloud full of light.”

Leviticus 16:3. Thus shall Aaron come into the Holy Place: with a bull as a sin offering and a ram as a burnt offering. Leviticus 16:4. He shall put on the holy linen coat and shall have the linen undergarment on his body, and he shall tie the linen sash around him, and wear the linen turban; these are the holy garments. He shall bathe his body in water and then put them on. Jewish tradition speaks in detail about the preparation of the high priest for entering the Holy of Holies and performing the cleansing rites, such as: a seven-day separation of the high priest from his family and residence in a special room near the temple, the appointment of a deputy (sagan) for him in case of his defilement or death, his practice in performing the rites of the day, his vigil on the eve, his oath to perform the rites carefully, etc. (mentioned tractate Yoma; see Russian translation by Pereferkovich, Talmud. Mishna and Tosefta, vol. II, St. Petersburg 1900, pp. 318–353). Most of these details are of later origin, but some features of the ritual, preserved only in tradition, are of ancient origin.

Leviticus 16:3. Thus shall Aaron come into the Holy Place: with a bull as a sin offering and a ram as a burnt offering. Only the sacrifices are named (the bull for sins and the ram for a burnt offering) which are brought by the high priest for himself and the priesthood from his own resources; offerings from the people are not mentioned.

Leviticus 16:5. And from the congregation of the people of Israel he shall take two male goats for a sin offering and one ram for a burnt offering. Jewish tradition testifies that in the morning the high priest customarily performed the usual daily sacrifice in his usual golden vestments; on the Day of Cleansing proper the appointed sacrifices were performed by the high priest in special vestments of white color and linen, almost identical to priestly garments, except for the turban. That the vestments were not golden, as usual, but linen, signified the humility and repentance of the high priest and the people. The white color of the vestment could express the purity and spotlessness to which the people of God were called after their cleansing from the sins of the entire year. Before robing on the Day of Cleansing, the high priest each time (according to tradition, five times in total) bathed his entire body in water.

Leviticus 16:5. And from the congregation of the people of Israel he shall take two male goats for a sin offering and one ram for a burnt offering. Leviticus 16:6. Aaron shall offer the bull as a sin offering for himself and shall make atonement for himself and for his house. For the sin offerings of the people on the Day of Cleansing, two male goats were chosen (Hebrew sair, distinct from the usual name of a goat attud, can denote a goat of a special breed or an old, shaggy one). According to tradition, both goats had to be of the same age and of the same kind.

Leviticus 16:7. Then Aaron shall take the two goats and set them before the Lord at the entrance of the tent of meeting. Leviticus 16:8. And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats, one lot for the Lord and the other lot for Azazel. The symbolism of the two goats has long been compared with the symbolism of the two birds for the cleansing of a leper (Lev 14:1-8). Just as in that case both the slain and the living bird expressed the idea of complete cleansing of the recovered person, so the two goats—the slaughtered one and the other sent into the wilderness—designated the complete removal of sins and transgressions from the community of the Lord. To determine which goat should be brought as a sacrifice, the high priest cast lots: on one piece of parchment was written “for the Lord,” on the other “for Azazel” (Russian: “for dismissal”; Church Slavonic: “for sending away”; Vulg.: caper emissarius). In the understanding of the latter word, translations and interpreters diverge extremely. Four main groups of interpretations are known: 1) Azazel is understood to mean a place (a mountain in the wilderness or wilderness in general) to which the scapegoat was sent (some Targums, Midrash, certain rabbis, among modern scholars, e.g., Bochart, Rosenmüller); 2) the scapegoat itself, as being sent into the wilderness (LXX: ἀποπομπαῖος, Vulg.: caper emissarius; Symmachus, Aquila, Theodotion, St. Cyril of Alexandria, blessed Theodoret, Luther, Hoffmann, Schegg and others); 3) abstractly: “dismissal” (LXX: εἰς ἀποπομπήν, Russian-Church Slavonic); 4) but against all these interpretations decisive evidence is provided by the opposition contained in Leviticus 16 between Jehovah and la azazel, therefore the latter must be a personal being and moreover a source of sin. Therefore, both in antiquity (Origen, Contr. Cels., 6:43) and especially in modern times, Azazel is understood to mean a personal being—the devil or the demonic world (Ewald, Hengstenberg, Keil, Kurtz, Auberlen, Baudissin, Dillmann, Schultz, Stärck and many others), and in view of the artificiality of the three previous interpretations, this last interpretation is the most probable. Of course, the sending of the goat to Azazel was not an act of sacrifice to him, which is directly excluded by the entire meaning of the Mosaic law, but a symbolic returning of the entire sum of Israel’s sins to the primal source of sin—in the form of a goat, upon whose head the high priest laid the sins of the people (Lev 16:21-22). The book of Enoch speaks of Azazel as one of the princes of demons.

