The demon Azazel was not invented for the film, but does in fact have roots in, amongst other things, the Christian Bible, several Biblical apocrypha, Kabbalah, Islamic lore and the Koran.
The earliest known mention of Azazel is from the Book of Leviticus, 16:8-10. However, in order to understand the nature of Azazel as presented in Leviticus, one must first understand something of the wider context of Yom Kippur (a Jewish holiday more commonly known as the Day of Atonement). Yom Kippur occurs on the tenth day of what is known as Aseret Yemei Teshuva (the Ten Days of Repentance), which take place over the course of the first ten days of Tishrei, which is the first month of the civil year, and the seventh month of the ecclesiastical year in the Hebrew Calendar (in the Georgian calendar, Aseret Yemei Teshuva usually happens during September or October). The first day of Aseret Yemei Teshuva is known as Rosh Hashanah (more commonly referred to as the Jewish New Year). On Rosh Hashanah, the people are divided up into three groups; the righteous, the wicked and the undetermined. The names of the undetermined are entered into a book, and over the course of Aseret Yemei Teshuva, they must attempt to mend their ways so as to make themselves righteous, seeking forgiveness for sins against their fellow man and sins against Yahweh, the deity of the Israelites (better known to modern readers as Jehovah, but also known as Yhwh and Tetragrammaton). On Yom Kippur, the actions of each person during Aseret Yemei Teshuva are taken into consideration, and each previously undetermined individual is marked out as either righteous or wicked. At this time, the book is sealed, and the fate of each person for the upcoming year is fixed.
Leviticus 16 describes a specific part of the Temple Service of Yom Kippur, known as 'The Lottery of the Goats.' The Temple Service is a strict set of rites, sacrifices and purifications which are carried out in a specific order by the Kohen Gadol (High Priest). The Lottery of the Goats refers to a part of the service were two goats are taken from the flock, and are brought before Yahweh. The goats are presented to Yahweh at the door of the tabernacle, and the Kohen Gadol casts lots for them (hence the term Lottery of the Goats). Based on the lots, one goat is chosen to represent purity and is sacrificed to Yahweh. The second goat is chosen to absorb all of the sins of the congregation and is taken out into the desert and abandoned, thus symbolically removing the sins of the people (this goat is generally referred to as the scapegoat or emissary-goat). Prior to the goat's departure for the wilderness, an elaborate ceremony is carried out wherein the Kohen Gadol lays his hands upon the goat's head and confesses over it the sins of the people. He then fastens a scarlet woolen thread to the head of the goat; and recites a confession of sin and prayer for forgiveness: "O Lord, I have acted iniquitously, trespassed, sinned before Thee: I, my household, and the sons of Aaron Thy holy ones. O Lord, forgive the iniquities, transgressions, and sins that I, my household, and Aaron's children Thy holy people committed before Thee, as is written in the law of Moses, Thy servant, 'for on this day He will forgive you, to cleanse you from all your sins before the Lord; ye shall be clean'." This prayer is repeated by the congregation. A man is then selected, usually a lower priest, to take the goat to a precipice in the wilderness. When he gets to the precipice, he splits the scarlet thread into two parts, tying one to the rock and one to the goat's horns, and sets the goat free, thus removing the sins of the congregation, as it symbolically carries those sins away into the desert (hence the modern usage of the term scapegoat).
