YONAH KIPPUR
by Jeremy Chance Springfield
10/5/16
On the Biblical festival of Yom Kippur, or as it is usually referred to in the Hebrew of the Torah: Yom Kippurim (The Day of Atonements), the Kingdom Law of the Most High incumbent upon all His people is to “afflict themselves,” that is, fast for a twenty-four hour period in order that flesh and soul both are focused on the Most High. Leviticus 23:27 states it well for us.
Also on the tenth day of this seventh month is a Day of Atonement; it shall be a holy gathering for you, and you shall afflict your souls, and bring near a fire-offering to YHWH.
Scripture gives us further commands for what is to be done on the day when all who are a part of Israel are obedient in the affliction of their souls: the priest is to take two goats, and he is to draw lots to decide which goat shall be sacrificed for the Holy One, and which goat shall be sent away with the sins of the people into the wilderness. Atonement for His people is predicated on the high priest performing the deeds of Torah properly before the Presence of the Almighty. It is a day of discarding all sustenance of the flesh, and seeking to transcend human desires and place our hope in the mercies of the Most High.
The ceremony of the goats is discussed in Leviticus 16:7-10.
The ceremony of the goats is discussed in Leviticus 16:7-10.
7 And he shall take the two goats, and stand them before YHWH at the door of the Tent of Appointed Time.
8 And Aharon shall place upon the two goats lots – one lot for YHWH, and one lot for Azazel.
9 And Aharon shall bring near the goat upon which arose the lot for YHWH, and offer him for a sin-offering.
10 And the goat upon which arose the lot for Azazel shall stand alive before YHWH, to atone upon, to send him to Azazel [in] the wilderness.
8 And Aharon shall place upon the two goats lots – one lot for YHWH, and one lot for Azazel.
9 And Aharon shall bring near the goat upon which arose the lot for YHWH, and offer him for a sin-offering.
10 And the goat upon which arose the lot for Azazel shall stand alive before YHWH, to atone upon, to send him to Azazel [in] the wilderness.
These were the actions while the Tabernacle, and then the Temple, stood in Israel. This was the prescribed commands for the holiest day of the year. Now, things have changed a little without a Temple standing. Affliction is still practiced through fasting and introspection of one's deeds and stance before the Most High. Prayers are still lifted, chests are beaten in remorse for failures, and in remembrance of the special day, Jewish tradition tells us that we should read in commemoration the book of … Jonah?
Wait – what?
The day centers on believers looking to the Most High for mercies, hoping in the sinless obedience of the high priest, and the vital presence of two goats. In contrast, the book of Jonah is about an unbelieving Gentile nation, a rebellious prophet, and an incredibly odd fish tale. Why would the ancient tradition be to read from this book, of all the Biblical books that could be focused upon, on the holy day of Yom Kippurim?
Wait – what?
The day centers on believers looking to the Most High for mercies, hoping in the sinless obedience of the high priest, and the vital presence of two goats. In contrast, the book of Jonah is about an unbelieving Gentile nation, a rebellious prophet, and an incredibly odd fish tale. Why would the ancient tradition be to read from this book, of all the Biblical books that could be focused upon, on the holy day of Yom Kippurim?
The answer may surprise you, but the reality is that the book of Jonah records events that occurred during the Fall festivals that we are commanded to observe in Scripture, most notably, the most holy day of the year: Yom Kippurim – the Day of Atonements! You may be thinking: “I’ve read the book of Jonah, and I don’t recall reading anything about the Appointed Times in the book!” If my assertion sounds strange to you, don’t be worried – the proof of this reality is actually embedded in details made clear in the Hebrew text of the book, which once understood, makes great sense of things that happen in its contents. By reading the book of Jonah in its correct light, we can more fully appreciate the affliction we are called to undertake on Yom Kippurim. You will also never view the book the same way ever again.
Look now at Jonah 4:5, which tells us what happened after the prophet finally obeyed his prophetic calling to decry the city’s destruction.
Look now at Jonah 4:5, which tells us what happened after the prophet finally obeyed his prophetic calling to decry the city’s destruction.
And Yonah went out from the city, and sat [on the] east of the city, and made for himself there a tabernacle, and sat under it in the shade, until he should see what would be with the city.
