t The cinMiiiiHtantial enumcmtion of v. 83 must surpiv pro- •up|».«e Hointjthitij; more than cith-jr the oprlirmry Biii-otTc*riii(f o( the eninimmity (Nil l.'iSlaa)^ or even Lv 0»- 1^ ;"mort'f»vfr. it exa<-t!y flMinnmrlRCH the prinripal present contents of vv.'***,
1 The 'olferinjf uiftiie liy Are' of t:':^ will not be the apecinl Alo lintf "lu-ridce intended ; for that offering Ib conwnon to most of the sacred »e.^»on» mentione<l in ch. 23 (v.». l»i.. 23. *l). Nn 2fl^ 11 also alhirU-H (v.H) to the ' Bin-olTerinif of atonement' ; hut the calendar of Baered seaaoiiH, contAinnd m Nu 2S-'Jl>, may be of later date than the presi-nt fonn nf !.v Hi.
I Of. Kp. liarnah. c. " (with (iclilinnll and Hamack'a notca), where tome of the same detaila are alluded to.
Holy of Holies in the place of the ark (v. 2). Im mediately before slaying the sin-ollering for him- self, the hi"h priest, laying hia hands upon it, made the following confession : ' I beseech Tliee, O Lord, I have done iniijuitously, 1 have trans- gressed, I have sinned before 'lliee, 1, and my house, and the sons of Aaron, Thy holy people. 1 beseech Thee, O Lord, forgive (ied), now, the iniquities, and the transgressions, and the sins, wherein I have done iniquitously, and trans- gressed, and sinned before Thee, 1, and my house, and the sons of Aaron, Thy holy people ' (iv. 2). The blood of each of the siu-oll'erings was sprinkled by the lii^h priest, once u]i\vards and seven times downwards, first on the Holy of Holies, and after- wards upon the veil in the Holy Place : lastly, mixing the blood of the two victims, he put some of the mixture on the altar of incense, and poured out the remainder at the foot of the altar of burnt- oll'ering (vi. 1, 2). With regard to the two goats, we are told that they were to resemble one another as closely as possible ( vi. 1 ; cf . IJarnab. 7" 6/ioioi.s). The lots were made of boxwood, and afterwards of gold ; the high priest drew out one lot in each hand, and then tied a ' tongue ' of scarlet cloth * upon the neck of the goat destined for Azazel. Tlie words of the high priest's confession were, ' We beseech thee, O Lord, Thy [people, the house of Israel, have done iniquitously, trans- gressed, and sinned before Thee. We beseecli Thee, 0 Lord, forgive, now, the iniquities, tlie tran.sgressions, and the sins, wherein Thy people, the house of Israel, have done iniquitously, trans- gressed, and sinned before Thee ' (vi. 2). The goat was led away, accompanied by some of the noliles of Jerusalem ; and its arrival at a place which was regarded as the edge of the wilderness was sig- niilled back to the high jiriest in the temple. Finally, the goat was conducted by a single man to a steep place called Suk, where it was thrown backwards over the edge of the cliff, and riashed to pieces among the rocks (vi. 6-8). The site has been identified by Schick (ZDPV in. -IliVi.) with a crag near the village of B6t-liudi!dfln, on the road running through Bethany into the wilder- ness, 12 miles east of^.Ierusalem (see AZAZKI,).
The Day of Atonement represents the culminat- ing institution of the Levitical system. Not only, fioni a merely formal point of view, does Lv 16 form the climax of the sacrificial and purificatory ordinances contained in Lv 1-15, but the cere- monial itself is of a jieculiarly comprehensive and representative character. It was a yearly atone- ment for the nation as a whole (including the jiriests) ; and not only for the nation, but also for the sanctuary, in its various jiarts, in so far as this had been defiled <luriiig the jiast year by the sins of the people, in whose midst it stood. The sins thus atoned for must not, however, be sup- posed to be those committed 'with a high hand' (Nu 15*"-), i.e. defiantly and wilfully; luil sins of ignorance and frailty (d7i'o>i^aTa, He 9'), such as Imiiian nature, even when striving after God, is ever liable to.t
* nninj Sk* pc? : Rarnab. 7* r# i^,«, r« «•«»,•,.
t The Jews, aa Danz |aee od fin.], pp. 1010-1012, shows fron' the Mishna (.VA(!//«'of/i 1*1), MaimonideB (Comjne/if. on Vfliiui 4-), and Aharliunel (min.T L"1TD, Venice, 1584, fol. 2.11, col. 3, 1. 14 IT.), in view of the comprehcnBlve terms of Lv Ifllfl.ai.so, i,(,|,i that tlK- sairrillces of this <!ay made atonement for all sins of ever\ kiri'l, whether clone involuntarily or deliberately ; but thiB is all e.\a(;u'cratlon which is in conflict with the trenerai theory of the Jewish Biu'riflceB. The sin-offerinif made atonement only for sins committed 'In error,' i.«. accidentally ami involuntarilv (|,v 4X13.aw, Nu 15M-*), not for those committed 'with a hijrh hand'CNu i:fi«'), i.e. deflantly anil dclihenuely ; and it is in- credible. In Bplte of the terms of Lv 101" 21, that the Bacridci* of this day can have so far rleviated in principle from the ceneral theory of the priestly letrislation aa to have bi.'cn sup)>'>sed to atone, r.ij., for the sin of an inji>onitent nuinlerer. The cere, moniul of the Day of Atonement was desi|fnc<l in fact to elTeut
L'02
ATONEIVIENT, DAY OF
ATROTH-SHOPHAX
The ceremonial was enacted at the central sanctuary ; but the individual Israelites, by their abstention from labour and fasting, not only ex- pressed at the same time their hunuliation for sin, tint also signified their co-operation in the offices of the day ; provision was thus made for tlie ceremonial being more than a mere opus operatum. A.H it was the highest atoning ceremony of the year, the blood was not merely applied, as in other cases (Lv 4), to the altar of burnt-offering, or even to the altar of incense ; it was taken into the Holy of Holies, and sprinkled, not once only, but seven times, as close as possible to the place immediately associated with the presence of J" (Ex 25--, Isu 7**). Once a year the sins of the peojile were thus solemnly atoned for, and the nation's lost holiness was restored (v.*" ' to cleanse you : from all your sins shall ye be clean before J" '). The slain goat made atonement for the people's sins, and restored their peace and fellowship with God ; the goat over which the people's sins were confessed, and wliich was afterwards sent away to Azazel in the wilderness, symbolised visibly their complete removal from the nation's midst (Ps 103'^, Mic 7'^) : ' a life was given up for the altar, and yet a living being survived to carry away all sin and uncleanness ' : the entire ceremonial thus symbolised as completely as possible both the atonement for sin, and the entire removal of the cause of God's alienation.