Apocalyptic Scapegoat Traditions in the Book of Revelation

And further the Lord said to Raphael: “Bind Asael by his hands and his feet, and
throw him into the darkness. And split open the desert which is in Dudael, and
throw him there. And throw on him jagged and sharp stones, and cover him with
darkness; and let him stay there forever, and cover his face, that he may not see
light, and that on the great day of judgment he may be hurled into the fire."
1 Enoch 10:4-6

The Demise of the Scapegoat in Rabbinic and Patristic Accounts

There are striking differences between the classic description of the scapegoat ritual found in Leviticus 16 and later renderings of this rite in rabbinic and early Christian authors. Several enigmatic additions to the Levitical blueprint of the scapegoat ritual appear in later interpretations of this rite found in mishnaic, targumic, and talmudic accounts, especially in the description of the conclusion of the scapegoat ceremony. Some of these accounts insist that in the final moments of the ritual in the wilderness the crimson band of the scapegoat was removed and then placed back onto the animal. The scapegoat was then pushed off the cliff by its handler. These traditions are not attested in the biblical description of Leviticus, yet they figure into many rabbinic and early Christian interpretations. Take, for example, Mishnah Yoma 6:6:

What did he do? He divided the thread of crimson wool and tied one half to the rock and the other half between its horns, and he pushed it from behind; and it went rolling down, and before it had reached half the way down the hill it was broken in pieces.¹

This account depicts the climax of the scapegoat ceremony, in which the scapegoat’s handler strips away the infamous crimson band from the cultic animal and then, according to the Mishnah, the band was divided into two pieces, one of which was tied to a rock, and the other bound again around the animal’s horns. Scholars have previously suggested that the scarlet band² here represents an impure garment, or more specifically, an attire of sins,³ which the cultic animal was predestined to carry into an uninhabitable realm, in this case, the wilderness.⁴ Loosing the cultic band at the end of the rite might signify the forgiveness of the Israelites’ sins,⁵ since, in some Jewish accounts, the imagery of untying is closely connected to the forgiveness of transgressions.⁶

The aforementioned mishnaic passage also hints at the fact that the final destination of the scapegoat’s exile was not merely the desert, as described in Leviticus 16, but rather the underworld or abyss, the descent to which being symbolically expressed through the action of pushing the animal off a cliff. This tradition of the unusual demise of the atoning agent is attested in a panoply of rabbinic sources.⁷ Early Christian testimonies reflected in the Epistle of Barnabas,⁸ Justin Martyr,⁹ and Tertullian¹⁰ are also cognizant of the peculiar details of the final demise of the scapegoat in the wilderness.

The Demise of the Eschatological Scapegoat in Jewish Apocalypticism

I previously argued that these additions to the scapegoat ritual found in rabbinic and early Christian sources — including the motifs of the scapegoat’s binding, the hurling of the scapegoat off a cliff, and the alteration of its garment of sins represented by the crimson band immediately before its death — all stem from the eschatological reinterpretations of the scapegoat rite found in some early Jewish apocalyptic writings, including, the Book of the Watchers, the Animal Apocalypse, and the Apocalypse of Abraham.¹¹ In these accounts, which were written earlier than the aforementioned rabbinic and patristic testimonies, one finds a striking refashioning of the traditional atoning rite, where the scapegoat’s features are transferred to an otherworldly antagonist bearing the name “Asael” or “Azazel.”

One of the earliest apocalyptic reinterpretations of the scapegoat ritual in Jewish tradition can be found in the Book of the Watchers, in which the story of the cultic gatherer of impurities receives a novel conceptual makeup. This early Enochic booklet refashions the scapegoat rite in an angelological way, incorporating details from the sacrificial ritual into the story of its main antagonist, the fallen angel Asael. 1 Enoch 10:4-7 presents a striking depiction laden with familiar sacerdotal details:

And further the Lord said to Raphael: “Bind Asael by his hands and his feet, and throw him into the darkness. And split open the desert which is in Dudael, and throw him there. And throw on him jagged and sharp stones, and cover him with darkness; and let him stay there forever, and cover his face, that he may not see light, and that on the great day of judgment he may be hurled into the fire. And restore the earth which the angels have ruined, and announce the restoration of the earth, for I shall restore the earth….”¹²