He proclaimed a coming destruction to the people of Nineveh, as He was told, and although they repented and he knew that favor and compassion would be shown them despite his message of doom, he still waited for their death sentence to officially be lifted, upon which he would be legitimately named a false prophet according to Torah (see my study: WHY DID JONAH RUN AWAY?). It is his action after leaving the city that is of special concern to us, however.
Notice that the text tells us he built a “tabernacle?” Most English Bible versions will use either the term “shelter” or “booth” when translating this verse. My choice of “tabernacle” is really no different than those, but the Hebrew term from whence these translations are derived is of great significance. It is the word SUKKAH, which is the specific term the Torah uses when it tells us to celebrate the Fall festival of Tabernacles / Booths, or what the Hebrew calls Sukkot. A sukkah is a temporary shelter made, according to the Torah, to dwell in during the week-long celebration of the last Biblical festival of the year that is commanded in Leviticus 23:39-44 – Sukkot!
Notice that the text tells us he built a “tabernacle?” Most English Bible versions will use either the term “shelter” or “booth” when translating this verse. My choice of “tabernacle” is really no different than those, but the Hebrew term from whence these translations are derived is of great significance. It is the word SUKKAH, which is the specific term the Torah uses when it tells us to celebrate the Fall festival of Tabernacles / Booths, or what the Hebrew calls Sukkot. A sukkah is a temporary shelter made, according to the Torah, to dwell in during the week-long celebration of the last Biblical festival of the year that is commanded in Leviticus 23:39-44 – Sukkot!
39 Also on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, at your gathering of the produce of the land, do feast a feast [unto] YHWH seven days. On the first day is a special rest, and on the eighth day is a special rest.
40 And you shall take for yourself on the first day fruits of a beautiful tree, branches of palms, and twigs of a leafy tree, and willows of the stream. And you shall rejoice before YHWH your Deity seven days.
41 And you shall feast it as a feast to YHWH seven days in the year: a statute everlasting for your generations, in the seventh month you do feast.
42 In tabernacles you do dwell seven days; all the native born in Yisra’El shall dwell in tabernacles,
43 so that your generations shall know how in tabernacles I made dwell the sons of Yisra’El when I brought them forth from the land of Mitzrayim. I am YHWH your Deity.”
44 And Mosheh spoke of the Appointed Times of YHWH unto the sons of Yisra’El.
40 And you shall take for yourself on the first day fruits of a beautiful tree, branches of palms, and twigs of a leafy tree, and willows of the stream. And you shall rejoice before YHWH your Deity seven days.
41 And you shall feast it as a feast to YHWH seven days in the year: a statute everlasting for your generations, in the seventh month you do feast.
42 In tabernacles you do dwell seven days; all the native born in Yisra’El shall dwell in tabernacles,
43 so that your generations shall know how in tabernacles I made dwell the sons of Yisra’El when I brought them forth from the land of Mitzrayim. I am YHWH your Deity.”
44 And Mosheh spoke of the Appointed Times of YHWH unto the sons of Yisra’El.
A Hebrew would not be arbitrarily building a sukkah if it was not almost time for the festival of Sukkot, just as the typical American would not be engaged in setting up fall-themed decorations related to Thanksgiving during the springtime. The fact that the Hebrew text of Jonah tells us that the prophet built a sukkah should sound the alarm for us that the time this was happening was obviously near the time of the festival of Sukkot itself.
That what he built was indeed intended to be a sukkah for Sukkot is also evident in the text of Jonah 4:6, which adds important information about his sukkah.
That what he built was indeed intended to be a sukkah for Sukkot is also evident in the text of Jonah 4:6, which adds important information about his sukkah.
And YHWH the Deity prepared a gourd, and made it ascend over Yonah, to be a shade over his head, to rescue him from his trouble. And Yonah rejoiced over the gourd [with] great rejoicing.
This verse holds a detail that establishes his sukkah was indeed built as a Sukkot-minded sukkah. A sukkah built for Sukkot is always supposed to allow the sun to shine down into it to a degree, so that it is partly providing shade from the rays of the sun for the inhabitant – the key factor of it being a temporary dwelling for us. The fact that the Holy One caused a miraculously-growing gourd plant to grow up over the sukkah and provide additional shade from the sun shows that it was not merely a lean-to or hut constructed only to get Jonah out of the sunlight, but that it was truly a Sukkot-minded sukkah with a ceiling open enough to provide only partial shade for the inhabitant!
