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The Day of Atonement - part 1

Hebrew: Yom(yome) Kippur(kip-poor')

ATONEMENT - definition

The word "atonement" is used many times in this study. So, it may be helpful to understand what it means. In Noah Webster's 1828 Dictionary, we find three definitions:

  1. Agreement; concord; reconciliation, after enmity or controversy.

    • "... we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement." Romans 5:11 {Notice that it is by Jesus that we receive atonement.}

  2. Expiation; satisfaction or reparation made by giving an equivalent for an injury, or by doing or suffering that which is received in satisfaction for an offense or injury; with for.

    • "And Moses said to Aaron, go to the altar, and offer your sin-offering, and your burnt-offering, and make an atonement for yourself and for the people. Leviticus 9:7." {Notice that it was Aaron, the High Priest that made atonement for the children of Israel. This was symbolic of Jesus, who makes atonement for us, as our High Priest.}

  3. In theology, the expiation of sin made {possible} by the obedience and personal sufferings of Christ.

I will add that atonement, in the Torah, took place at the "mercy-seat", which is on top of the Ark of the Covenant.

You may wonder what was stored inside the Ark of the Covenant. According to Hebrews 9:4, the Ark contained: "a golden pot that had manna, Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tablets of the covenant(the 10 Commandments, written in stone by Jehovah)." However, by the time of 1 Kings 8:9, when the Ark was placed in Solomon’s temple, it says: "There was nothing in the ark except the two tablets of stone." See also Exodus 16:32-34; Numbers 17:8 .

What is the Day of Atonement?

The Day of Atonement, also known as Yom Kippur, is one of the most sacred and solemn days in the Bible. It is described primarily in Leviticus 16 and Leviticus 23:26-32 , and its purpose is to atone for the sins of the people of Israel.

  1. Annual Observance( Leviticus 23:26-32 ) on the 10th day of the 7th month (Tishrei in the Hebrew calendar). It is a Sabbath of solemn rest and involves fasting and self-denial.

  2. Atonement Rituals( Leviticus 16:1-34 ): The High Priest (originally Aaron) entered the most holy place, which was the innermost part of the tabernacle or temple—only on this one day once each year. He offered sacrifices to atone for his own sins and then for the sins of the people.

  3. Purpose: The goal was spiritual cleansing—to purify the people and the sanctuary from the defilement of sin. It emphasized that atonement came through sacrifice, pointing forward to Christ's sacrifice of Himself.

  4. Holiness and Reverence: The people were commanded to “afflict their souls”( Lev16:31;23:27 ), traditionally interpreted as fasting in humility. Work was strictly prohibited.

  5. Theological Significance: Yom Kippur became the culmination of the Ten Days of Repentance, beginning with Rosh Hashanah. The Day of Atonement is a foreshadowing of Jesus Christ’s atoning death, especially as described in Hebrews 9:11-28, where Jesus is the ultimate High Priest entering the heavenly sanctuary.

Day of Atonement in Leviticus 16

Leviticus 16:2 Jehovah said to Moses, Warn your brother, Aaron, not to enter the Most Holy Place behind the veil whenever he chooses; if he does, he will die. For the Ark’s cover - the place of atonement - the mercy-seat - is there, and I myself am present in the cloud above the atonement cover.

This is a photo of a reproduction of the Ark of the Covenant. The cherubim(angels) with out-stretched wings are standing on the "mercy-seat", where Jehovah's presence was in a "cloud".

Photo is the copyright of Jeremy Park, Bible-Scenes.com, but is freely available at freebibleimages.org

More about the angels(cherubim), from Jehovah, speaking to Moses => Exodus 25:18-22 Then make two cherubim from hammered gold, and place them on the two ends of the mercy-seat. 19 Mold the cherubim on each end of the atonement cover, making it all of one piece of gold. 20 The cherubim will face each other and look down on the mercy-seat. With their wings spread above it, they will protect it. 21 Place inside the Ark the testimony which I will give to you. Then put the mercy-seat on top of the Ark. 22 I will meet with you there and talk to you from above the mercy-seat between the gold cherubim that hover over the Ark of the Covenant. From there I will give you my commands for the people of Israel.