Leviticus 16:8-10 describes the first time the Lottery of the Goats was performed; "Aaron shall cast lots for the two goats, one lot for the LORD and the other lot for the scapegoat. Then Aaron shall offer the goat on which the lot for the LORD fell, and make it a sin offering. But the goat on which the lot for the scapegoat fell shall be presented alive before the LORD, to make atonement upon it, to send it into the wilderness as the scapegoat." As can be seen however, in this extract from Leviticus, there is no mention of Azazel. That is because there is some considerable debate about the validity of the word itself. The above quotation was taken from the New American Standard Bible, and the passage is nearly identical in the King James Bible, "And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats; one lot for the LORD, and the other lot for the scapegoat. And Aaron shall bring the goat upon which the LORD's lot fell, and offer him for a sin offering. But the goat, on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat, shall be presented alive before the LORD, to make an atonement with him, and to let him go for a scapegoat into the wilderness." However, in contrast, here is the same passage from the New Revised Standard Version: "Aaron shall cast lots on the two goats, one lot for the LORD and the other lot for Azazel. 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 Azazel shall be presented alive before the LORD to make atonement over it, that it may be sent away into the wilderness to Azazel." Similarly, here is the passage in the Basic English Bible, "Aaron will make selection from the two goats by the decision of the LORD, one goat for the LORD and one for Azazel. And the goat which is marked out for the LORD, let Aaron give for a sin-offering. But the goat for Azazel is to be placed living before the LORD, for the taking away of sin, that it may be sent away for Azazel into the waste land."
The reason for the disparity between these various translations is that the word 'scapegoat' is used interchangeably with the word 'Azazel', and this raises one of the basic problems with the Leviticus presentation of Azazel - to what exactly does it refer? What, specifically, is Azazel as presented in Leviticus? Some argue that the word refers simply to the mountain to which the goat is to be brought (hence, the goat is "for Azazel" insofar as it is to be brought to the mountain). This is based on the claim that the word Azazel is a combination of the Hebrew 'azaz' (meaning 'rugged') and 'el' (referring to 'the strength of God'), thus suggesting that Azazel is a literal translation of 'the rugged strength of God', and as such it describes the strong and rugged rocks of the Judean desert. Another theory is that Azazel refers to an abstract personification of sin and is an ancient word that means the general removal of sin from the entire congregation. Proponents of this theory claim that the word is not a specific name, but an ancient and rare Hebrew noun, meaning 'entire removal.' Yet another theory is that it refers to the goat itself. Those who subscribe to this belief argue that the word 'scapegoat' comes from the Hebrew 'azazel', which literally means 'goat of departure,' formed from 'azal' (meaning 'to go away') and 'ez' (meaning 'goat'). A fourth theory is that Azazel refers to an actual demon residing in the desert.
Of these four theories, the most common (certainly amongst modern scholars) is the theory that Azazel is a demon. This theory was originated by the 13th century rabbi, Nahmanides, who argued that Azazel is one of the leaders of a class of demon known as the Se'irim, goat-like satyrs who haunt the desert, and to whom most primitive tribes offered sacrifices. Se'irim are mentioned several times in the Bible, but they are usually referred to as "goat-demons" (which is what the word Se'irim literally means). For example, Leviticus 17:7 reads, "they may no longer offer their sacrifices for goat-demons, to whom they prostitute themselves." Similarly, 2 Chronicles 11:15 states, "He had appointed his own priests for the high places, and for the goat-demons, and for the calves that he had made." Whatever the case regarding the Se'irim however, if one accepts that Azazel is a demon, then the Lottery of the Goats seems to function to return the sins of the people to the evil spirit whose influence possibly brought about those sins in the first place. However, the fact is that scholars cannot reach a consensus as to exactly what Azazel is in Leviticus; it could be a person, place, thing or abstract notion. As an example of just how divergent interpretations can range, see here for an argument that Azazel is in fact Satan, and here for the opposite argument, that Azazel is actually Christ.
Moving away from Leviticus, the theory that Azazel is a demon is heavily based upon the Book of Enoch (an apocryphal text which offers an alternate account of the fall of the rebel angels). As this theory is the most widely accepted notion of what Azazel is, as well as the best known, it is likely the one most applicable to the film. Indeed, in the film, upon first discovering Azazel's name, John Hobbes (Denzel Washington) looks it up in a dictionary and discovers that it means "evil spirit of the wilderness." The Se'irim specifically haunted the barren desert, and were known as demons of the wilderness, which seems to confirm the film's acceptance of the theory that Azazel is indeed the demon hypothesized by Nahmanides.