Leviticus 16:9. And Aaron shall present the goat on which the lot fell for the Lord and offer it as a sin offering. Leviticus 16:10. 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 for Azazel. As over the bull for his own sin, so over each goat for the sin of the people, the high priest recited, according to tradition, the following confession: “O Jehovah! I have acted wickedly, transgressed, and sinned before You, I and my house. O Jehovah, forgive the iniquities and transgressions and sins with which I have sinned before You, I and my house, as is written in the law of Moses Your servant (Lev 16:30): for on this day atonement is made for you, to make you clean from all your sins” … (Yoma 3:8). According to the testimony of tradition, the high priest mentioned the name of Jehovah ten times on the Day of Cleansing; six times over the bull, three times over the goat, and once at the casting of lots (Yoma, Tosefta, 2:2).

Leviticus 16:11. Then Aaron shall slaughter the bull as a sin offering for himself, and shall make atonement for himself and for his house, and he shall slaughter the bull as a sin offering. Leviticus 16:12. And he shall take a censer full of coals of fire from the altar before the Lord, and two handfuls of sweet incense beaten small, and he shall bring it within the veil. Leviticus 16:13. And he shall put the incense on the fire before the Lord, that the cloud of the incense may cover the mercy seat that is over the testimony, lest he die. Leviticus 16:14. And he shall take some of the blood of the bull and sprinkle it with his finger on the front of the mercy seat on the east side, and before the mercy seat he shall sprinkle the blood with his finger seven times. Now the preparatory actions for the cleansing ritual were complete, and the cleansing itself began, and first the sins of the high priest and his house were cleansed, that is, not only his natural family but the priesthood in general (Lev 16:33). The previously brought bull (Lev 16:3) was slaughtered, and its blood, brought into the Holy of Holies, was to cleanse the high priest and his house. But before bringing the blood into the Holy of Holies, the high priest had to make his entry safe: with incense before the mercy seat. He was given a ladle with which he would gather incense for the censor, and a golden censer with a long handle (distinct both in material and construction from the one usually used), which he filled with burning coals from the altar of burnt offerings; holding the censer in his right hand and the incense in his left, the high priest entered the Holy of Holies, here he placed the censer between the poles of the ark of the covenant and poured the incense on the fire—the entire house (“Holy of Holies”) filled with a cloud of smoke, “so that he might not die” (Lev 16:33). Then, leaving the incense in the Holy of Holies, the high priest, always facing the ark (thus moving backward), would leave. Coming into the sanctuary, he read a brief prayer there so as not to alarm the people (Yoma 5:1). The substance of this prayer (the text of which is ascribed to the high priest Simon II the Righteous, died about 200 B.C.) consisted of the petition that in the coming year Israel suffer neither captivity nor any other calamity. Coming into the court, the high priest took the blood of the bull (probably in the palm of his left hand), from the hands of the priest, who from the moment of the slaughtering of the bull stirred it in a vessel so it would not coagulate (Yoma 5:3), and went into the Holy of Holies, stood in his former place, and there sprinkled the blood with it (thus “as if striking someone,” swinging his hand) once in front of the mercy seat of the ark and seven times before the ark on the ground, precisely counting each time (ibid). According to blessed Theodoret, “inasmuch as life revolves in seven days, and on each day we transgress in greater or lesser measure, so a sprinkling equal in number to the days was brought for the sins committed in them” (question 32 on Leviticus).

