Leviticus 16 Day of Atonement

Short answer: Leviticus 16 records Yahweh's instructions to Moses after the death of Aaron's sons, detailing how Aaron may enter the Most Holy Place once a year with blood and incense. It establishes the Day of Atonement, when two goats are chosen by lot, one sacrificed and one sent into the wilderness bearing the people's sins.

What Leviticus 16 says

The chapter opens with a sober warning. After the death of Aaron's two sons, Yahweh tells Moses to instruct Aaron not to come at just any time into the Most Holy Place behind the veil, before the mercy seat on the ark, or he will die. Yahweh will appear in the cloud on the mercy seat. Aaron must come with a young bull for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering. He must wear holy linen garments and bathe before putting them on. He takes two male goats for a sin offering and one ram for a burnt offering from the congregation. Aaron first offers the bull for his own sin and makes atonement for himself and his house. This opening establishes that access to Yahweh is regulated and dangerous, and that the priest himself needs atonement before he can serve.

The two goats are set before Yahweh at the door of the Tent of Meeting. Aaron casts lots: one lot for Yahweh and the other for the scapegoat. The goat chosen for Yahweh is offered as a sin offering. The other goat is presented alive before Yahweh to make atonement by being sent away into the wilderness. Aaron then kills the bull for his own sin offering, takes a censer full of coals from the altar and two handfuls of sweet incense, and brings them within the veil. He puts the incense on the fire so the cloud covers the mercy seat, preventing his death. He sprinkles the bull's blood on the mercy seat and before it seven times. Then he kills the goat for the people and does the same with its blood, making atonement for the Holy Place because of Israel's uncleanness and transgressions.

No one else may be in the Tent of Meeting while Aaron enters to make atonement, until he comes out and has made atonement for himself, his household, and all Israel. He then goes out to the altar before Yahweh and makes atonement for it, putting blood from the bull and goat on the horns of the altar and sprinkling it seven times to cleanse it. When he finishes atoning for the Holy Place, the Tent, and the altar, he presents the live goat. Aaron lays both hands on its head, confesses over it all the iniquities, transgressions, and sins of Israel, puts them on the goat's head, and sends it into the wilderness by a ready man. The goat carries all their iniquities to a solitary land. Aaron then removes his linen garments, bathes, puts on his regular garments, and offers burnt offerings for himself and the people. The fat of the sin offering is burned on the altar. The one who released the goat and the one who burns the sin offerings outside the camp must wash their clothes and bathe before returning to camp.

The chapter concludes with a perpetual statute: in the seventh month, on the tenth day, the people must afflict their souls and do no work, whether native or foreigner. On this day atonement is made to cleanse them from all sins before Yahweh. It is a Sabbath of solemn rest. The anointed priest who succeeds Aaron must make atonement, wearing the holy linen garments, for the sanctuary, the Tent, the altar, the priests, and all the people. This is an everlasting statute to make atonement once a year for Israel's sins. The final sentence notes that it was done as Yahweh commanded Moses. The chapter thus establishes a yearly rhythm of cleansing and confession, pointing to the seriousness of sin and the need for a mediator.

Verses that carry the chapter

• “and Yahweh said to Moses, “Tell Aaron your brother not to come at just any time into the Most Holy Place within the veil, before the mercy seat which is on the ark; lest he die; for I will appear in the cloud on the mercy seat.” (Leviticus 16:2) — This verse sets the boundary: Aaron cannot approach the Most Holy Place at any time, because Yahweh appears in the cloud on the mercy seat. It underscores the holiness of God and the danger of presumptuous access.
• “Aaron shall cast lots for the two goats: one lot for Yahweh, and the other lot for the scapegoat.” (Leviticus 16:8) — The casting of lots for the two goats introduces the twin themes of sacrifice and removal. One goat is for Yahweh, the other for the scapegoat, showing that atonement involves both payment and the bearing away of sin.
• “Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions, even all their sins; and he shall put them on the head of the goat, and shall send him away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who is ready.” (Leviticus 16:21) — Here Aaron confesses Israel's sins over the live goat and sends it into the wilderness. This is the clearest picture of sin being transferred and carried away, a central act of the Day of Atonement.
• “for on this day shall atonement be made for you, to cleanse you. You shall be clean from all your sins before Yahweh.” (Leviticus 16:30) — This verse states the purpose of the day: atonement is made to cleanse the people, so they are clean from all their sins before Yahweh. It summarizes the goal of the entire ritual.

