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Azazel.

References to Azazel in Levictus.

Levictus, Law of the Sacrifices, 16:8-10 in the Jewish-Christian bible says, " ... and Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats, one lot for the LORD and the other lot for Aza'zel. And Aaron shall present the goat on which the lot fell for the LORD, and offer it as a sin offering; but the goat on which the lot fell for Aza'zel shall be presented alive before the LORD to make atonement over it, that it may be sent away into the wilderness to Aza'zel." Even though it is uncertain, Levictus was probably written approx. 500-400 B.C. On the Day of Atonement two goat were chosen, and one was sacrificed to Yahweh. The other goat was set free as a scapegoat, symbolically carrying away all the sins of the nation. It would wander into the wilderness, and go to Azazel who was chief of the se'irim. Leviticus also says that "He who set the Azazel-goat free shall wash his clothes and bathe his body in water; after that he may reenter the camp" (16:26).

The se'irim (ie. "hairy beings") were satyr-like demons who roamed the wilderness. The author of the first part of the Book of Isaiah foresees that once Babylon, "the glory of kingdoms, the splendor and pride of the Chalde'ans," has been struck by the wrath of Yahweh, it "will never be inhabited or dwelt in for all generations, " but "wild beasts will lie down there, and its houses will be full of howling creatures; there ostriches will dwell, and there satyrs (ie. the se'irim) will dance" (Isaiah 13:19-21). The se'irim are also mentioned in Isaiah 34:14: "The desert creatures will meet with the wolves, the hairy goat also will cry to its kind; yes, the night monster will settle there and will find herself a resting place." The night monster mentioned is Lilith.

Shepherds with goats on Mount Hermon.

Mt. Hermon, on the Syria-Lebanon border, is mentioned often in the Jewish-Christian bible as Hermon, Sion, Senir, and Shenir. The name Baal-Hermon records the reverence in which it was held by the worshipers of Baal. Consisting of a ridge about 20 miles (32 kilometers) long with three peaks rising up to 9,200 feet (2,800 meters) above The Mediterranean Sea.

References to Azazel in The Book of Enoch.

According to the pseudepigraphal work The Book of Enoch, discredited as a canonical work after the Council of Laodicea in 364 but still part of the official canon of the Ethiopic Church, Azazel was one of the leaders of 200 angels (named The Watchers) who decended on Mount Hermon in order to choose "wives from among the children of men" and impregnate them: "And it came to pass when the children of men had multiplied that in those days were born unto them beautiful and comely daughters. And the angels, the children of the heaven, saw and lusted after them, and said to one another: 'Come, let us choose us wives from among the children of men and beget us children" (1 Enoch 6:1-3). In this they succeeded: They "took unto themselves wives, and each chose for himself one, and they began to go in unto them and to defile themselves with them." The women became pregnant "and they bare great giants" (1 Enoch 7:1-3). These great giants were the Nephilim, also mentioned in Genesis 6:4: "The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men, and they bore children to them. These were the mighty men that were of old, the men of renown", and in Numbers 13:33: "And there we saw the Nephilim (the sons of Anak, who come from the Nephilim); and we seemed to ourselves like grasshoppers, and so we seemed to them."

Azazel, The Book of Enoch tells us, not only mated; he also "taught men to make swords, and knives, and shields, and breastplates, and made known to them the metals of the earth and the art of working them, and bracelets, and ornaments, and the use of antimony, and the beautifying of the eyelids, and all kinds of costly stones, and all colouring tinctures. And there arose much godlessness, and they committed fornication, and they were led astray, and became corrupt in all their ways" (1 Enoch 8:1-3). When the archangels, Michael, Uriel, Raphael, and Gabriel, "looked down from heaven and saw much blood being shed upon the earth," they decided to go complain to the Lord: "Thou knowest all things before they come to pass, and Thou seest these things and Thou dost suffer them, and Thou dost not say to us what we are to do to them in regard to these" (1 Enoch 9:11) The Lord then decided to flood the earth. He sent Uriel to warn Noah, and he sent Raphael to take care of Azazel: "And again the Lord said to Raphael: Bind Azazel hand and foot, and cast him into the darkness: and make an opening in the desert, which is in Dudael (note: possibly Bet Hudedun, a rocky terrace twelve miles east of Jerusalem), and cast him therein. And place upon him rough and jagged rocks, and cover him with darkness, and let him abide there for ever, and cover his face that he may not see light. And on the day of the great judgement he shall be cast into the fire" (1 Enoch 10:3-6). Later in the text Uriel refers to this place as " the prison of the angels" (1 Enoch 21:10). The story of the flooding of the earth is found in Genesis chapters 6-8: "And God said to Noah, "I have determined to make an end of all flesh; for the earth is filled with violence through them; behold, I will destroy them with the earth. Make yourself an ark of gopher wood ... " (Genesis 6: 13-14)

References to Azazel in The Apocalypse of Abraham.

The idea that Azazel was one of the original 'fallen angels' is supported by the Jewish apocryphon The Apocalypse of Abraham, probably written before the middle of the first centure A.D.: "Should I not be able to put him (ie. Azazel) to shame who has scattered over the earth the secrets of heaven, and has rebelled against the Mighty One? Say to him, 'Become the burning coal of the furnace of the earth! Go, Azazel, into the inaccessible parts of the earth, for your heritage is to be over those who are with you, the ones brought forth with the stars and clouds, and with the men whose portion you are, even those who exist on account of your being" (Apocalypse 14). "Disgrace upon you, Azazel! For Abraham's lot is in heaven, but yours is upon the earth. Because you have chosen and loved this for the dwelling place of your uncleanness. therefore the Eternal Mighty Lord made you to be a dweller upon the earth, and through you every evil spirit of lies, and through you wrath and trials for the generations of ungodly men; for God, the Eternal Mighty One, has not permitted that the bodies of the righteous should be in your hand, in order that thereby the life of the righteous and the destruction of the unclean may be assured" (Apocalypse 13).

