And when he hath made an end of reconciling the holy place, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and the altar, he shall bring the live goat:
After he has finished making peace between God and the people by cleansing the holy place, the meeting tent, and the altar, he shall bring the living goat forward.
This verse describes the high priest completing the ritual cleansing of sacred spaces before bringing forward the scapegoat in the Day of Atonement ceremony.
📚 Historical Context
This is part of the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) ritual described in Leviticus 16, the most solemn holy day in ancient Israel. The high priest would first cleanse the Most Holy Place, the tabernacle, and the altar with sacrificial blood to purify them from the people's sins. Only after this cleansing was complete could he proceed with the scapegoat ritual, where the sins of the nation would be symbolically placed on a live goat and sent into the wilderness.
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