עֲזָאזֵל / לְעַזָּאזֵל (Azazel / le-azazel) — Azazel; go to hell
Etymology
The word עזאזל appears in the Hebrew Bible only in Leviticus 16, as part of the Yom Kippur ritual. The High Priest cast lots over two identical goats: one designated "for the LORD" was slaughtered and its blood sprinkled in the Holy of Holies; the other, "for Azazel," was led alive into the wilderness and hurled from a cliff to its death. This ritual is the origin of the English idiom "scapegoat" — a calque of the Septuagint's translation of עזאזל as "the goat that is sent away."
The meaning of עזאזל was disputed from antiquity. The Talmud explains it as "the harshest of mountains" (Yoma 67b), treating it as a place name. The Septuagint and Vulgate also treated it as referring to "the goat sent to freedom." Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra (1089–1164) hinted at a deeper secret without stating it plainly: "If you can understand the secret that lies after the word azazel, you will know its secret and the secret of its name, for it has companions in Scripture — I will reveal a small part of the secret in a hint: when you are 33, you will know it." The Ramban (Nahmanides, 1194–1270) decoded this: counting 33 verses from the first appearance of עזאזל in Leviticus 16:10 leads to Leviticus 17:7, which mentions offerings to "goat-demons." The implication — which ibn Ezra could not state openly — was that Azazel was a supernatural being, a desert demon, and that the ritual was a form of tribute to him. Ramban carefully distinguished this from idolatry: the Israelites were following divine command, not worshipping the demon independently.
In the Second Temple period, the name appears in its original form עזזאל in the Samaritan Pentateuch, the Dead Sea Scrolls, and the apocryphal books of Jubilees and 1 Enoch. The metathesis (switching of letters) to עזאזל was apparently designed to conceal the divine element אל (God) in the name. According to 1 Enoch, Azazel was a fallen angel who taught humanity to make swords and weapons, and revealed the secrets of cosmetics and jewelry — a Promethean figure of corrupting knowledge.
The phrase "לך לעזאזל" as a curse was first documented by Rabbi Yair Hayyim Bacharach (1638–1701), who recorded a mother striking her son and shouting "Go to Azazel in the wilderness!" The phrase spread after appearing multiple times in Abraham Mapu's novel Ayit Tzavua (1857). Its most famous moment came in 1927, when the poet Bialik, scolded for speaking Yiddish in public, shouted "לך לעזאזל!" at the young activist who rebuked him. The activist sued Bialik for insult; Bialik defended himself in court by arguing the phrase refers simply to a mountain in the Judean desert. The case was dropped.
Key Quotes
"ואם יכולת להבין הסוד שהוא אחר מילת 'עזאזל' תדע סודו וסוד שמו כי יש לו חברים במקרא, ואני אגלה לך קצת הסוד ברמז: בהיותך בן 33 תדענו" — אברהם אבן עזרא
"אפשר שהמלה חריפה קצת לפי הפירוש הרגיל של מלה זו בשוק, אבל לפי פירושה המדויק והאמיתי הוא שם הר במדבר, לא רחוק מירושלים מהלך שתיים שלוש שעות במדבר יהודה" — חיים נחמן ביאליק, כתב הגנה, 1927
"ועזזאל למד את האנשים לעשות חרבות ומאכלות ומגנים ושריונים" — חנוך א׳, ח׳ א׳
Timeline
- Biblical period: Leviticus 16 prescribes the Yom Kippur scapegoat ritual
- Second Temple period: Name עזזאל appears in Samaritan Pentateuch, Dead Sea Scrolls (e.g., 11Q13), 1 Enoch, and Book of Jubilees as a fallen angel
- ~3rd century BCE: Septuagint translates עזאזל as "the goat sent away to freedom," misreading it as a description
- Late antiquity: Talmud (Yoma 67b) explains Azazel as "the harshest of mountains"
- 12th century: Ibn Ezra hints at the demonic interpretation without stating it
- 13th century: Nahmanides decodes ibn Ezra's hint and explains the ritual as token tribute to a desert demon
- Late 17th century: First documented use of "לך לעזאזל" as a curse, in Havvat Yair by Rabbi Yair Hayyim Bacharach
- 1857: Abraham Mapu uses the phrase multiple times in Ayit Tzavua, spreading it among Hebrew readers
- 1927: The Bialik court case brings the phrase to its peak of cultural prominence
Related Words
- שָׂעִיר לַעֲזָאזֵל — the scapegoat (Leviticus 16)
- שָׂעִיר — he-goat; also the name for goat-demons (Leviticus 17:7)
- עזזאל — the original form of the name in Samaritan Pentateuch and Dead Sea Scrolls
- תְּעַלָּה — possibly related topographical term for a ravine or pit