You may be starting to wonder why I am talking about the importance of the Biblical festival of Sukkot now when I asserted that the book of Jonah actually centers on Yom Kippurim – the Day of Atonements. The reason for this is that Sukkot begins five days after Yom Kippurim! The Scriptural text tells us to begin Sukkot on the 15th day of the seventh Scriptural month, and this falls five days after Yom Kippurim, which happens on the 10th day of the seventh month.
The building of a sukkah is to be done before the festival actually begins, because the first day of the festival of Sukkot is a special Sabbath day where no work or building is to be done. Therefore, the fact that the text tells us that Jonah built his sukkah means that he would have done so before the first day of the festival of Sukkot. However, this factor of a sukkah in the book of Jonah is important beyond just helping us fix the timing of events in the account. It rather carries such particular importance that I must return to it later in the study to further clarify what was happening in the book. Let the reader not dismiss yet the sukkah factor and its relation to Yom Kippurim in the book of Jonah.
The details shared thus far are important to note in the study, because it allows us to go backwards in time and see something amazing in the text: the prophetic message of destruction given by Jonah to the inhabitants of Nineveh would have happened during Yom Kippurim – the Day of Atonements! Notice the information given in Jonah 3:3-5 which speaks volumes to us.
The building of a sukkah is to be done before the festival actually begins, because the first day of the festival of Sukkot is a special Sabbath day where no work or building is to be done. Therefore, the fact that the text tells us that Jonah built his sukkah means that he would have done so before the first day of the festival of Sukkot. However, this factor of a sukkah in the book of Jonah is important beyond just helping us fix the timing of events in the account. It rather carries such particular importance that I must return to it later in the study to further clarify what was happening in the book. Let the reader not dismiss yet the sukkah factor and its relation to Yom Kippurim in the book of Jonah.
The details shared thus far are important to note in the study, because it allows us to go backwards in time and see something amazing in the text: the prophetic message of destruction given by Jonah to the inhabitants of Nineveh would have happened during Yom Kippurim – the Day of Atonements! Notice the information given in Jonah 3:3-5 which speaks volumes to us.
3 And Yonah ascended, and walked to Nin’veh, according to the word of YHWH. And Nin’veyh was a great city before the Deity – a walk of three days!
4 And Yonah began to enter the city [on] the first day’s walk, and cried out, and said, “Yet forty days and Nin’veyh shall be overturned!”
5 And the men of Nin’veyh trusted in the Deity, and proclaimed a fast, and were clothed [with] sackcloth, from the greatest and unto the least.
The city of Nineveh (the different spellings of the city in my above translation is intentional – it is actually pronounced differently in those appearances in the Hebrew text) was of such size that it took three whole days for Jonah to go throughout it all and proclaim his message. The immediate result of his message of doom and gloom was the call of a fast in which everyone participated! That severity of fasting sounds an awful lot like what happens on Yom Kippurim, doesn’t it? What are the odds that it takes Jonah three days to complete his calling, which means he would have left Nineveh on the beginning of the fourth day (seen in 4:5), and then built a sukkah, which has to be done before the first day of Sukkot? Recall that Yom Kippurim occurs on the 10th day, and on the 15th day is the beginning of Sukkot! Based on the terminology used of the sukkah, and the timeframe of going back three more days to a city-wide fast, the resultant understanding is that the events of the book of Jonah correctly occurred during the fall festival of Yom Kippurim / the Day of Atonements we are commanded to observe as citizens of the Kingdom!
Another element of the matter deserves mentioning, as well, for it further displays the link to Yom Kippurim in the book. Jonah was cast into the sea when the storm arose in his initial attempt to escape to Tarshish. This toss overboard came not of his own choosing, but as 1:7 explains, resulted from the ship’s occupants drawing lots to see who was to blame for their bad fortune, as they viewed it. The verse tells us the lot came to Jonah, but notice in my very literal translation below something that most translations fail to accurately render from the Hebrew.
And they said a man to his companion, “Do come, and let us drop lots, and we shall know by who this evil is upon us.” And they dropped lots, and the lot fell onto Yonah.
