And Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the
live
goat
In this order as the Targum of Jonathan says, his right hand upon
his left hand on the head of the live goat; this was done in the
name of the people, hereby transferring their sins, and the
punishment of them, to it:
and confess him all the iniquities of the children of
Israel, and all
their transgressions in all their sins;
which takes in their sins, greater or lesser, sins of ignorance
and presumption, known or not known F24, even all sorts of and
all of them: the form of confession used in after times was this
F25; O Lord, thy people, the house of
Israel, have done perversely, have transgressed sinned berate
thee, O Lord, expiate now the iniquities, transgressions, and
sins, in which thy people, the house of Israel, have done
perversely, transgressed, and sinned before thee, as it is
written in the law of Moses thy servant (( Leviticus
16:30 ) ;) and it is added, and the priests and people that
stood in the court, when they heard the name Jehovah go out of
the mouth of the high priest, they bowed, and worshipped, and
fell upon their faces, and said, blessed be God, let the glory of
his kingdom be for ever and ever:
putting them upon the head of the goat;
that is, the iniquities, transgressions, and sins of the people
of Israel before confessed, and that by confession of them, with
imposition of hands; and which was typical of the imputation of
the sins of the people of God to Christ, of the Lord laying, or
causing to meet on him the iniquities of them all, and of his
being made sin by imputation for them:
and shall send [him] away by the hand of a fit man into
the
wilderness;
whether the wilderness of Judea, or what other is intended, is
not certain. The Targum of Jonathan calls it the wilderness of
Zuck; which, according to the Misnah F26, was three miles from
Jerusalem, at the entrance of the wilderness; and whereas in
another Misnah F1, instead of Bethchadudo, Bethhoron
is mentioned, which is said also to be three miles from
Jerusalem: it is not an improbable conjecture of Dr. Lightfoot
F2, that the goat was sent in the way
to Bethhoron, which was the same distance from Jerusalem as the
other place was, in the northern coast of Judea, and had very
rough hills about it, and a narrow passage to it. The man, by
whom he was sent, was one fit for the purpose, that knew the way
to the wilderness, and was acquainted with it; a man of years and
understanding, and of a disposition suitable for such a service;
the Septuagint version renders it one that was "ready"; and the
Targums, one that was "prepared" to go, or "appointed", and got
ready; Jarchi says, the day before; but the Targum of Jonathan a
year ago: perhaps it designs one, that being once appointed, was
continued, and so was used to it from time to time, and
constantly did it: the phrase properly signifies "a man of time"
or "opportunity" F3; Aben Ezra finds fault with those
who render it a wise man, but observes, that some of their
Rabbins say it was a priest that led the goat to the wilderness,
which he approves of; according to the Misnah F4, all
were fit for this service (formerly common and unclean), but what
the high priest did (afterwards) was fixed, and they did not
suffer an Israelite to lead him (i.e. a common Israelite, one
that was not a priest); according to the Talmud F5, even a
stranger, and an unclean person, was fit for this service. In the
mystical sense, by this fit man, or man of opportunity, is not
meant, according to Abarbinel, Nebuchadnezzar, who led the
children of Israel into the wilderness of the people, into the
Babylonish captivity; but rather, if it could be understood of
Christ being sent, and carried into the wilderness of the Gentile
world, upon his resurrection and ascension to heaven, the Apostle
Paul might be thought of; who was a chosen vessel to carry his
name there, and was eminently the apostle of the Gentiles: but
seeing by Azazel, to whom this goat was let go, Satan seems to be
meant; if, as some think F6, Christ was baptized on the day of
atonement, and on that day was led by the Spirit to the
wilderness of Judea, there to be tempted of the devil, that might
be considered as a very singular accomplishment of the type; and
the Jews seem to expect the Messiah on the day of atonement
F7: or rather, as Witsius F8
observes, the hand of the fit man may denote the power that rose
up against Christ, namely, the Gentiles and the people of Israel,
and particularly Pilate, who took care that Christ, burdened with
the cross, an emblem of the curse, should be led without the
gate, where he had his last conflict with the devil; (See Gill
on
Leviticus 16:10). This is applied to Pilate by Origen
F9.