The Meaning of Leviticus 16:22 Explained

Leviticus 16:22

KJV: And the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities unto a land not inhabited: and he shall let go the goat in the wilderness.

YLT: and the goat hath borne on him all their iniquities unto a land of separation. 'And he hath sent the goat away into the wilderness,

Darby: that the goat may bear upon him all their iniquities to a land apart from men; and he shall send away the goat into the wilderness.

ASV: and the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities unto a solitary land: and he shall let go the goat in the wilderness.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And the goat  shall bear  upon him all their iniquities  unto a land  not inhabited:  and he shall let go  the goat  in the wilderness. 

What does Leviticus 16:22 Mean?

Context Summary

Leviticus 16:15-34 - The Scapegoat
The loneliness of the high priest, Leviticus 16:17; the sprinkling of blood within the veil upon the mercy seat, Leviticus 16:16; the fragrant incense, emblematic of a well-pleasing offering, Leviticus 16:13; the confession of sin and its bearing-away into a solitary land, Leviticus 16:22; the linen garments of simplicity and humility, Leviticus 16:23; the destruction of the carcasses of the beasts "without the camp," Leviticus 16:27; the ultimate coming forth of the high priest to bless the people, bringing them the assurance of a finished and accepted work, Leviticus 16:24, compare Hebrews 9:28 all these points are carefully elaborated in the Epistle to the Hebrews.
The fate of the scapegoat was very moving! Laden with the sins of the people, it is led forth through the crowd of penitents, innocent yet execrated, dumb yet eloquent of the doom of the sin bearer, escaping death by the knife, to be forsaken even unto death! So Jesus died, with the cry of "Forsaken" on His lips. [source]

Chapter Summary: Leviticus 16

1  how the high priest must enter into the holy place
11  The sin offering for himself
15  The sin offering for the people
20  The scapegoat
29  The yearly feast of the expiations

What do the individual words in Leviticus 16:22 mean?

and shall bear the goat on itself - all their iniquities to an land uninhabited and he shall release in the wilderness
וְנָשָׂ֨א הַשָּׂעִ֥יר עָלָ֛יו אֶת־ כָּל־ עֲוֺנֹתָ֖ם אֶל־ אֶ֣רֶץ גְּזֵרָ֑ה וְשִׁלַּ֥ח בַּמִּדְבָּֽר

וְנָשָׂ֨א  and  shall  bear 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: נָשָׂא  
Sense: to lift, bear up, carry, take.
הַשָּׂעִ֥יר  the  goat 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: שָׂעִיר 
Sense: hairy.
עָלָ֛יו  on  itself 
Parse: Preposition, third person masculine singular
Root: עַל 
Sense: upon, on the ground of, according to, on account of, on behalf of, concerning, beside, in addition to, together with, beyond, above, over, by, on to, towards, to, against.
אֶת־  - 
Parse: Direct object marker
Root: אֹות 
Sense: sign of the definite direct object, not translated in English but generally preceding and indicating the accusative.
עֲוֺנֹתָ֖ם  their  iniquities 
Parse: Noun, common plural construct, third person masculine plural
Root: עָוֹן  
Sense: perversity, depravity, iniquity, guilt or punishment of iniquity.
אֶ֣רֶץ  an  land 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: אֶרֶץ  
Sense: land, earth.
גְּזֵרָ֑ה  uninhabited 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: גְּזֵרָה  
Sense: a separation, a separate place.
וְשִׁלַּ֥ח  and  he  shall  release 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Piel, Conjunctive perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: שָׁלַח  
Sense: to send, send away, let go, stretch out.
בַּמִּדְבָּֽר  in  the  wilderness 
Parse: Preposition-b, Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: מִדְבָּר 
Sense: wilderness.