CategoryDoctrine / Atonement Ritual
Modern Equivalentsin-bearing goat; removal of guilt.
KJV Word TypeTheological noun / atonement ritual term
DefinitionA goat symbolically burdened with the sins of the Israelites and sent into the wilderness on the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16:20–22).
Key Verses"And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness:" (Leviticus 16:21)
KJV Usage NoteRefers to the goat sent away on the Day of Atonement, symbolically carrying away Israel’s confessed sins.
Common MisunderstandingIt does not mean an innocent person unfairly blamed in the modern sense only; biblically it refers to the goat that symbolically carried away confessed sins.
EtymologyFrom the phrase "escape goat," referring to the goat that escapes.