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Welcome to Day 2406 of Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.\nThis is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom \u2013 Theology Thursday \u2013 There's a Devil in the Details \u2013 I Dare You Not To Bore Me With The Bible\nWisdom-Trek Podcast Script - Day 2406\n\nWelcome to Wisdom-Trek with Gramps! I am Guthrie Chamberlain, and we are on Day 2406 of our Trek. The Purpose of Wisdom-Trek is to create a legacy of wisdom, to seek out discernment and insights, and to boldly grow where few have chosen to grow before.\n\n \n\nToday is the eleventh lesson in our segment, Theology Thursday. Utilizing excerpts from a book titled: I Dare You Not To Bore Me With The Bible written by Hebrew Bible scholar and professor the late Dr. Michael S Heiser, we will invest a couple of years going through the entire Bible, exploring short Biblical lessons that you may not have received in Bible classes or Church.\n\nThe Bible is a wonderful book. Its pages reveal the epic story of God\u2019s redemption of humankind and the long, bitter conflict against evil. Yet it\u2019s also a book that seems strange to us. While God\u2019s Word was written for us, it wasn\u2019t written to us. Today, our lesson is, There\u2019s a Devil in the Details.\n\nYom Kippur, the Day of Atonement described in Leviticus 16, is a central element of the Jewish faith, even though it is not practiced today as it was in ancient times. Although many Christians have heard of the day, most would be startled to learn that a sinister figure lurks in the shadows of Leviticus 16.\n\nThe Day of Atonement ritual required a ram, a bull, and two goats (Lev 16:3- 5). The ram was for a burnt offering intended to please God (Lev 16:3-4). The bull, taken \u201cfrom the herd,\u201d served as a sin offering for Aaron, the high priest, and his family. In this case, the sin offering restored the priest to ritual purity, allowing him to occupy sacred space and be near God\u2019s presence. Curiously, two goats taken \u201cfrom the congregation\u201d were needed for the single sin offering for the people (Lev 16:5). Elsewhere, the sin offering involved only one animal (e.g., Lev 4:1-12). So why two goats?\n\nThe high priest would cast lots over the two goats, with one chosen as a sacrifice \u201cfor the Lord\u201d (Lev 16:8). The blood of that goat would purify the people. The second goat was not sacrificed or designated \u201cfor the Lord.\u201d On the contrary, this goat\u2014the one that symbolically carried the sins away from the camp of Israel into the wilderness\u2014was \u201cfor Azazel\u201d (Lev 16:8-10).\n\nThe Hebrew term azazel occurs four times in Leviticus 16 but nowhere else in the Bible. Many translations prefer to translate the term as a phrase, \u201cthe goat that goes away/\u2019 which is the same idea conveyed in the King James Version\u2019s \u201cscapegoat.\u201d Other translations treat the word as a name: Azazel. The \u201cscapegoat\u201d option is possible, but since the phrase \u201cfor Azazel\u201d parallels the phrase \u201cfor Yahweh\u201d (\u201cfor the Lord\u201d), the wording suggests that two divine figures are being contrasted by the two goats.\n\nA strong case can be made for translating the term as the name Azazel. Ancient Jewish texts show that Azazel was understood as a demonic figure associated with the wilderness.- The Mishnah (ca. ad 200; Yoma 6:6) records that the goat for Azazel was led to a cliff and pushed over, ensuring it would die and not return. This association of the wilderness with evil is also evident in the New Testament, as this was where Jesus met the devil (Matt 4:1). Also, in Leviticus 17:1-7 we learn...