Azazel is a disputed term in the Day of Atonement ritual of Leviticus 16 and the name of a rebellious figure in 1 Enoch. These passages belong to different works and should be read separately before their stories are combined.
Azazel in Leviticus 16
In Leviticus 16:8–10 and 20–22, lots distinguish two goats. One is assigned to the Lord; the other is sent into the wilderness after the people’s wrongdoings are confessed over it. English translations differ in how they render Azazel, including whether to preserve the word or use “scapegoat.”
The ritual passage does not describe a winged angel teaching forbidden arts. Questions about the term’s meaning and the destination of the goat are therefore different from questions about the character in Enoch.
A rabbinic discussion of the name
Yoma 67b preserves more than one explanation. One connects Azazel with the rough, hard place to which the goat is taken. Another associates the rite with the wrongdoing of Uzza and Azael.
These are attributed interpretations within the discussion. They do not establish a single uncontested etymology. In particular, the presence of Uzza and Azael together is not a reason to turn both names into automatic spelling aliases of Azazel.
Azazel in the Book of Enoch
In 1 Enoch 8:1–2, R. H. Charles’s translation names Azazel as a teacher of weapons, metalworking, ornaments, and cosmetics. The narrative connects the revelation of this knowledge with corruption among human beings.
In 1 Enoch 10:4–8, Raphael is commanded to bind Azazel and confine him in Dudael until judgment. The account is a story about rebellion, harmful teaching, and punishment; its imagery is not a description of a universally accepted angelic office.
Azazel and Semyaza
The same collection also tells of Semyaza and the Watchers. The punishment in chapter 10 distinguishes Raphael’s commission concerning Azazel from Michael’s commission concerning Semyaza and his companions. It is clearer to follow the named characters in each passage than to substitute “Satan” for every adversarial figure.
Because the meaning and relationships of these names are disputed, a short English name meaning should not be used to decide their identity. Azazel, Azael, and Azza remain distinct wherever the sources have not established their relationship.
Explore related entries
Continue with Semyaza, Raphael, the fallen-angel catalogue, or our guide to sources and traditions.