In any case, in the Book of Enoch (also known as 1 Enoch), Azazel (spelt Azâzêl) is a high ranking member of the Grigori (more commonly known as the Watchers), a group of 200 angels who were sent to Earth to watch over Mankind, but who began to lust after human women, and become involved in human affairs. 1 Enoch 6-7 explains that the leader of the Grigori, Semjâzâ urged his followers to join him in choosing wives and begetting children. Once they had taken wives, they then began to teach Man forbidden skills and impart secret knowledge, which was supposed to be discovered by Man only over vast periods of time and through great effort. 1 Enoch 8 then continues, "And Azâzêl 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 coloring tinctures. And there arose much godlessness, and they committed fornication, and they were led astray, and became corrupt in all their ways. Semjâzâ taught enchantments, and root-cuttings, Armârôs the resolving of enchantments, Barâqîjâl astrology, Kôkabêl the constellations, Êzêqêêl the knowledge of the clouds, Araqiêl the signs of the earth, Shamsiêl the signs of the sun, and Sariêl the course of the moon." However, after the Grigori copulated with the human women, the women gave birth to giants (known as the Nephilim). The Nephilim consumed the produces of Man, but after a short period, resources began to run out, and the Nephilim turned on Man and on one another. Man, using the newly learned skills thought by the Grigori began to fight back, and soon a war erupted between the Nephilim and Man (this story is also told in Genesis 6:2-4, but without the mention of any of the names of the Grigori).
In Heaven, the situation is observed by the archangels Michael, Uriel, Raphael and Gabriel, who, after listening to the cries for help from Man, approach God for advice, telling him, "Thou seest what Azâzêl hath done, who hath taught all unrighteousness on earth and revealed the eternal secrets which were preserved in heaven, which men were striving to learn: And Semjâzâ, to whom Thou hast given authority to bear rule over his associates. And they have gone to the daughters of men upon the earth, and have slept with the women, and have defiled themselves, and revealed to them all kinds of sins. And the women have borne giants, and the whole earth has thereby been filled with blood and unrighteousness. And now, behold, the souls of those who have died are crying and making their suit to the gates of heaven, and their lamentations have ascended: and cannot cease because of the lawless deeds which are wrought on the earth " (1 Enoch 9:6-10). Upon hearing the appeal, God decrees that a great flood, wiping out all mortal creatures on earth is necessary to purge the evil visited onto the earth by the Grigori. God assigns each of the four archangels specific tasks; Uriel, he sends to Moses, with instructions on how to preserve the human race and the animals after the flood; Gabriel is sent to destroy the Nephilim; Michael to imprison the Grigori; and Raphael to heal the earth after the flood has subsided. Raphael is also given a more specific task by God; 1 Enoch 10:4-6 reads, "The Lord said to Raphael: 'Bind Azâzêl hand and foot, and cast him into the darkness: and make an opening in the desert, which is in Dûdâêl, 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 judgment he shall be cast into the fire'."
Later, 1 Enoch 13:1-3 describes in more detail the severity of God's judgment, as God sends Enoch to tell Azâzêl "thou shalt have no peace: a severe sentence has gone forth against thee to put thee in bonds: And thou shalt not have toleration nor request granted to thee, because of the unrighteousness which thou hast taught, and because of all the works of godlessness and unrighteousness and sin which thou hast shown to men". At this point, the Grigori draft a petition to God asking for mercy, and ask Enoch to deliver it for them. He takes it, but that night he has a dream wherein he is visited by God, who tells him "say to the Watchers of heaven, who have sent thee to intercede for them: "You should intercede" for men, and not men for you: Wherefore have ye left the high, holy, and eternal heaven, and lain with women, and defiled yourselves with the daughters of men and taken to yourselves wives, and done like the children of earth, and begotten giants as your sons? And though ye were holy, spiritual, living the eternal life, you have defiled yourselves with the blood of women, and have begotten with the blood of flesh, and, as the children of men, have lusted after flesh and blood as those also do who die and perish. Therefore have I given them wives also that they might impregnate them, and beget children by them, that thus nothing might be wanting to them on earth. But you were formerly spiritual, living the eternal life, and immortal for all generations of the world. And therefore I have not appointed wives for you; for as for the spiritual ones of the heaven, in heaven is their dwelling...And now as to the watchers who have sent thee to intercede for them, who had been aforetime in heaven, say to them: "You have been in heaven, but all the mysteries had not yet been revealed to you, and you knew worthless ones, and these in the hardness of your hearts you have made known to the women, and through these mysteries women and men work much evil on earth." Say to them therefore: "You have no peace"." (1 Enoch 15-16). As such, Enoch returns to the Grigori with the petition, telling them he will not bring it to God, and thus bringing to an end the story of the Fall.
