Day of Atonement
Day of Atonement (Heb. *yom hakkippurim*, "day of atonements"; Lev. 23:27-32; Num. 29:7-11). Solemn day of penance in the religion of Israel, called *kippar*.
There is a disparity of views regarding the meaning of the verb *kippar*. Some, following J. Wellhausen and E. König, relate it to the Arabic *kafara* "to cover"; others refer it to the Assyrian *kuppuru*, which means to remove sin through a rite of lustration; in this case the meaning of the verb would be: to pray and, by praying, to cancel. In the Old Testament, *kippar* has two distinct actions: one "to cover," particularly "to cover the face" (Gen. 32:21); "to cover," "to avert" in Is. 47:11. *Kippar* refers to the action of atonement performed by the officiating priest, so that the word means: to perform atonement, i.e., to make expiation. When the verb refers to the Lord it means: to grant forgiveness; the priest can perform *kippar* even for himself, while he performs atonement on someone else. Atonement can also be performed on an object, e.g., the altar, for the purpose of purification, an action which is then followed by anointing with oil.
Atonement is performed by pouring the blood of the victim on the altar. In other cases purification is performed, as, for example, the consecration of priests, by putting the blood of the victim on the right lobe, the right thumb, and the right big toe of the priest; in this case it is probably an apotropaic action. It is not excluded that the meaning "to cover" belongs rather to the sphere of law and that it has probably passed into the ritual and liturgical sphere, in which, however, the concept of "to cancel by praying" fundamentally prevails.
The rite of atonement on the Day of Atonement is treated in Lev. 16.
The high priest must prepare himself with an extraordinary sacrificial rite to enter the Holy of Holies and perform once a year, in the month of Tishri, the rite of atonement to remove from the entire people every sin that, for one reason or another, had not been expiated during the year. On this occasion the priest wears a sacred linen garment, with linen breeches on his flesh, a linen sash, and a linen turban on his head. The priest performs a purification bath; he then receives from the Israelite community two goats for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering. After offering his own young bull for atonement and performing the act of atonement for himself and for his house, the priest takes the two goats, holds them at the door of the sanctuary by lot, and assigns one to the Lord and the other to *Azazel*. The goat for the Lord becomes a sin offering.
After performing the offering of incense and the blood of the atonement victims, for himself and for the people, thus purifying the sanctuary and Israel itself, the priest lays his hands on the head of the live goat to confess over it all the iniquities and all the sins of the Israelites, thereby transferring the sins onto the head of the scapegoat. In this way the scapegoat, guided by a man appointed for this purpose, carries the sins of the people into the desert. The priest removes his linen garments, performs a ritual act, and then performs other sacrificial rites. The man who has accompanied the goat destined for *Azazel* lays aside his garments and bathes his entire body in water; only after performing this rite may he re-enter the camp. The bull and the goat immolated in the holy place for the purpose of atonement are to be taken outside the camp and burned entirely, and even he who burns them shall lay aside his garments and bathe, after which he may re-enter the camp.
These operations thus have the purpose of purifying, i.e., of renewing the state of holiness of the Holy of Holies and the other parts of the sanctuary and principally the altar. The sins of the people are in a certain way annulled by the transfer of them, through confession, onto the head of the scapegoat.