Verse Lens · Expanded explanation
Leviticus 16:8 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 8. 8And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats; one lot for the LORD, and the other lot for the scapegoat.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
This verse assigns the goats by lot, one to the LORD and one to Azazel.
Read It With
- Leviticus 16:1-10
Use 16:1-10 as the reading frame for Leviticus 16:8. The verse assigns the goats by lot, one to the LORD and one to Azazel, while the complete unit shows that Aaron may not enter the inner sanctuary at will; washing, linen clothing, offerings, incense, and lots assign one goat to the LORD and one for Azazel.
Why This Verse Appears Here
Placed here, the verse assigns the goats by lot, one to the LORD and one to Azazel; Leviticus 16:1-10 supplies the actors, category, and outcome needed to interpret it.
Follow the Context
- The unit opens the case or movement named “After the priestly deaths, Aaron prepares and two goats are assigned.”
- Aaron may not enter the inner sanctuary at will; washing, linen clothing, offerings, incense, and lots assign one goat to the LORD and one for Azazel.
- Azazel's identity and the lot ritual remain disputed; neither supports demon invocation or occult practice. That boundary keeps ritual status, moral guilt, ancient description, enduring truth, and modern application from being collapsed.
Phrase-by-Phrase Explanation
“scapegoat”
In plain language: The KJV renders the goat assigned by lot to Azazel.
One goat is offered to the LORD and the other is sent alive into the wilderness.
Why it matters: Azazel's identity and the expression's history remain disputed.
How certain? probableWhat This Verse Is Not Saying
Leviticus 16:8 does not stand apart from Leviticus 16:1-10; azazel's identity and the lot ritual remain disputed; neither supports demon invocation or occult practice.
What Remains True
Assigns the goats by lot, one to the LORD and one to Azazel. Within Leviticus 16:1-10, this contributes to the larger claim that Aaron may not enter the inner sanctuary at will; washing, linen clothing, offerings, incense, and lots assign one goat to the LORD and one for Azazel.
How It Can Shape Life
- When teaching Leviticus 16:8, keep the verse inside Leviticus 16:1-10. Hold this boundary: Azazel's identity and the lot ritual remain disputed; neither supports demon invocation or occult practice. Apply only the noncoercive truth the complete unit supports.
Teach It Back
Explain Leviticus 16:8's contribution to Leviticus 16:1-10. Name the category involved, what the surrounding verses add, any material uncertainty, and what the verse does not authorize.
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Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read Leviticus 16:1-10 — After the priestly deaths, Aaron prepares and two goats are assignedSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? probable
Where care is needed
Interpreters disagree over Priestly and Holiness composition, legal scope, ancient enforcement, kinship structures, sexual acts and rationales, moral versus ritual categories, resident-outside status, and how Jews and Christians should reason from these texts today. Material alternatives are stated without pretending the ethical stakes disappear.
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact reader-facing KJV wording, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage for this thought unit.
Exact location: Leviticus 16:1-10, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Leviticus
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Hebrew wording, morphology, ritual and legal vocabulary, names, clause relationships, KJV language controls, and translation limits.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Lev.xml, Masoretic words and morphology for 16:1-10
Open source ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible: Leviticus with translators' notes
Biblical Studies Press
eBible.org distribution of the NET Bible, PDF generated 2025-12-31
Supports: Unit-bounded translator notes on Hebrew, syntax, ritual vocabulary, measures, textual questions, and older-English wording; silence is not treated as evidence.
Exact location: NET Bible Leviticus PDF, complete PDF pp. 1-99, translation and translator notes for 16:1-10
Open source ↗