Azazel and the Grigori are mentioned several more times in 1 Enoch, but only insofar as to confirm the severity and finality of their punishment. In 54:4-6, Enoch is walking through the Valley of Judgment when he sees angels constructing massive chains near a vast pit of fire. Enquiring as to the purpose of the chains, Enoch is told, "These are being prepared for the hosts of Azâzêl, 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. And Michael, and Gabriel, and Raphael, and Uriel shall take hold of them on that great day, and cast them on that day into the burning furnace, that the Lord of Spirits may take vengeance on them for their unrighteousness in becoming subject to Satan and leading astray those who dwell on the earth." In 55:3-4 and 56:1-4, God makes his final judgment on the Grigori, refusing them clemency, and condemning them to the pit of fire for all eternity; "the days of the their lives shall be at an end, and the days of their leading astray shall not henceforth be reckoned" (1 Enoch 56:4).
Azazel (spelt Azzael) is also featured in The Hebrew Book of Enoch (more commonly referred to as 3 Enoch, but also known as The Revelation of Metatron). The main subject matter of 3 Enoch is the ascension of Enoch into heaven, his transformation into the angel Metatron, and his studying of cosmological secrets. In 3 Enoch 4, Metatron is relating to Ishmael ben Elisha (more commonly known as Rabbi Ishmael, a 1st century Jewish sage who is the ostensible narrator of 3 Enoch) how he went from being the mortal man Enoch to the immortal angel Metatron, but he points out that his appointment as a high ranking angel did not sit well with some of the existing angels. 3 Enoch 4:6-9 reads "In that hour three of the ministering angels, UZZA, AZZA and AZZAEL came forth and brought charges against me in the high heavens, saying before the Holy One, blessed be He : "Said not the Ancient Ones rightly before Thee: Do not create man!' The Holy One, blessed be He, answered and said unto them: "I have made and I will bear, yea, I will carry and will deliver". As soon as they saw me, they said before Him: "Lord of the Universe! What is this one that he should ascend to the height of heights? Is not he one from among the sons of those who perished in the days of the Flood? "What doeth he in the Raqia'?" Again, the Holy One, blessed be He, answered and said to them: "What are ye, that ye enter and speak in my presence? I delight in this one more than in all of you, and hence he shall be a prince and a ruler over you in the high heavens." Forthwith all stood up and went out to meet me, prostrated themselves before me and said: Happy art thou and happy is thy father for thy Creator doth favor thee."
Azzael is mentioned once more in 3 Enoch 5, which describes the activities of mankind on the earth and how they came to worship false gods and idols. 3 Enoch 5:7-9 reads "And they erected the idols in every quarter of the world: the size of each idol was 1000 parasangs. And they brought down the sun, the moon, planets and constellations, and placed them before the idols on their right hand and on their left, to attend them even as they attend the Holy One, blessed be He, as it is written: "And all the host of heaven was standing by him on his right hand and on his left". What power was in them that they were able to bring them down? They would not have been able to bring them down but for Uzza, Azza and Azzael who taught them sorceries whereby they brought them down and made use of them." This is, of course, a reference to the Grigori of 1 Enoch, and their decision to take wives and to teach Man the sciences, although obviously one cannot take the account of Azâzêl in 1 Enoch and the account of Azzael in 3 Enoch as both being correct due to the chronological problems; in 1 Enoch, Azâzêl is expelled from heaven prior to the flood, but in 3 Enoch, Azzael is still in heaven after the flood.