There is a parallel here in Jonah to the goats that are to be set before the Most High on Yom Kippurim and over which lots are drawn. The text shared back in Leviticus 16:8 in Hebrew records that the high priest would actually set the lot drawn upon the goats. The Hebrew text in the above verse of Jonah here literally says that the lot fell upon Jonah, as well! The connection is quite clear!
Additionally, one goat would be sacrificed in the Temple, and one goat would be sent into the wilderness, away from the people, as a “scapegoat,” or as the Hebrew says “for Azazel.” We will get to exactly what that means soon enough. Which goat does Jonah represent? He is the scapegoat, for he is sent away from his own people in Israel to the Ninevites, and in this instance in the book, is sent away from the seafarers when they toss him overboard.
Additionally, one goat would be sacrificed in the Temple, and one goat would be sent into the wilderness, away from the people, as a “scapegoat,” or as the Hebrew says “for Azazel.” We will get to exactly what that means soon enough. Which goat does Jonah represent? He is the scapegoat, for he is sent away from his own people in Israel to the Ninevites, and in this instance in the book, is sent away from the seafarers when they toss him overboard.
There is something of interest to us that is said to have been done to the goat designated “for Azazel.” The Talmud, in tractate Yoma 67b, records that the method of sending the goat away involved leading it to a specific place in the wilderness – to a barren peak called Mount Azazel (photo from the peak included here), southeast of Jerusalem as one would travel to the Dead Sea, some eight miles from the city, now called Jebel Muntar – the highest peak in the area. The tractate tells us about the mountain and why it was chosen as the place to send the goat.
Our rabbis taught: “Azazel” [refers to] “strong” and “hard.” Perhaps [it be thought] “[It is] in an inhabited [place],” thus it reads: “In the wilderness.” And how is it known it shall be at the peak [of the mountain]? Thus it reads: “Cut off.” A teaching gives: “Azazel” means the hardest of mountains. And so it says: “And the mighty [same Hebrew word for “rams”] of the land he took away [quoting Ezekiel 17:13].”
The text of the Talmud here is telling us by extrapolation of how they viewed the bolded Scriptural passages that it was intended that the goat should be taken to a steep precipice on the mountain’s height and pushed over the edge, ensuring that the animal, after being selected for a holy purpose, could not return to a populated area or be used again for any mundane intent.
An additional factor is recorded in the Talmud of the ceremony that also gives clarity to our topic. The Talmud, in the below passage, discusses a historical detail about the goat that was sent into the wilderness, to Mount Azazel: it had tied upon it a scarlet thread. Although the Torah does not command a scarlet thread be tied to the goat’s horns, it was likely done initially as a means to keep the two goats distinct, so that they might not become accidentally confused after separated, and one be sacrificed in place of the other after the selection by lot. Tractate Yoma 67a tells us that the man commanded by Torah to take the goat into the wilderness did a special action concerning the goat with the scarlet strand once he reached the peak of Mount Azazel:
An additional factor is recorded in the Talmud of the ceremony that also gives clarity to our topic. The Talmud, in the below passage, discusses a historical detail about the goat that was sent into the wilderness, to Mount Azazel: it had tied upon it a scarlet thread. Although the Torah does not command a scarlet thread be tied to the goat’s horns, it was likely done initially as a means to keep the two goats distinct, so that they might not become accidentally confused after separated, and one be sacrificed in place of the other after the selection by lot. Tractate Yoma 67a tells us that the man commanded by Torah to take the goat into the wilderness did a special action concerning the goat with the scarlet strand once he reached the peak of Mount Azazel:
What was his action? He divided the tongue of scarlet. But should he tie the whole on the rock? Since it is his command with the goat, perhaps it be covered, and be whitened, and he be satisfied [and not finish]. But should he tie the whole between its horns? At times its head flexes and he would not know [and see the change]. Our rabbis taught: In the beginning they would bind the tongue of scarlet upon the door of the Interior Hall [of the Temple] outside it. At its whitening, they rejoiced; [when it did] not whiten, they mourned. Therefore, they devised to bind it upon the door of the Interior Hall [of the Temple] within. And they still glanced in, and if it whitened, they rejoiced; [when it did] not whiten, they mourned. They devised to bind one end on the rock, and [the other] end between the horns. Rav Nakhum, son of Papa, said in the name of Rabbi El’azar haKappar: “In the beginning they would bind the tongue of scarlet upon the door of the Interior Hall [of the Temple] within, and when the goat arrived to the wilderness, it whitened. And they knew the commandment was done, as it is said: ‘If your sins are as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow [quoting Isaiah 1:18].’”