Leviticus 16:15. Then he shall slaughter the goat of the sin offering that is for the people and bring its blood within the veil and do with its blood as he did with the blood of the bull, sprinkling it upon the mercy seat and before the mercy seat. After cleansing himself and his house, the high priest could now perform the cleansing of all the people. Returning to the court of the temple, he (after the mentioned confession of sins) killed the goat, took its blood in a vessel, and for the third time entered the Holy of Holies, and with the blood of the goat—for the sin of the people—proceeded just as with the blood of the bull for his own sin, that is, sprinkled it once on the front side of the ark and seven times on the ground before the ark (Yoma 5:4).

Leviticus 16:16. Thus he shall make atonement for the Holy Place, because of the uncleannesses of the people of Israel and because of their transgressions, all their sins; and so he shall do for the tent of meeting, which dwells with them in the midst of their uncleannesses. Leviticus 16:17. No one may be in the tent of meeting from the time he enters to make atonement in the Holy Place until he comes out and has made atonement for himself and for his house and for all the assembly of Israel. Leviticus 16:18. Then he shall go out to the altar that is before the Lord and make atonement for it, and shall take some of the blood of the bull and of the blood of the goat, and put it on the horns of the altar all around. Leviticus 16:19. And he shall sprinkle some of the blood on it with his finger seven times, and cleanse it and hallow it from the uncleannesses of the people of Israel. Leviticus 16:20. And when he has finished atoning for the Holy Place and the tent of meeting and the altar, he shall present the live goat. Not only the priests and the people needed cleansing, but also the holy things which they touched and defiled—the “Holy Place” (Holy of Holies), the tent of meeting (sanctuary), and the altar (burnt offering, and thus the entire court) (Lev 16:20). The cleansing of the Holy of Holies was already accomplished by sprinkling before the ark of the covenant first with the blood of the bull (Lev 16:14), then with the blood of the goat (Lev 16:16). In the same manner the cleansing of the sanctuary was accomplished—by sprinkling with both kinds of blood before the (inner) veil and on the horns of the incense altar (Lev 16:18; cf. Exod 30:10), after which the blood of the bull and goat was mixed, and with it the altar of burnt offerings was cleansed (by seven-fold sprinkling), probably also all sacred vessels in general (Lev 16:19; cf. Yoma 5:4,5,6). During all the sacred ministrations in the tabernacle, no person could be in it, not even a priest: only the high priest alone with incense and blood stood before Jehovah (Lev 16:17).

Leviticus 16:20. And when he has finished atoning for the Holy Place and the tent of meeting and the altar, he shall present the live goat. Leviticus 16:21. And Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over it all the iniquities of the people of Israel and all their transgressions, all their sins, putting them on the head of the goat, and send it away into the wilderness by means of someone designated for the task. Leviticus 16:22. The goat shall bear all their iniquities on itself to a barren region; and the goat shall be set free in the wilderness. After the cleansing of the tabernacle, the high priest had to perform the rite of dismissal of the live goat (marked with a scarlet ribbon tied to its horns—Yoma 4:2). He laid both his hands on the head of the goat (when, according to tradition, he pressed strongly on the goat’s head) and confessed over it all the sins of Israel (in the form preserved by tradition), while those standing in the court, the priests and people, upon hearing the name of God, fell on their faces, calling out: “May the glorious name of His kingdom be blessed forever and ever” (Yoma 6:2). Then the goat, burdened with sins, was sent away with “someone designated for the task” (usually not an Israelite) into the wilderness, where it was cast down into an abyss (Yoma 6:6). At this time, according to tradition, the scarlet ribbon hung at the gate of the temple changed to white (Yoma 6:8)—as a sign of forgiveness granted by Jehovah, in correspondence with the words of the prophet (Isa 1:18): “if your sins are like scarlet, I will make them white as snow.” Thus, the two goats of the Day of Cleansing expressed two moments of one and the same idea of the liberation of the people from sins: the cleansing of sins (sprinkling with the blood of the first goat) and the removal of sins (the sending away of the scapegoat).