Azazel also makes an appearance in another apocryphal text, the Apocalypse of Abraham. In this text, 12-14, Abraham is performing a sacrifice upon Mount Horeb, supervised by an angel (as described in Genesis 15:8-17) when he is visited by a bird; "And an unclean bird flew down on the carcasses, and I drove it away. And the unclean bird spoke to me and said, "What are you doing, Abraham, on the holy heights where no one eats or drinks, nor is there upon them food for men. But these all will be consumed by fire and they will burn you up. Leave the man who is with you and flee! For if you ascend to the height, they will destroy you." And it came to pass when I saw the bird speaking I said this to the angel: "What is this, my lord?" And he said, "This is disgrace, this is Azazel!" And he said to him, "Shame on you, Azazel! For Abraham's portion is in heaven, and yours is on the earth, for you have selected here, and become enamored of the swelling place of your blemish. Therefore the Eternal Ruler, the Mighty One, has given you a dwelling on earth. Through you the all-evil spirit is a liar, and through you are wrath and trials on the generations of men who live impiously. For the Eternal, Mighty One did not allow the bodies of the righteous to be in your hand, so through them the righteous life is affirmed and the destruction of ungodliness. Hear, counselor, be shamed by me! You have no permission to tempt all the righteous. Depart from this man! You cannot deceive him, because he is the enemy of you and of those who follow you and who love what you wish. For behold, the garment which is heaven was formerly yours has been set aside for him, and the corruption which was on him has gone over to you. And the angel said to me, "Abraham!" And I said, "Here I am, your servant." And he said, "Know from this that the Eternal One whom you have loved has chosen you. Be bold and do through your authority whatever I order you against him who reviles justice. Will I not be able to revile him who has scattered about the earth the secrets of heaven and who has taken counsel against the Mighty One? Say to him, 'May you be the firebrand of the furnace of the earth! Go, Azazel, into the untrodden parts of the earth. For your heritage is over those who are with you, with the stars and with the men born by the clouds, whose portion you are, indeed they exist through your being. Enmity is for you a pious act. Therefore through your own destruction be gone from me!' And I said the words as the angel had taught me. And he said, "Abraham." And I said, "Here I am, your servant!" And the angel said to me, "Answer him not!" And he spoke to me a second time. And the angel said, "Now, whatever he says to you, answer him not, lest his will run up to you. For the Eternal, Mighty One gave him the gravity and the will. Answer him not." And I did what the angel had commanded me. And whatever he said to me about the descent, I answered him not."
Azazel is mentioned a number of times over the course of the rest of the book. In 20-21, for example, God is explaining to Abraham the constitution of the race of Man, and he points out that although many of the people will be good, others will follow a path of wickedness and worship Azazel, who God has allowed to inhabit the world. When Abraham queries why God has allowed such a being as Azazel to survive, God shows him an image of the corruption of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden; "And I saw there a man very great in height and terrible in breadth, incomparable in aspect, entwined with a woman who was also equal to the man in aspect and size. And they were standing under a tree of Eden, and the fruit of the tree was like the appearance of a bunch of grapes of the vine. And behind the tree was standing something like a dragon in form, but having hands and feet like a mans, on his back six wings on the right and six on the left. And he was holding the grapes of the tree and feeding them to the two I saw entwined with each other" (23:5-9). God explains that this dragon is Azazel, and again, Abraham asks why God has allowed Azazel such an important role in earthly affairs. God explains that Azazel only has power over those who wish for evil, he has no authority or influence whatsoever over those who follow the way of righteousness. God then shows Abraham an image of what is to come, and Abraham sees all manner of sin and blasphemy, greed and cruelty, licentiousness and sloth. Again, he questions why God has made it such that the world is so, and God explains that from the moment of the seduction in the Garden of Eden, Man has had the potential for evildoing in his soul, but Man also has free will, and must choose to abstain from evil. God tells Abraham of the coming of Jesus, and how some will choose to worship him and others will choose to condemn him. He then explains that at the time of Judgment, those who followed Azazel will be punished, whilst those who follow the true God will be saved and rewarded. 29:14-21 reads "Before the age of justice starts to grow, my judgment will come upon the heathen who have acted wickedly through the people of your seed who have been set apart for me. In those days I will bring upon all earthly creation ten plagues through evil and disease and the groaning of the bitterness of their souls. Such will I bring upon the generations of those who are on it, out of anger and corruption of their creations with which they provoke me. And then from your seed will be left the righteous men in their number, protected by me, who strive in the glory of my name. And they will live, being affirmed by the sacrifices and the gifts of justice and truth in the age of justice. And they will rejoice forever in me, and they will destroy those who have destroyed them, they will rebuke those who have rebuked them through their mockery, and they will spit in their faces. Those rebuked by me when they are to see me rejoicing with my people for those who rejoice and receive and truly return to me."
