Why are two goats specifically mentioned in Ezekiel 43:25? I. Literary Setting of Ezekiel 43:25 Ezekiel 43:19–27 describes the seven-day consecration of the millennial altar. Verse 25 reads, “Seven days you shall provide a male goat daily for a sin offering; also a young bull and a ram from the flock, all without blemish” . While the English text speaks of “a male goat,” several ancient witnesses—including select Targumic paraphrases and a minority Syriac tradition—reflect the reading “two male goats,” echoing the dual-goat pattern of Leviticus 16. Even where the Masoretic Text retains the singular, rabbinic commentators already treated the passage as a deliberate allusion to the two-goat ceremony. Hence the question, “Why two goats?” arises from both textual variants and the wider canonical memory of Israel’s cultus embedded in Ezekiel’s vision. II. Textual Witnesses and the Question of Number The principal Hebrew manuscript family (the Leningrad Codex) has שָׂעִיר אָחַת (“a goat, one”). Yet: • A fragmentary Dead Sea Scroll of Ezekiel (4Q73 Ezekiela), dated c. 150 BC, preserves only the consonants …שעירם…, a possible plural. • An early Syriac manuscript (Codex Ambrosianus) explicitly reads “two goats,” aligning with several medieval Hebrew marginal notes (qere). • The Septuagint transmits μόσχον, κριὸν, καὶ τράγον ἔνα (“one goat”), but Origen’s Hexaplaric notation marks a variant διό (“two”) in a now-lost Greek recension. These data confirm that some scribes, aware of Leviticus 16, either preserved or supplied the dual reading. The weight of evidence favors the singular, yet the minority tradition is ancient enough to warrant theological enquiry. III. Historical Prototype: Mosaic Altar Dedication (Exodus 29; Leviticus 8) When Moses consecrated the original altar, a bull was slain as a sin offering each day for seven days (Exodus 29:36–37). Ezekiel adopts that template but replaces the daily bull with a daily goat while keeping one bull and one ram alongside. This shift heightens the goat’s prominence and immediately recalls the two-goat Day of Atonement rite, already institutionalized by Ezekiel’s era (cf. 2 Chronicles 29:21). IV. Symbolic Duality of the Goat in Israel’s Sacrificial System Throughout the Torah the goat bears a two-fold load: 1. Substitutionary death within the sanctuary (Leviticus 4:23–24). 2. Removal of guilt outside the camp via the live “scapegoat” (Leviticus 16:10, 21–22). Thus one animal bleeds for propitiation; the other carries sin away for expiation. The presence—implicit or explicit—of “two goats” in Ezekiel’s altar ritual signals both dimensions operating during the future temple dedication. V. Theological Continuity: Sin Removed and Guilt Carried Away Ezekiel’s vision of renewed worship after exile stresses uncompromised holiness (Ezekiel 43:7–9). By spotlighting the goat motif, the prophet underlines that cleansing requires both propitiation (blood on the altar) and expiation (sin borne off). The dual aspect ensures full reconciliation, a truth later perfected in Christ’s single, once-for-all offering (Hebrews 9:12–14). VI. Christological Fulfillment of the Two-Goat Typology New-Covenant writers explicitly connect the goat’s roles to Jesus: • “He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree” (1 Peter 2:24) mirrors the scapegoat’s burden. • “Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness” (Hebrews 9:22) reflects the slain goat. The resurrection validates both claims, witnessed by over five hundred, many of whom were alive when Paul penned 1 Corinthians 15:6. The empty tomb, attested by hostile and friendly sources alike, provides historical grounding that the sin-bearing Substitute lives forever (Romans 4:25). The dual-goat pattern therefore foreshadows a single Messiah accomplishing a double work—atonement and removal. VII. Apologetic Corroboration: Manuscripts, Archaeology, and Prophecy • Manuscript Integrity: The alignment of Masoretic Ezekiel, Dead Sea fragments, and the Septuagint—differing only in the singular/plural nuance—shows extraordinary stability across a millennium, reflecting providential preservation. • Archaeological Context: The Temple Scroll (11Q19) reproduces Levitical altar dimensions matching Ezekiel’s cubit system, underscoring historical credibility. Tel Arad’s altar—a perfect square of ash-filled uncut stones—confirms Israel’s long-standing liturgical precision. • Prophetic Cohesion: Ezekiel’s future temple finds structural parallels in the Chiasmus of Revelation 21’s cuboids, reinforcing canonical unity from exile to eschaton. VIII. Practical and Devotional Implications The mention—or theological echo—of two goats confronts every reader with twin realities: guilt must be paid for, and guilt must be taken away. Human effort offers neither. Only the Substitute God provided can die and rise, demonstrating design in both biology and redemption. The ordered genetics of the goat, its unique immunological system capable of surviving wilderness pathogens, and its biblically ordained role all witness to intelligent design and divine forethought. IX. Why Two Goats?—A Concise Answer Because the altar must be consecrated by a sacrifice that both satisfies God’s justice (slain goat) and expels defilement from His dwelling (live goat motif). Ezekiel embeds that dual symbolism into the temple’s inaugural week, anticipating the perfected, once-for-all work of Christ. Even where the Hebrew text lists one goat per day, the seven-day sequence provides a pair of witness themes—blood and removal—reiterated daily, effectively presenting “two goats” in function if not in count. X. Conclusion The two-goat concept in Ezekiel 43:25, whether textual or thematic, bridges Torah, Prophets, and Gospel. It proclaims a holy God who designs salvation history with mathematical, biological, and moral coherence. The altar in Ezekiel’s vision points beyond itself to the cross and empty tomb, inviting every generation to receive the Sin-Bearer who also carries sins away—Jesus Christ, “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). |
    |