Psalm 99:1: Jehovah reigns; let the peoples tremble! He dwells between the cherubim; let the earth be moved!

Leviticus 16:3-5 When Aaron enters the sanctuary area, he must follow these instructions fully. He must bring a young bull for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering. 4 He must put on his linen tunic and the linen undergarments worn next to his body. He must tie the linen sash around his waist and put the linen turban on his head. These are sacred garments, so he must bathe himself in water before he puts them on. 5 And he shall take of the congregation of the children of Israel two male goats for a sin-offering, and one ram for a burnt-offering.

Note that the "young bull" was from Aaron's possession, since it is for the sins of himself and his family. But the "male goats" and the "ram" were from "the congregation of the children of Israel", because those animals where for their benefit.

Leviticus 16:6-10 And Aaron shall present the young bull of the sin-offering, which is for himself, and make atonement for himself, and for his house. 7 And he shall take the two goats, and set them before Jehovah at the door of the Tabernacle . 8 And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats; one lot for Jehovah, and the other lot for Azazel{interpreted "scapegoat" in the KJV}. 9 And Aaron shall present the goat upon which the lot fell for Jehovah, and offer him for a sin-offering. 10 But the goat upon which the lot fell for Azazel shall be set alive before Jehovah, to make atonement with it, to send it away as Azazel into the wilderness.

Who or what is Azazel?! This Hebrew word was translated "Scapegoat" in the KJV and other translations, but what does that mean? For centuries, scholars have debated this question. There are several theories:

Some think that "Azazel" is a place - the wilderness to which it was taken to and released(Vs.10,21-22). The New Living Translation(NLT) seems to agree with this idea, as shown in Vs.8 in the NLT. However, most Bible translations phrase it as representing a person. I think this is true. But what person was it representing?

Some think that "Azazel" represents the person of Jesus. Why? Because Hebrews 13:12 says, "... Jesus suffered and died outside the city gates to make his people holy by means of his own blood." This sounds logical, but there's at least one problem with this theory: Who was the other goat for? Jehovah God(Vs.8). It was His goat. According to the New Testament, who was the lamb of God? Jesus! We can see that in many texts. Here are some => Jn1:29,36;1Pet1:18-19;Rev5:6;7:17;13:8 . We also know that Jesus was the Passover Lamb => Is53:7;1Cor5:7 . So, it makes no sense to me that both of those goats represent Jesus. Furthermore, Jesus was represented by all of the sin-offerings. We will see that the blood from the sin-offerings(Christ's blood in reality) was transferred from the animal to the sanctuary and once/year transferred from the sanctuary to Azazel, by the High Priest, who is Christ in reality => Hebrews2:17-18;4:14-15;5:6;9:12-14 .

So, if Azazel is not the name of a wilderness and it is not a reference to Jesus, then Who Does It Represent? By His blood sacrifice on the cross, Jesus certainly did make atonement for us, as represented by the "sin-offerings" in the temple of old. See "Why Animal Sacrifices Were Needed" in a previous study. When He died, our sins(blood) were transferred from Jesus(the sin-offering) to the Sanctuary(temple), sprinkled on the mercy seat. This made atonement/forgiveness for our sins. But, according to the teaching of the Torah, our sin, symbolized by blood, remains in the Sanctuary until the end when it is transferred, by our High Priest, to Azazel, the scapegoat. And what happens to Azazel who holds our sins? He is led away to an uninhabited land(wilderness) to eventually die.

We will learn more about Azazel, the scapegoat, including its real identity, in the next study - part 2 of the Day of Atonement.

Returning now to Lev16, starting with verse 11, we will see more detail about what we saw in the first 10 verses...

