Charles Ellicott Commentary Leviticus 16:21

"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, even all their sins; and he shall put them upon the head of the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a man that is in readiness into the wilderness:" — Leviticus 16:21 (ASV)

And Aaron shall lay both his hands. — With the imposition of both his hands, a phrase that only occurs in this ceremony, the high priest indicated in the most solemn manner possible that the animal was intended both for the priesthood and for the laity.

And confess over him all the iniquities. — This confession, which was at first improvised, was formulated during the second Temple as follows: “O Lord, your people, the house of Israel, have sinned, committed iniquity, and transgressed before you. O Lord, I implore you, cover over the sins, the iniquities, and the transgressions that your people, the house of Israel, have sinned, acted wickedly, and transgressed before you, as it is written in the Law of your servant Moses” (Leviticus 16:30).

When the priests and the people who stood in the court heard the high priest utter the Ineffable Name, Jehovah—which in the time of Christ was pronounced only on this day, and only by the pontiff—they prostrated themselves, and with their faces to the ground responded, “Blessed be the name of His glorious kingdom for ever and ever.”

Putting them upon the head of the goat. — By this imposition of hands, and the confession, the high priest transferred the sins of the nation to the goat. He then turned to the people and declared, “Ye shall be clean.”

Send him away by the hand of a fit man. — The guilt-laden animal was then entrusted to a man previously appointed, to be conducted to the lonely region, the abode of Azazel, thus carrying back to him the sins that he enticed the people to commit during the year. The phrase that is here translated as a fit man, and that occurs nowhere else in the Bible, denotes more properly a timely man, a man at hand, one appointed for the occasion. The marginal rendering, a man of opportunity, is still more objectionable.