H5799 — עֲזָאזֵל (azazel)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: H5799
Original: עֲזָאזֵל
Transliteration: ʻăzâʼzêl
Pronunciation: az-aw-zale'
Part of Speech: Masculine noun
Root: From H5795 עֵז (ez, goat) + H235 אָזַל (azal, to go away / disappear) — "goat of departure"
Occurrences: 4 tokens in 3 verses (OT only; all in Lev 16)
First Occurrence: Lev 16:8 — "one lot for the LORD, and the other lot for the scapegoat"
Hapax Legomenon: Near-hapax — 4 occurrences confined to a single chapter (Lev 16)

Lexicon Definition¶

From H5795 (עֵז, goat) and H235 (אָזַל, to go away, disappear); goat of departure; the scapegoat. KJV gloss: scapegoat.

BDB analysis: the compound form suggests complete removal or utter dismissal. The word functions as both a name for the ritual goat and as a description of its role — the goat designated for total removal of sin from the community.

Note: Modern translations (ESV, NASB, NIV) often transliterate as Azazel, treating it as a proper name — either a desert demon or a rugged cliff. The KJV and the LXX (ἀποπομπαῖος, one sent away) both treat it as a descriptive term for the ritual, not a personal name.

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Verses	%
scapegoat	3	100%

Note: The KJV renders all 3 verses as "scapegoat." All 4 tokens fall in the same chapter (Lev 16:8 ×2, 16:10, 16:26).

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
Leviticus	3	0.3

Confined entirely to Lev 16 (the Day of Atonement chapter). No occurrences outside this chapter.

Semantic Categories¶

1. The Lot Designation — One of Two Fates¶

In the Day of Atonement ritual, Aaron casts lots to assign one goat to the LORD and the other to azazel. The two goats together represent a complete disposal of sin — one by blood, one by removal.

Lev 16:8 — "And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats; one lot for the LORD, and the other lot for the scapegoat."

2. The Living Goat Presented and Sent Away¶

The azazel-goat is not slaughtered. It is first presented alive before the LORD — entering the sacred ceremony — then sent into the wilderness. This distinguishes it from the sin-offering goat (Lev 16:9).

Lev 16:10 — "But the goat, on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat, shall be presented alive before the LORD, to make an atonement with him, and to let him go for a scapegoat into the wilderness."

3. Ritual Defilement of the Handler¶

The man who releases the goat must undergo full purification before re-entering the camp. The goat bears the community's sins out, but the contact imparts ritual uncleanness to its handler.

Lev 16:26 — "And he that let go the goat for the scapegoat shall wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in water, and afterward come into the camp."

Common Collocations¶

With only 3 verses, statistical collocations are not meaningful. Key theologically significant co-occurring terms:

Word	Strong's	Co-vv	Typical Pattern
כָּפַר (kaphar)	H3722	1x	"to make an atonement with him" (Lev 16:10)
מִדְבָּר (midbar)	H4057	1x	"into the wilderness" — the goat's destination
חַי (chay)	H2416	1x	"presented alive before the LORD" (Lev 16:10)

Word Family / Cognates¶

H5795 עֵז (ez) — she-goat; first root component (74 OT occurrences); connects azazel to all goat vocabulary in Levitical law
H235 אָזַל (azal) — to go away, disappear; second root component (6 OT occurrences: Deut 32:36; 1 Sam 9:7; Job 14:11; Prov 20:14; Jer 2:36; Ezek 27:19)

H5375 נָשָׂא (nasa) — to bear, carry; Lev 16:22 uses nasa for the goat "bearing" the iniquities away — the function of the azazel-goat described in the same chapter
H3722 כָּפַר (kaphar) — to make atonement; the ritual purpose stated in Lev 16:10 alongside azazel
H3725 כִּפֻּר (kippur) — atonement; Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) is the occasion for this entire ritual
H3727 כַּפֹּרֶת (kapporeth) — mercy seat; the other focal object of the Lev 16 Day of Atonement ceremony

Synonyms¶

No direct synonyms were returned by search_relationships.py for H5799.

Antonyms¶

H3068 יְהוָה (YHWH) — returned by search_relationships.py from the ritual opposition in Lev 16:8, where one lot is "for the LORD" and the other "for azazel"; this is a liturgical contrast, not a broad lexical antonym.

Semantic Domains¶

UBS / Relationship Domains¶

[003001012] Names of Supernatural Beings — the relationship tool groups ʻăzâʼzêl with proper-name readings alongside H1403, H4317, and H7854, reflecting later/name-based interpretation rather than the KJV's descriptive "scapegoat" rendering.

LXX Mapping¶

The LXX does not transliterate azazel. Instead it renders it ἀποπομπαῖος (apopompaios, "one sent away / the sent-away one"), a word used only in Lev 16. This Greek term does not appear elsewhere in the LXX or NT, providing no cross-testament trace.

Tool output (search_strongs.py --lxx-map) returned only sentence-level particles (καί, ὁ), confirming the word has no reusable Greek semantic equivalent in the LXX corpus.