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    Leviticus 16 (KJV)

    Read Leviticus chapter 16 in the King James Version of the Holy Bible.

    Leviticus 16

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    Q&A

    What Is the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur)?

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    Word Meaning

    Atonement (כִּפֻּר (Kippur) / ἱλασμός (Hilasmos))

    The covering or removal of sin through sacrifice

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    Leviticus 16 Summary

    Leviticus 16 describes the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur), the most sacred day in Israel's calendar. On this day alone, the high priest entered the Holy of Holies to make atonement for the entire nation's sins. The elaborate ritual involved sacrificing a bull for the priest's own sins and two goats for the people.

    One goat was sacrificed as a sin offering, while the other—the scapegoat—symbolically bore the people's sins into the wilderness. This chapter provides the theological foundation for understanding substitutionary atonement and foreshadows Christ's once-for-all sacrifice described in Hebrews.

    Key Themes

    AtonementSubstitutionHoliness of GodAccess to God's presenceThe scapegoat

    Key Verses in Leviticus 16

    "Then shall he kill the goat of the sin offering, that is for the people... and make an atonement for the holy place."

    — Leviticus 16:15-16

    The blood sacrifice provides the means of cleansing and reconciliation with a holy God.

    "And the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities unto a land not inhabited."

    — Leviticus 16:22

    The scapegoat powerfully symbolizes the complete removal of sin—carried away never to return.

    "On that day shall the priest make an atonement for you, to cleanse you, that ye may be clean from all your sins before the LORD."

    — Leviticus 16:30

    Summarizes the purpose of Yom Kippur: total cleansing before God.

    Life Application

    The Day of Atonement reveals how seriously God takes sin and how graciously He provides for its removal. For Christians, this chapter illuminates the magnitude of what Christ accomplished—He is both the sacrifice whose blood grants access to God's presence and the scapegoat who carries our sins away forever.

    Frequently Asked Questions

    What happened to the scapegoat?

    The high priest laid both hands on the live goat, confessing Israel's sins over it, then sent it into the wilderness with an appointed man. It symbolically carried the nation's sins far away, never to return.

    How does Yom Kippur relate to Jesus?

    Hebrews 9-10 explains that Jesus fulfilled the Day of Atonement by entering the heavenly Holy of Holies with His own blood, making a permanent, once-for-all atonement that the annual ritual could only foreshadow.

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