Several scholars have noticed numerous details of Asael’s punishment that are reminiscent of the scapegoat ritual as it is reflected in Mishnah Yoma. Daniel Olson, for instance, argues that “a comparison of 1 Enoch 10 with the Day of Atonement ritual … leaves little doubt that Asael is indeed Azazel.”¹³ Additionally, Daniel Stökl Ben Ezra observes that “the punishment of the demon resembles the treatment of the goat in aspects of geography, action, time and purpose.”¹⁴ He also notes that "both in the description of the prison of the demon in 1 Enoch and in traditions about the precipice of the scapegoat ritual an element of ruggedness appears. This ruggedness could reflect an early Midrash on the meaning of rzg (cut, split up) in hrzg Cr) (Lev16:22) and/or historical memory of the actual cliffs in the mountains of Jerusalem."¹⁵ Furthermore, the place of Asael’s punishment designated in 1 Enoch as Dudael is reminiscent of the terminology used for the designation of the ravine of the scapegoat in later rabbinic interpretations of the Yom Kippur ritual, down which the scapegoat was hurled.¹⁶ This tradition is explicitly attested in m. Yoma and Targum Pseudo-Jonathan.¹⁷

The tradition of apocalyptic reinterpretations of the scapegoat ritual reaches its symbolic pinnacle in the Apocalypse of Abraham. This Jewish text, which was most likely written during the period in which the mishnaic descriptions of the atoning rite received their conclusive textual codification, provides us with a unique glimpse into the final stages of the ever-changing scapegoat imagery that began many centuries earlier in the Enochic books. Although the early traits of the Enochic apocalyptic blueprint and the Watchers tradition still play a formative role in the Apocalypse of Abraham, this conceptual core is now greatly enhanced by some novel developments that are essential in mishnaic and early Christian versions of the atoning ritual. Thus, the imagery of the celestial scapegoat’s clothing, only vaguely alluded to in the early Enochic books through the symbolism of covering the antagonist with darkness, now receives its distinctive conceptual expression as the impure vestment of human sins.¹⁸

The details of the angelic scapegoat’s exile into the lower realms found in the Slavonic apocalypse are similarly indebted to the early Enochic blueprint. As with Asael in the Enochic tradition, the antagonist’s exile in the Apocalypse of Abraham encompasses two movements: first, to the earth,¹⁹ and second, to the fiery abyss of the subterranean realm.²⁰ Although early versions of the scapegoat ritual found in the Book of Leviticus only attest to a one-step removal of the goat to the wilderness, the tradition of the two-step removal plays a prominent role in later mishnaic versions of the rite, in which the cultic animal is first taken to the wilderness and then pushed from a cliff into the abyss.

The Apocalypse of Abraham clearly contains the tradition of sending the scapegoat into the lower realm, since in chapters 13 and 14 the heavenly priest-angel Yahoel banishes Azazel first to the earthly realm and then into the abyss of the subterranean sphere. It is noteworthy that, much like the scapegoat in mishnaic testimonies, the antagonist’s exile in the Slavonic apocalypse coincides with his dis-robing and re-robing. The text reports that the fallen angel was first disrobed of his celestial garment and then re-clothed in the ominous attire of human sins; it reads: “For behold, the garment which in heaven was formerly yours has been set aside for him, and the corruption which was on him has gone over to you.”²¹

Book of Revelation

This chapter will argue that the Book of Revelation also belongs to the aforementioned group of the apocalyptic writings which offer an eschatological reinterpretation of the scapegoat ritual. The limited scope of my investigation does not allow me to explore all of the Yom Kippur allusions found in the Book of Revelation.²² Instead, I will focus on the tradition of the Dragon’s demise in the Book of Revelation and its possible connection with the scapegoat ritual.

Before we proceed to a close analysis of the conceptual developments found in the Book of Revelation, let us again reiterate the main features of the final moments of the scapegoat ritual, as reflected in apocalyptic, mishnaic, and patristic testimonies. They include the following elements:

1. The motif of the scapegoat’s removal, represented as a two stage movement, which includes, first, the antagonist’s banishment into the wilderness, and second, his placement in the abyss or underworld which is symbolized in the atoning ritual by pushing the goat off the cliff;

2. The motif of the (angelic) handler who binds and pushes the scapegoat off the cliff;

3. The motif of the scapegoat’s binding;

4. The motif of sealing the abyss of the scapegoat;

5. The motif of the temporary healing of the earth;

6. The motif of the scapegoat’s temporary unbinding before its final demise;

7. The motif of the scarlet band of the scapegoat.

The Motif of the Antagonist’s Banishment

Let us start by exploring the eschatological scapegoat’s processions. As mentioned above, in 1 Enoch 10 the deity orders Raphael to open the pit in the desert and throw Asael into the darkness. The text goes on to describe the celestial scapegoat’s fall into the depths of the abyss. Yet, the exile of the apocalyptic scapegoat may begin even earlier in the narrative when the infamous watcher descends from heaven to earth with other members of the rebellious angelic group.

