Another view is that the goat of Azazel is not a type of Christ at all.  This

interpretation holds that it symbolizes the unbeliever, who is sent away from the presence

of the Lord bearing his sin, and Barabbas is mentioned as the antitype of the goat whose

life was spared. Taking this last view first, we cannot accept it because of the simple

statement in Lev. 16: 5: "Take two kids of the goats for a sin offering." Surely, if the

Lord intended us to understand that only one of the goats was a type of the Lord's

offering, this statement would have been qualified. The fact that no one knew which goat

would be for the Lord and which for Azazel necessitated that they should both be without

blemish, and therefore types of Christ.

Let us now examine the Scripture afresh, and go back, beyond modern speculation, to

the interpretations of earlier times.  The Latin Vulgate renders Azazel by Hircus

emmisarius, which means "a goat for sending away". The LXX translates Azazel by

apopompaios, which is a word made up of apo, "away" and pempo, "to send". In

non-biblical usage this word meant "the turner away", "the averter", and carried with it

a good deal of superstition, but there is no reason for rejecting the simple meaning of the

LXX, "the sent away". Now "the goat for sending away" is the literal meaning of the

Hebrew words Az Azel. Az is a Hebrew word for "goat" and is so translated in the A.V.

fifty-five times. In five other places it is translated "she goat" and once "kid". Some find

difficulty here, as the "kids" taken in Lev. 16: 5 are not "she goats". On the other hand

there are two words available when "he goats" are to be specified, attud (Numb. 7: 17

and in sixteen other places), and tsaphir (II Chron. 29: 21 and in four other places).

The words used in Lev. 16: are more general, and do not constitute a legitimate

objection. Azel is the verb, "to send away". With the simple etymology of the word

before us, coupled with the ancient testimony of the Septuagint, of Symmachus,

of Aquila and of the Latin Vulgate, we believe the A.V. is correct and that the goat for

Azazel is the goat for sending away, the "escape" goat, the one set free.

This live goat is atoned for. Verse 10 reads, "to make an atonement with him". There

are some who uphold this rendering, but as the same preposition is used in verses 6, 16

and 18 it must be rendered similarly, "to make an atonement for him". The note in

The Companion Bible on Lev. 16: 10 is as follows:--

The two goats are therefore to be considered together as exhibiting God's method of

dealing with His people's sin. The idea expressed by some, that the live goat symbolizes

those whose sins are unforgiven is disposed of by the following facts:--

First, the goat on whom the Lord's lot fell is killed; its blood makes atonement.