Leviticus 16:11-14 And Aaron will present the {young(vs.3)}bull of the sin-offering, which is for himself, and shall make atonement for himself, and for his house, and will kill the bull of the sin-offering which is for himself. 12 He will fill an incense burner with burning coals from the altar that stands before Jehovah, and his hands full of sweet incense beaten small, and bring it behind the veil{the Most Holy Place}. 13 There in Jehovah's presence he will put the incense on the burning coals so that a cloud of incense will rise over the Ark’s cover—the mercy-seat—that rests on the Ark of the Covenant that covers the testimony. If he follows these instructions, he will not die. 14 and he shall take of the blood of the bull, and sprinkle it with his finger upon the east side of the mercy-seat and before{in front of} the mercy-seat shall he sprinkle of the blood with his finger seven times.

Consider all that Aaron had to do for himself and his family, before he was able to work on behalf of the people of Israel(vs.15):

    1. Aaron had to "bathe in water"(vs.4).
    2. Aaron had to wear special "sacred garments" in order to enter "within the veil"(vs.4). I think this is symbolic, in that those garments covered his sins, like "Putting on the Robe of Christ's Righteousness" (Bible Study).
    3. Aaron had to kill his own "young bull", as a sin-offering for himself and his family(vs.3,6,11).
    4. Aaron had to have "his hands full of sweet incense" and put it "on the burning coals so that a cloud of incense will rise over" the mercy-seat in the presence of Jehovah(vs.2,12-13).
    5. Aaron had to take the blood of his now-dead "young bull" and sprinkle it on the mercy seat with "his finger". This was symbolic of transferring his and his family's sins to the mercy seat in the Sanctuary.

By doing all of this, Aaron was now able to stand before Jehovah with his sins covered/forgiven, ready to make atonement also for the children of Israel, as we will see in the following verses.

Let this be a lesson for us. Before we can effectually witness to others, we must deal with our own sins first. Jesus said to deal with the plank in our own eye before trying to remove the speck from someone else's eye ( Matthew 7:1-5 ) and 1 John 1:9 says, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

Now, for dealing with those sins that most easily beset us( Heb12:1-4 ), see also how to best-use your will power to overcome temptation => http://sidnash.org/Bible/WillPower/

Leviticus 16:15-19 Then Aaron must kill the goat{for Jehovah(vs.8-9)} as a sin-offering for the people, and carry its blood behind the veil{the Most Holy Place}. There he will sprinkle the goat's blood over the mercy-seat and in front of it, just as he did with the bull’s blood. 16 And he will make atonement for the Holy Place, and so shall he do for the Tabernacle, that dwelleth with them in the midst of their defilement. 17 No one else is allowed inside the Tabernacle when Aaron goes in to make atonement in the Holy Place. No one may enter until he comes out again after making atonement for himself, his family, and all the congregation of Israel, making them right with Jehovah. 18 And he shall go out unto the altar that is before Jehovah, and make atonement for it, and shall take of the blood of the bull, and of the blood of the goat, and put it upon the horns of the altar round about. 19 Then he must sprinkle the blood with his finger seven times over the altar. In this way, he will cleanse it{the alter} from Israel’s defilement and make it holy.

In verses 15-19, we see Aaron making atonement for:

    1. "the people", with the blood of the goat for Jehovah and sprinkled the blood on the mercy-seat.
    2. "the Holy Place".
    3. "the Tabernacle".
    4. "the altar", outside of the Tabernacle, where the sacrifices were previously made. Aaron put blood from the bull and the goat on the "horns of the altar" and then "over the altar". By this, he symbolically cleanses the altar from Israel's sins, which had previously been transferred from the people to the animals which were sacrificed on this alter previously. You can see an artist's conception of this alter with the "horns" on the corners, as seen below:

Photo is the copyright of Jeremy Park, Bible-Scenes.com

Summary:

The Day of Atonement is a divinely instituted holy day for the cleansing of sin through sacrifice, symbolizing Jehovah's mercy and love for this fallen planet, by sending His only-born Son to live as our example and be sacrificed to atone for our sins.

In the next study, we will continue in Leviticus 16, starting in verse 20, as we try to understand more about azazel - the scapegoat.

Desiring to live by every word that comes from the mouth of Jehovah ( Deut8:3; Matt4:4 )

-Sid Nash: 05/24/2025. Latest version: http://sidnash.org/docs/Atonement-1.html