What, exactly, is the Talmud speaking of in this passage? It is discussing a surprising miracle that occurred concerning the scarlet thread that was wound around the horns of the goat that had been selected by lot to go to the wilderness. The Talmud goes to some length to discuss a unique miracle that they say happened to that red sash – upon the goat reaching the wilderness as Torah commands, the red strand would miraculously turn white! It goes into detail explaining how sometimes it would not turn white – and how the worshippers at the Temple reacted to what they felt portended a failure of atonement by some reason that day, and the actions of the priests who attempted to hide that particular sign from the populace, so as not to disturb them should it happen.
This strange and wondrous event is recorded as happening as well in Yoma 68b, which tells us that there were man-made signals used to relay to the people in Jerusalem that the goat had reached the wilderness, so that the high priest could then continue the rest of the ceremonies of Yom Kippurim. Among them, this supernatural signal is said to have occurred.
This strange and wondrous event is recorded as happening as well in Yoma 68b, which tells us that there were man-made signals used to relay to the people in Jerusalem that the goat had reached the wilderness, so that the high priest could then continue the rest of the ceremonies of Yom Kippurim. Among them, this supernatural signal is said to have occurred.
And when did they know the goat arrived to the wilderness? … Rav Yishma’El said, “And they had another signal for them: A tongue of scarlet was tied upon the door of the Temple, and when the goat arrived to the wilderness, the tongue whitened, as it is written: ‘If your sins are as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow [quoting Isaiah 1:18].’”
What is the significance of this detail in regards to the book of Jonah being read in relation to Yom Kippurim? It has been previously proposed here that Jonah himself was a symbol for the scapegoat in many regards – the goat “for Azazel.” He is shown to have been “sent” away from his people for the festival of Yom Kippurim, as well as sent away from the sailors on board the ship to Tarshish by being tossed overboard. The details shared above concerning how the Hebrews handled the goat to be sent away are of particular importance to viewing Jonah as the scapegoat. The Talmud records that a scarlet piece of cord was wrapped around the horns of the goat, and then he was sent away to be tossed over a cliff in the wilderness. The book of Jonah gives us an interesting parallel to that action in Jonah 2:5, which tells us that something of similar import happened to him when he was in the water.
The waters surrounded me – unto [my] soul; the deep encircled me! A red weed was wrapped to my head.
Most English translations render the above by the term “weeds” or “seaweed,” but do not go further than that. The Hebrew text literally says SUF “Red weed,” being the same term used whenever the Hebrew Bible references the “Red Sea” – Yam Suf. Some Bibles even will render the Hebrew instead as Sea of Reeds, and not Red Sea, because of the actual intent of the word SUF. The body of water is especially prone to the growth of large “blooms” of the cyanobacteria Trichodesmium that is red in appearance and is very much in appearance like an algae – thus the explanation for the name of that water. The exact same type of cyanobacteria is found in much-diminished quantities in the Mediterranean – the waters spoken of in the book of Jonah, so it is not surprising to find that he uses the same Hebrew term to describe what was bound to his head.
What is important for us to gather from my very literal translation above is that the Hebrew text explicitly tells us that Jonah had a red algae-like “weed” wound around his head, just as Hebrew history records the goat that was sent into the wilderness to the Mount Azazel had a red cord wrapped around its horns!
What is important for us to gather from my very literal translation above is that the Hebrew text explicitly tells us that Jonah had a red algae-like “weed” wound around his head, just as Hebrew history records the goat that was sent into the wilderness to the Mount Azazel had a red cord wrapped around its horns!