God then describes exactly what will happen to Azazel and the evildoers come the Day of Judgment. 31:1-8 reads; " And then I will sound the trumpet out of the air, and I will send my chosen one, having in him one measure of all my power, and he will summon my people, humiliated by the heathen. And I will burn with fire those who mocked them and ruled over them in this age and I will deliver those who have covered me with mockery over to the scorn of the coming age. Because I have prepared them to be food for the fire of Hades, and to be ceaseless soaring in the air of the underworld regions of the uttermost depths, to be the contents of a wormy belly. For the makers will see in them justice, the makers who have chosen my desire and manifestly kept my commandments, and they will rejoice with merrymaking over the downfall of the men who remain and who followed after the idols and after their murders. For they shall putrefy in the belly of the crafty worm Azazel, and be burned by the fire of Azazel's tongue. For I waited so they might come to me, and they did not deign to. And they glorified an alien god. And they joined one to whom they had not been allotted, and they abandoned the Lord who gave them strength." As such, the general picture of Azazel given by the Apocalypse of Abraham is roughly equivalent to contemporary notion of Satan, and is it is not uncommon for critics to argue that the origins of Satan are to be found in the myth of Azazel. Some have also interpreted the line "For they shall putrefy in the belly of the crafty worm Azazel, and be burned by the fire of Azazel's tongue" to suggest that Azazel is actually both a demon and hell itself; much as Hades is the name of both a god and the underworld in Greek mythology.
Finally, Azazel is not limited to Christian texts. For example, in the Zohar, the central book of Kabbalah, Azazel is identified as the rider of the serpent in the Garden of Eden. Vayetze 116 reads "From the north side, the grades spread until the dross of gold reaches down TO BRIYAH, YETZIRAH, AND ASIYAH of the unholy side. The unholy filth grasps THE MALE above and THE FEMALE below. Here, male and female join together. They are the rider ON THE SERPENT and the serpent, which is the secret of the male and female. This is the secret of Azazel, WHICH INCLUDES THE MALE AND FEMALE OF DEFILEMENT." Azazel also appears in Islamic lore, where he is interchangeable with Iblis, the primary demon of Islam. Azazel is depicted as a high ranking angel who refused to bow down to Adam when he was first presented to the heavenly hierarchies, demanding to know "Why should a son of fire fall down before a son of clay?" For this disobedience, God cast Azazel/Iblis out of heaven, condemning him to wander the earth and haunt desert ruins. Eventually, Iblis became the king of the Shaitans (it is this myth which forms the basis of the theory that Azazel was the leader of the Se'irim, as forwarded by Nahmanides). Over time, the role of Iblis lessened, and he was eventually replaced by Satan. Azazel is also mentioned in the Koran, where the story of Iblis refusing to bow down before Adam is repeated. Finally, Azazel also makes a brief appearance in John Milton's Paradise Lost, where he is depicted as Satan's standard bearer; "..upreared/His mighty standard. That proud honor claimed/Azazel as his right, a Cherub tall,/Who forthwith from the glittering staff unfurled/The imperial ensign, which, full high advanced,/Shone like a meteor streaming to the wind" (I; 533-537).
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company.