Leviticus 16:24 Commentary: Purification After the Scapegoat

Leviticus 16 prescribes the Day of Atonement, the one day each year when the high priest alone could enter the Holy of Holies. The chapter details a sequence of actions, each with strict rules about place, clothing, and purification. By verse 24, the high priest has already performed the sin offerings for himself and the people, taken blood inside the veil, and then laid both hands on the live goat, confessing over it all the iniquities of Israel. That goat, carrying the nation’s sins, was led away into the wilderness by a designated man (vv. 21, 22).

Now, after sending off the scapegoat, the high priest must “bathe his flesh with water in a holy place” and put on his own garments, the colorful, golden-threaded vestments described in Exodus 28. The “holy place” in this context is likely the court of the tabernacle, near the bronze laver where the priests regularly washed (Exodus 29:4; 30:18, 21). Gill, citing rabbinic sources, notes that a special linen spread was laid for this bathing spot; the immersion was a full-body dip, not a mere hand-washing. The earlier linen garments, worn inside the sanctuary and while handling the scapegoat, were set aside because they had become defiled by contact with the sin-laden goat (so Wesley, and implied by Keil).

The burnt offerings that follow, first a ram for himself, then the people’s ram and seven lambs (Numbers 29:8), are not sin offerings but whole burnt offerings, symbolizing total dedication and acceptance after atonement. The priest’s own purification and change of clothes underscore that even the mediator needs cleansing before approaching God on behalf of others. This ritual pattern, with its bathing, changing, and offering, served to reinstate the high priest as a fit representative of the community before Yahweh, a point that later Christian tradition would develop in its understanding of Christ’s high priesthood.

The supplied textual notes from Lange’s commentary indicate that the Samaritan Pentateuch and the Septuagint insert the word “all” before “his flesh” in verse 24, yielding “he shall bathe all his flesh.” This variant does not change the meaning, the washing is already understood to be a full-body immersion (Gill). The same manuscripts add a reference to “strange fire” in verse 1. For verse 24 specifically, no other significant textual variants are mentioned by the consulted sources. The Hebrew text on which the standard translations are based is stable; the ritual’s meaning is unaffected by these minor differences.

The Day of Atonement ritual, including the high priest’s washing and garment change, has been received by Christian tradition primarily through the lens of Hebrews 9, 10, where it is presented as a type of Christ’s once-for-all entry into heaven. Gill explicitly connects the washing in a holy place to Christ’s burial and his “dipping” in death, and the putting on of golden garments to the glorious body Christ received after the resurrection. Wesley saw the garment change as signaling a shift from the humility of atonement to the joy of acceptance. The broader church has consistently read this verse as a shadow of the perfect mediator who, after dealing with sin, is exalted and brings his people into covenant fellowship. The ritual also shaped Jewish thought about purity and the role of the high priest, influencing later traditions regarding Yom Kippur’s liturgy.

Three-point outline

1. The Defiled Mediator. After laying hands on the scapegoat, the high priest is rendered unclean (Keil). The washing is not an option, sin leaves a mark even on the one who handles it. Application: no one, not even God’s chosen servant, can touch sin without needing purification.
2. The Renewed Garment. The high priest changes from the simple linen of atonement to the glorious high-priestly robes. Wesley says this represents moving from humble service to joyful acceptance. Application: atonement does not end in shame; it clothes us in dignity.
3. The Accepted Sacrifice. The burnt offerings after the washing seal the day. Atonement is not complete until there is a whole offering of dedication. Application: forgiveness spills into worship.

Five-point outline

1. Washing the body with water in the holy place, symbolic of burial and rebirth (Gill).
2. Putting on his own garments, the golden vestments representing glory and restoration.
3. Coming out of the washing place to the altar, the public return of the mediator.
4. Offering his own burnt offering, the priest’s own dedication.
5. Offering the people’s burnt offering, the community’s renewed covenant.

Illustration hooks

• The surgeon after surgery. A surgeon scrubs in for a procedure, but after removing a contaminated organ he scrubs again and changes gown before seeing the next patient. The contamination is real, even if he never touched it directly. The Day of Atonement ritual teaches that sin is more than metaphor, it required literal purification of the mediator.
• Changing clothes after a muddy job. You work in the garden, then hose off, change into clean clothes, and sit down for a meal. The high priest’s bathing and change mark the shift from the grimy work of dealing with sin to the sacred feast of fellowship with God.
• A priest’s preparation for the Eucharist. In many traditions, the celebrant washes hands before the consecration. The practice echoes the ancient need for purity before handling holy things.

Questions your congregation is asking

• If the high priest needed washing because he was defiled by the scapegoat, does that mean our sin made Christ unclean? How do we understand that in light of his sinlessness?
• Why did the priest bathe his whole body and not just his hands? What does that say about the thoroughness of purification needed?
• What is the significance that the burnt offerings came after the scapegoat, not before? Does that affect how we order our worship, first confession, then dedication?

Leviticus 16:24 falls near the climax of the Day of Atonement. The high priest has sent the scapegoat away, bearing Israel’s sins into the wilderness. Now he must wash, change, and offer burnt offerings. This short verse holds a key to understanding how atonement works, it is not just about the removal of guilt, but about the restoration of the mediator and the community to a state of purity before God. As you read the passage together, pay attention to the repeated pattern of washing and changing that runs through the chapter (see also verses 4, 26, 28).

Discussion questions

1. Observation: What actions does the high priest perform in verse 24? List them in order.
2. Observation: Compare verses 23 and 24. Why do you think the priest removes the linen garments before washing? What does the commentary suggest about why those garments need to be left behind?
3. Interpretation: Keil and Delitzsch say the priest was “rendered unclean” by laying sins on the goat. How does that change your view of what happened to the high priest during the scapegoat ritual?
4. Interpretation: The washing is a full-body bath, not a hand-washing (Gill). What does that say about the extent of defilement and the nature of cleansing required?
5. Interpretation: After washing, the priest puts on his “own garments”, the golden high-priestly vestments. How does the change of clothing reflect the change in his role from the first part of the day to the second?
6. Application: Hebrews 9 and 10 compare Christ’s once-for-all sacrifice to these repeated Levitical cleansings. What does the high priest’s washing after the scapegoat teach us about Christ’s work? Can we say he “needed” cleansing, as the priest did?
7. Application: The burnt offering that follows the washing is a gift of total dedication. In your own life, how does the experience of forgiveness lead you to offer something back to God?