References to Azazel are found in Leviticus 16:8-10, and 26; The Apocalypse of Abraham, Chronicles 11:15; Isaiah 34:14; and The Book of Enoch.

References in Levictus:

" ... and Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats, one lot for the LORD and the other lot for Aza'zel. And Aaron shall present the goat on which the lot fell for the LORD, and offer it as a sin offering; but the goat on which the lot fell for Aza'zel shall be presented alive before the LORD to make atonement over it, that it may be sent away into the wilderness to Aza'zel. " - Levictus 16:8-10

"And he who lets the goat go to Aza'zel shall wash his clothes and bathe his body in water, and afterward he may come into the camp." - Levictus 16:26

References in The Book of Enoch:

"And Azazel taught men to make swords, and knives, and shields, and breastplates, and made known to them the metals of the earth and the art of working them, and bracelets, and ornaments, and the use of antimony, and the beautifying of the eyelids, and all kinds of costly stones ... " - 1 Enoch 8:1

"Thou seest what Azazel hath done, who hath taught all unrighteousness on earth and revealed the eternal secrets which were (preserved) in heaven ... " - 1 Enoch 9:6

"And again the Lord said to Raphael: Bind Azazel hand and foot, and cast him into the darkness ... " - 1 Enoch 10:4

"And Enoch went and said: Azazel, thou shalt have no peace: a severe sentence has gone forth against thee to put thee in bonds." - 1 Enoch 13:1-2

"And he said unto me: These are being prepared for the hosts of Azazel, so that they may take them and cast them into the abyss of complete condemnation, and they shall cover their jaws with rough stones as the Lord of Spirits commanded." - 2 Enoch 54:4

"Ye mighty kings who dwell on the earth, ye shall have to behold Mine Elect One, how he sits on the throne of glory and judges Azazel, and all his associates, and all his hosts in the name of the Lord of Spirits." - 2 Enoch 55:4

"And behold the names of those angels [and these are their names: the first of them is Samjaza, the second Artaqifa, and the third Armen, the fourth Kokabel, the fifth Turael, the sixth Rumjal, the seventh Danjal, the eighth Neqael, the ninth Baraqel, the tenth Azazel, the eleventh Armaros, the twelfth Batarjal, the thirteenth Busasejal, the fourteenth Hananel, the fifteenth Turel, and the sixteenth Simapesiel, the seventeenth Jetrel, the eighteenth Tumael, the nineteenth Turel, the twentieth Rumael, the twenty-first Azazel. And these are the chiefs of their angels and their names, and their chief ones over hundreds and over fifties and over tens." - 2 Enoch 69:2-3

References in The Apocalypse of Abraham:

"And it came to pass, when I saw the bird speak, I said to the angel, "What is this, my lord?" And he said, "This is ungodliness; this is Azazel." And he said to it, "Disgrace upon you, Azazel! For Abraham's lot is in heaven, but yours is upon the earth. Because you have chosen and loved this for the dwelling place of your uncleanness. therefore the Eternal Mighty Lord made you to be a dweller upon the earth, and through you every evil spirit of lies, and through you wrath and trials for the generations of ungodly men ... " - Apocalypse of Abraham 13

"Go, Azazel, into the inaccessible parts of the earth, for your heritage is to be over those who are with you, the ones brought forth with the stars and clouds, and with the men whose portion you are, even those who exist on account of your being." - Apocalypse of Abraham 14

"And the Eternal Mighty One said to me, "Abraham! Abraham!" And I said, "Here am I!" And He said to me, "Consider from above the stars which are beneath you, and number them for me, and make known to me their number." And I said, "How can I? For I am but a man of the dust of the earth." And He said to me, "As the number of the stars and their power, so will I make your seed a nation and a people set apart for me as my own inheritance, as distinct from that of Azazel. And yet I include Azazel in my house." And I said, "0 Eternal Mighty One! Let your servant speak before You, and let not your anger be kindled against your chosen one! For lo! before I came up hither, Azazel inveighed against me. How then, while he is not now before you, can you constitute yourself with him?" - Apocalypse of Abraham 28-29

"But those on the right side of the picture, they are the. people who have been set apart for me, and whom I have ordained to be born of your line and called my people, even some of those who derive from Azazel." - Apocalypse of Abraham 33

"But he who is between them represents ungodliness and their beginnings on the way to perdition, even Azazel." - Apocalypse of Abraham 36

"And as I watched, I saw Azazel approach Him and he kissed Him on the face and then stood behind Him. And I said, "0 Eternal One! Who is the Man insulted and beaten, who is worshipped by the nations and kissed by Azazel?" - Apocalypse of Abraham 55-56

A different version of The Apocalypse of Abraham (with chapters) can be found here.

Azazel links.

Wikipedia : Azazel
Delusions of Grandeur : Azazel
JewishEncyclopedia.com : Azazel
Hope-of-Israel.org : Azazel
Pantheon.org : Azazel
Occultopedia : Azazel