My previous analysis of the otherworldly scapegoat traditions demonstrates that, both in the Book of the Watchers and the Apocalypse of Abraham, the exile of the apocalyptic scapegoat encompasses a two-stage development. The antagonist first descends to the earth and then into the underground realm, represented by the abyss.²³ I argued that such a two-stage progression of the antagonist’s exile corresponds to the two stages of the earthly scapegoat’s movements, reflected in later rabbinic and patristic sources by the scapegoat’s banishment to the wilderness and its descent into the abyss when the animal was pushed off the cliff.²⁴

In the Book of Revelation, we may see a similar two-stage progressive movement when the main antagonist, the Dragon, is first banished to the earth in chapter 12, and then to the underground realm, represented by the abyss in chapter 20. We must examine these traditions more closely.

Revelation 12:9 relates the following tradition: “the great dragon was thrown down … he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.” It is intriguing that here, like in the Book of the Watchers and the Apocalypse of Abraham, the eschatological scapegoat is demoted along with his “portion.”

One important detail of the aforementioned story of the angelic descent in Revelation 12:9 is that the antagonist and his angels did not descend to earth voluntarily, like in the early Enochic booklets, but rather they “were thrown down.” This links the tradition found in the Book of Revelation even more closely to the scapegoat ritual, in which the animal was involuntary led out into the wilderness by its handler. It also places the Book of Revelation’s rendering of the celestial antagonist’s demotion in very close connection to the interpretation found in the Apocalypse of Abraham. There, the main antagonist of the story – the fallen angel Azazel – is also forcefully demoted by his angelic handler, Yahoel.

Furthermore, it is noteworthy that the Dragon’s exile to the earth coincides in Revelation 12 with the wilderness motif, since upon his exile to earth the Dragon pursues the woman clothed with the sun in the desert (εἰς τὴν ἔρημον). This is relevant for our study of the imagery of the scapegoat, whose exile to the wilderness represents an important topological marker in many apocalyptic Yom Kippur accounts. Thus, as one remembers in the Apocalypse of Abraham, Yahoel banishes Azazel not simply to the earth, but to "the untrodden parts of the earth.” The word “untrodden” (Slav. беспроходна, lit. “impassable”)²⁵ is significant because it designates a place uninhabitable to human beings, reminiscent of the language of Lev 16 where the scapegoat is dispatched to the solitary place in the wilderness.²⁶

Second, the “underground” stage of the scapegoat’s exile can be identified in Revelation 20:2-3, where the antagonist is thrown into the subterranean chamber: “He seized the dragon … and threw him into the pit, and locked and sealed it over him.”²⁷ Here, again, like in the Book of the Watchers²⁸ and the Apocalypse of Abraham, this underground imprisonment is temporary, since on the Day of Judgment the antagonist will be thrown for a second time, but this time into the abyss of fire²⁹ — an event labeled in Revelation as “the second death.”³⁰

As we recall, 1 Enoch 10:6 describes Asael’s second punishment in the following terms: “on the great day of judgment he may be hurled into the fire.”³¹ In Rev 20:10 this second ordeal is rendered in the following way: “And the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.” Both apocalyptic descriptions betray a similar symbolism, namely, the distinctive imagery of fire.

In the Apocalypse of the Abraham, the pit of the eschatological scapegoat is also portrayed with fiery imagery. There, the underground domain of the antagonist is depicted as the very place of fire. For instance, in Yahoel’s speech found in chapter 14, which reveals the true location of the chief antagonist, the arch-demon’s abode is designated as the furnace of the earth. Azazel himself, moreover, is depicted as the “burning coal” or the “firebrand” of this infernal kiln.

Unlike the Book of Revelation, the Book of the Watchers does not describe a temporary release of its antagonist. Yet such an idea might be hinted at in the Apocalypse of Abraham, where Azazel, despite his exile into the underground prison, still retains his ability to corrupt humankind.

The Motif of the Angelic Handler

A prominent feature of the mishnaic depiction of the scapegoat ritual is the motif of the scapegoat’s handler, who performs ritual actions with regards to the animal by leading it into the wilderness, binding and unbinding its crimson band, and finally throwing the animal into the pit. In the apocalyptic versions of the atoning rite, these sacerdotal actions are performed by angelic figures, namely, Raphael in the Book of the Watchers and Yahoel in the Apocalypse of Abraham. Similarly, in the Book of Revelation there is an angelic figure that binds and handles the eschatological scapegoat. In Rev 20:1 the seer reports that he saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain.