Gospel connection

Leviticus 16 establishes the pattern of a mediator who enters the holy place with blood, and a substitute who bears sin away. The priest must first atone for himself, but the New Testament presents Jesus as a high priest who needs no offering for himself. The blood of bulls and goats cleansed the earthly sanctuary, but the book of Hebrews argues that these were shadows pointing to a better sacrifice. Jesus enters the true holy place with his own blood, obtaining eternal redemption. The scapegoat carrying sins into the wilderness finds its fulfillment in Christ bearing the sins of many and removing them from the believer. The yearly repetition of the Day of Atonement showed that sin was never finally dealt with under the old system; the once-for-all offering of Christ completes what Leviticus 16 anticipated. The chapter thus stands in the biblical story as a God-given ritual that both reveals the seriousness of sin and prepares for the final atonement in Jesus.

Application

This chapter asks the reader to take sin seriously and to approach God on his terms, not on our own. It calls for humility, because even the high priest needed cleansing before he could serve. It invites confession, since the scapegoat ritual involved naming iniquities and transgressions openly before Yahweh. It also offers comfort: God himself provided the means of atonement, and he promised that the people would be clean. For the Christian reader, this chapter points to Christ, but it also shapes daily life. It encourages regular self-examination, honest confession, and gratitude for a mediator who has done what no earthly priest could do. It warns against casual or presumptuous worship, reminding us that God is holy. At the same time, it assures us that sin can be carried away, not merely covered. The yearly rhythm of afflicting one's soul and resting from work suggests that repentance and rest belong together. The reader is not asked to reenact the ritual but to live in the reality it foreshadowed: forgiven, cleansed, and free from the burden of guilt.

Biblical fidelity check

The chapter does not claim that the Day of Atonement was a permanent solution to sin; it calls it a statute forever for Israel, but the text itself does not say it was final in an ultimate sense. It does not explain how the scapegoat's removal of sin relates to the sacrificial blood, nor does it identify the scapegoat with any person or spiritual being. It does not describe the people's emotional state beyond afflicting their souls. It does not say that Aaron's sons died for a specific sin in this chapter, only that they came near before Yahweh and died. It does not give the name of the man who leads the goat away, nor does it specify the exact location of the solitary land. It does not claim that the ritual automatically cleansed anyone who did not repent; the command to afflict one's soul implies human response. The text is silent on how often the high priest performed this after Aaron, though it says once a year. It does not describe the mercy seat's appearance beyond the cloud and the ark. It does not state that the goat bore sin away forever, only that it carried iniquities to a solitary land. Finally, it does not mention any future messianic figure; that connection is made elsewhere in Scripture.

Questions for study

1. Why does Yahweh begin these instructions by referring to the death of Aaron's sons, and what does that teach about approaching God?
2. What is the significance of casting lots for the two goats, and how do the two goats together picture atonement?
3. Why must Aaron make atonement for himself before he can make atonement for the people, and what does that say about the priesthood?
4. What role does confession play in the scapegoat ritual, and how might that shape our own practice of confession?
5. The chapter calls the Day of Atonement a Sabbath of solemn rest and a time to afflict one's soul. How do rest and repentance relate in your own life?

Keep reading

Related studies: Leviticus 1 Bible Study, Leviticus 10 Bible Study, Leviticus 11 Bible Study, Leviticus 12 Bible Study.

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FAQ

What is the Day of Atonement in Leviticus 16?

It is a yearly ritual on the tenth day of the seventh month when the high priest enters the Most Holy Place with blood to make atonement for himself, his house, and all Israel. It includes sacrifices, incense, and a scapegoat that carries the people's sins into the wilderness.

Why were there two goats on the Day of Atonement?

One goat was sacrificed as a sin offering to Yahweh, and its blood was sprinkled in the Most Holy Place. The other goat, the scapegoat, was presented alive, had the people's sins confessed over it, and was sent into the wilderness to carry those sins away.

Does Leviticus 16 say the high priest could enter the Most Holy Place anytime?

No, verse 2 explicitly says Aaron must not come at just any time into the Most Holy Place, or he would die. He could enter only on the specified day and only with the prescribed offerings and incense.