Now things really begin to take shape for us as to why the Jewish tradition for Yom Kippurim is to read the book of Jonah. Jonah exemplifies in many ways the goat that would be sent away! Furthermore, especially when understood properly, we see that Jonah, who finally did obey the call to go to Nineveh after being forced to return to the land by help from an unlikely fish, would yet be labeled according to the Torah as a false prophet by his Hebrew brothers in Israel, for his message of doom to the people of Nineveh did not come to pass – failure of a prophet’s prophetic message of doom being a key sign that the prophet must be viewed as false (see again my study: WHY DID JONAH RUN AWAY?). His purpose by the Holy One was to be a sacrifice, to willingly be led to the wilderness of Assyria, to hateful Nineveh, and there appear to take on a sin that was not his own, just as the goat on Yom Kippurim was sent into the wilderness with the sins of the people placed upon his head, although it had not done anything wrong, and there perish. It should not be overlooked that the tradition in Nineveh was that Jonah never came home. His tomb, called Nabi Yunus, has remained there for all to see (until July 24th, 2014, when it was destroyed intentionally by the idolatrous Islamic group called ISIS) – a prophet who perished in the wilderness of the peoples, just as the goat for Azazel would die away from all that it knew.
There is one final piece of information that is necessary to share in this amazing clarification of the spiritual aspects of the book of Jonah and its relationship to the significance of Yom Kippurim. Although Jonah was acting out self-sacrifice in his obedience to the command of the Most High, and in doing so, he mirrored the goat sent to Azazel that carried sin not its own into a barren land, he was yet still a man. He was still a prophet who did obey the charge given to him, even if it rendered him seemingly false in everyone else’s eyes. This is important to keep in mind when we take in the final piece of information.
The book ends with Jonah in a state of erratic behavior, of unclean heart, as the Father deals with him and his disappointment. He is last seen sitting in the sukkah that he built on the eastern side of Nineveh – having completed the mission given him to be the scapegoat. He is now the man once more, and is unclean in his heart because he is disconnected from his people back in Israel.
This final portrait of Jonah parallels amazingly the actions of the man who is commanded in Torah to lead the goat into the wilderness to Azazel. That man, by his obedience to the command given to him, becomes unclean, according to Leviticus 16:26!
And he that sent the goat to Azazel shall wash his garments, and bathe his skin in water, and after this come to the camp.
The only way he can return to the community after obeying the Word is to wash his clothing and his body. Until then, he is viewed by all as unclean. This detail allows us to see Jonah as being viewed as the man who did the job prescribed to him – but at a price. A final piece of information is provided for us in the Talmud that helps bring it all together to display for us how the observance of Yom Kippurim is an affliction, and to Jonah, it was an affliction of more weight than he had ever imagined before. Returning to tractate Yoma 67a, there is another passage concerning the man the Torah commands to take the goat into the wilderness, and what he finds at the top of Mount Azazel.
What was his action? He divided the tongue of scarlet - binding one end on the rock, and [the other] end was bound between the two horns, and he pushed it from behind, and it rolled down, and it had not arrived halfway [down] the mountain [and it was] yet done – certainly dismembered. He came and sat under the tabernacle at last until it was dark.
Does it all finally make sense now? The Talmud tells us that atop the mountain where the scapegoat was led to its death was erected a tabernacle – or, as the Hebrew of the text here reads, a sukkah! Is that not amazing? Upon the completion of his mission to make certain the goat was cut off from all human interaction, the man, now made unclean by obeying Torah, would sit until dark under a sukkah, of all things! This is the exact situation we find Jonah in at the end of his book – he is sitting in a sukkah after the events of Yom Kippurim / the Day of Atonements, removed from all his brothers in Israel, made “unclean” by his obedience to the Word of the Holy One.
We can understand now why the book of Jonah is traditionally read so carefully in order to observe Yom Kippurim. It is the testimony of a prophet who was called to afflict himself in a way he had no desire to engage in, but in a way that brought atonement for people who were truly in need of it. His flesh was afflicted in the ordeal of being swallowed by the fish, being without food or water for days within it, and for seeing his enemies in Nineveh find repentance when no possibility of repentance was given to them according to His divinely-ordered message. It is an account of the lengths one might be called to in order to see others find absolution of their sins.
Atonement is what matters. What happens to us along the way to bring that atonement to us and to other people may not be pleasant, but it is worth the spiritual reunion between man and his Maker.
Atonement is what matters. What happens to us along the way to bring that atonement to us and to other people may not be pleasant, but it is worth the spiritual reunion between man and his Maker.
All study contents Copyright Jeremy Chance Springfield, except for graphics and images, which are Copyright their respective creators.