As one remembers, in rabbinic renderings of the scapegoat ritual the animal is thrown into the abyss by its handler. The same order of events can be seen in the Book of the Watchers, where Raphael throws Asael into the dark underground pit, and in Rev 20:3, where the angelic figure throws the Dragon into the abyss. In the Apocalypse of Abraham, the angel Yahoel orders Azazel to be banished into exile to the lower realm, namely, the abyss.

The Motif of the Scapegoat’s Binding

Although the biblical account of the scapegoat ritual found in Leviticus does not mention the binding of the scapegoat, this motif became very prominent in the mishnaic accounts, including a passage found in Mishnah Yoma 4:2 where the scapegoat is bound with scarlet thread upon its selection by lottery. Even more important for our study is a tradition found in Mishnah Yoma 6:6 which relates that, in the final moments of the scapegoat ceremony, immediately before its demise off the cliff, the go-away goat was unbound and then re-tied with the crimson band.³² The features that mishnaic authors weave into the fabric of the ancient rite are intriguing, and seemingly novel. Yet it should not be forgotten that, several centuries before the composition of the Mishnah, some apocalyptic accounts already link the scapegoat ritual with the symbolism of binding.³³ We have seen, already in 1 Enoch 10 the handler of the celestial scapegoat, the archangel Rafael, is instructed to bind the demon by his hands and feet immediately before throwing him into the subterranean pit. This tradition represents a remarkable parallel to Mishnah Yoma 6:6, in which the cultic animal is bound with a crimson band immediately before its demise.

The motif of the antagonist’s binding receives its distinctive expression also in the Book of Revelation. In Rev 20:1-2 the seer beholds an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain.³⁴ The angel then seized the Dragon and bound him for a thousand years. Robert Henry Charles already has noted a parallel between this passage and the tradition of Asael’s binding in the Book of the Watchers.³⁵ David Aune,³⁶ and recently Kelley Coblentz Bautch,³⁷ also both reaffirm the connection between Revelation 20 and 1 Enoch 10 by cataloging numerous parallels. Coblentz Bautch concludes that “the binding and imprisonment of Satan in an abyss and a second punishment by fire strongly evoke the fate of the rebellious angels as presented in numerous accounts."³⁸Although Aune and Coblentz Bautch do not discuss the relationships between the Dragon’s binding and the scapegoat motif, Lester Grabbe entertains this implicit connection. He argues that the punishment of the Dragon in Revelation has been assimilated to the apocalyptic scapegoat tradition found in 1 Enoch 10.³⁹

The Motif of Sealing the Scapegoat’s Abyss

Another important connection that ties Revelation 20 to 1 Enoch 10 is the motif of sealing the abyss of the antagonist’s first imprisonment. From Rev 20:3 one learns that, after the Dragon was thrown into the abyss, the executing angel then locked and sealed the pit over him.

Similarly, in the Book of the Watchers, Raphael seals the abyss of the eschatological scapegoat with sharp rocks and darkness. As one remember, in 1 Enoch 10 God commands Raphael to throw onto Asael jagged and sharp stones, and cover him with darkness. The motif of sealing the tomb of the eschatological scapegoat might also be present in the story of another – this time Christian – eschatological scapegoat, namely Jesus, whose temporarily placement in the underground chamber was also accompanied by the sealing of his tomb with a stone.

The Motif of the Temporary Healing of the Earth

In his analysis of the similarities between the punishment of Asael in 1 Enoch 10 and Yom Kippur traditions, Daniel Stökl ben Ezra argues that the restoration of the earth by the removal of sin in 1 Enoch 10:7-8 alludes to the cathartic rationale behind Yom Kippur.⁴⁰ It is noteworthy that in the Book of the Watchers, "the healing of the earth" occurs immediately after Asael’s banishment into the abyss but before his fiery demise. This final ordeal will happen much later, on the Day of Judgment, which will occur (as in the case of the other Watchers) after seventy generations of entombment.⁴¹ Such sandwiching of "the healing of the earth" between the antagonist’s first and second punishments brings to mind several developments found in the Book of Revelation, where the dragon’s first banishment precedes the peace of the millennium, which will later be interrupted by the dragon’s brief release. The removal of the antagonist into the bottomless pit appears to accomplish, as in Asael’s episode, cathartic and purifying functions which allow the earth to flourish. This context underlines the principal “elimination” aspect of the scapegoat ritual, whereby impurity must be removed from the human oikoumene and sent into the uninhabitable realm.⁴² This period of prosperity, however, ends with the unchaining of the Dragon. Scholars drawn attention to the fact that "the millennium is deliberately framed by the chaining of the dragon and his unchaining which follows in Revelation 20:7-10."⁴³ The apocalyptic portrayal of earth’s healing as a temporary event might be rooted in Yom Kippur traditions, according to which the purification of the land and the community must be repeated on a regular basis.