Leviticus 16:23. And Aaron shall enter the tent of meeting and shall take off the linen garments that he put on when he entered the Holy Place and shall leave them there. Leviticus 16:24. And 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 atonement for himself and for the people. Leviticus 16:25. And the fat of the sin offering he shall burn on the altar. Now, in proceeding to the burning of the sacrifices, the high priest again bathed his entire body in water (in the court of the tabernacle), changed his clothes (in the gallery at the tabernacle or temple) into his usual ceremonial sacred garments, and burned the burnt offerings first for himself and the people (two rams), and then the fat of those animals (the bull and goat) for sin, whose blood had been brought into the Holy of Holies.

Leviticus 16:26. And the one who sends away the goat to Azazel shall wash his clothes and bathe his body in water, and afterward he may come into the camp. Leviticus 16:27. The bull for the sin offering and the goat for the sin offering, whose blood was brought in to make atonement in the Holy Place, shall be carried outside the camp; their skin and their flesh and their dung shall be burned with fire. Leviticus 16:28. And the one who burns them shall wash his clothes and bathe his body in water, and afterward he may come into the camp. The flesh of sin offerings by rule (Lev 6:30) was burned outside the camp. Both the one burning this flesh and the one who sent away the goat, although they were not considered defiled (then both could not enter the camp until evening), yet, by contact with sin-cleansing objects, were nevertheless required to perform the washing of their garments.

Leviticus 16:29. And this shall be a statute forever for you. In the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall humble yourselves and do no work, neither the native nor the stranger who sojourns among you. Leviticus 16:30. For on this day atonement shall be made for you to cleanse you. You shall be clean before the Lord from all your sins. Leviticus 16:31. It is a Sabbath of solemn rest for you, and you shall humble yourselves. It is a statute forever. An indication of the general character and meaning of the Day of Cleansing: it is both a fast (“humble yourselves”: the verb anah is a technical term for the spiritual and bodily exercises of fasting Isa 58:3; hence in later Judaism “taannith,” fasting—the name of a whole tractate in the second volume of the Talmud), and the greatest rest. “This day Moses called a Sabbath of Sabbaths, as is the Holy of Holies itself called, because the festival is much more honored than the Sabbath, and by the humbling of the soul he meant fasting” (blessed Theodoret, question 22 on Leviticus). The exceptional fast of this sole day in the Old Testament can be compared to the fast of Good Friday.

Leviticus 16:32. And the priest who is anointed and consecrated as priest in his father’s place shall make atonement, wearing the holy linen garments. Leviticus 16:33. He shall make atonement for the most holy place, and he shall make atonement for the tent of meeting and for the altar, and he shall make atonement for the priests and for all the people of the assembly. Leviticus 16:34. And this shall be an everlasting statute for you, to make atonement for the people of Israel once in the year because of all their sins. And Aaron did as the Lord commanded Moses. The essence and meaning of the Day of Cleansing is briefly and generally repeated, and it is especially noted that all the sacred ministrations for cleansing must be performed only by the high priest, especially in his entering the Holy of Holies, as a type of the eternal, divine High Priest—Christ, Who, “having suffered once for the salvation, ascended to heaven, obtaining eternal redemption” (blessed Theodoret; cf. Heb 9:7).