The Motif of the Scapegoat’s Temporary Unbinding before His Final Demise

In m. Yoma 6:6 we saw that, immediately before the scapegoat’s final demise its handler briefly removed its crimson band. Such a procedure might signify a short-term release of the antagonist from bondage. It is possible that this theme of the temporary unbinding of the cultic ribbon is also attested in some apocalyptic scapegoat traditions. For example, in addition to the Dragon’s binding, the Book of Revelation reports his release from captivity. Thus, after the description of the millennium in Rev 20:4-6, during which the Dragon remains chained in the bottomless pit, the text discloses the mystery of his release from imprisonment. The event of the dragon’s release is closely tied to the previous section pertaining to his imprisonment through a subtle yet significant terminological link between the chaining and the unchaining, which is formulated by λυθήναι in Rev. 20:3 and λυθήσεται in Rev 20:7.⁴⁴

The Motif of the Red Band

A particularly important motif, absent in Leviticus 16 but present in mishnaic and early Christian testimonies, is the theme of the scapegoat’s crimson band that was put on the animal’s head during the ritual of the goats’ selection.⁴⁵ This scarlet band is regularly reinterpreted in the apocalyptic Yom Kippur traditions as the (red) garment. Thus, for example, the Apocalypse of Abraham speaks about Azazel’s garment and the Epistle of Barnabas reinterprets the crimson band as a long scarlet robe around Christ’s flesh. As one can see in apocalyptic scapegoat traditions, the crimson color was often projected onto the entire extent of the eschatological characters.

In light of these developments, special attention should be drawn to Rev 12:3, where the Dragon is associated with a fiery red color (πυρρός). Scholarly interpretations of this color symbolism have proffered a panoply of references to various Egyptian,⁴⁶ Mesopotamian,⁴⁷ and Greek traditions.⁴⁸ What is sometimes overlooked in these scholarly debates is that in ancient Jewish lore, the color red was often associated with impurity and defilement. Already Isa 1:18 hints at such an understanding, delivering a promise from the deity that although Israel’s "sins are like scarlet, they shall be like snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool." This passage, associating sin with the color red, was predestined to play a special role in the mishnaic testimonies concerning the crimson band of the scapegoat. Thus, both m. Yoma 6:8⁴⁹ and m. Shabbat 9:3⁵⁰ connect the tradition of the crimson band to the aforementioned passage from Isaiah that speaks about the forgiveness of sins. Elsewhere, a connection was made between the scarlet thread and human sins, since Jewish lore often associated the color red with sin, and white with forgiveness. The Book of Zohar II.20a-b neatly summarizes this understanding of the color’s symbolism:

Sin is red, as it says, “Though your sins be as scarlet”; man puts the sacrificial animal on fire, which is also red; the priest sprinkles the red blood round the altar, but the smoke ascending to heaven is white. Thus the red is turned to white: the attribute of Justice is turned into the attribute of Mercy.

A very similar appropriation of the color imagery appears to be reflected in the scapegoat ritual. The band’s transformation from red to white, signaling the forgiveness of Israel’s sins, strengthens the association of the red coloration with sin.⁵¹ Numerous mishnaic and talmudic passages attest to the whitening of the band⁵² during the scapegoat ritual, which signifies the removal of sins.⁵³

The author of Revelation is likely cognizant of this symbolic conception in which the color red is able to turn white, thus signifying the removal of human transgressions.⁵⁴ So, for example, in Rev 7:14 one finds a statement which reports that the righteous had "washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.’"

In light of the aforementioned traditions, it should not be considered coincidental that, in the Book of Revelation many antagonists, onto some of whom human sins were literally heaped in the course of the story, are associated with the color red. Thus, for example, the Scarlet Beast and the Harlot⁵⁵ are portrayed in crimson (κόκκινον) garments.⁵⁶ These color associations evoke the memory of the scarlet band of the scapegoat.⁵⁷ Future investigations into these intriguing developments might help to bring clarity to the true extent and nature of the Yom Kippur traditions found in the Book of Revelation.