Who is Azazel?

Is he Satan or a Different Entity?

Sep 23, 2025

Who is Azazel? Is he a fallen angel, demon, goat, Watcher, or the Beast in the Book of Revelation?

On the Day of Atonement, YHWH (the Lord) commanded the high priest to offer up two goats. One was sacrificed as a sin offering. The other goat was “for Azazel.” (Leviticus 16:8)

The high priest placed his hands upon the goat for Azazel and confessed the sins of the people. (Leviticus 16:22) He ceremonially transferred the sins onto the goat. The goat was then driven into the wilderness “to Azazel.” (Leviticus 16:10,26)

Azazel is not mentioned anywhere else in the Bible.

Who is Azazel? Can we learn about this entity from extra-biblical books?

Azazel: A Fallen Watcher

We can learn about Azazel from extra-biblical books, particularly the Book of 1 Enoch.

The beginning of 1 Enoch describes a group of angels known as the Watchers. Watchers are special angels entrusted with the job of watching over humans and reporting to YHWH what they see. They are mentioned in Daniel 4:13 and 4:17.

In the days of Noah, some Watchers sinned and took human wives. They had been forbidden to do this. (1 Enoch 15:6-7)

The Watchers had children with the women. Their children were giants. The Watchers taught their wives, children, and other humans many evil practices. (1 Enoch 7-8) They introduced the following sins:

Fornication
Abortion
Drugs
Sorcery
Astrology
Gene alteration
Drinking blood
Cannibalism

Azazel was one of the fallen Watchers. He was a leader among them. Azazel specifically taught humans how to craft weapons and engage in violence against one another.

1 Enoch 8:1a,3b “Azazel taught men to make swords, and knives, and shields, and breastplates, and made known to them the metals of the earth and the craft of working them…And as men perished, they cried, and their cry went up to Heaven.” (LSV)

In 1 Enoch 10:8, ALL sin was attributed to Azazel.

1 Enoch 10:8 “The whole earth has been corrupted through the works that were taught by Azazel: to him ascribe all sin.” (LSV)

Azazel’s Judgment

To deal with the sins that Azazel taught humanity in Noah’s day, YHWH sent the Flood.

Azazel was also punished. He and the other fallen Watchers were bound and imprisoned in a dark abyss. They are still there waiting for Judgment Day, when they will be burned with eternal fire. (1 Enoch 10:11-12, Jubilees 5:6-10)

Is Azazel Satan?

Because Azazel is responsible for all sin, some have suspected that Azazel is another name for Satan. This belief is found in 1^st century literature.

The Revelation of Abraham, dating to the 1^st century, credited Azazel as the one who seduced Eve in the Garden of Eden. (Revelation of Abraham 23:6) From the Bible, we know that the serpent who seduced Eve was Satan.

According to 1 Enoch 10:4 and 54:4, Azazel has been bound in darkness since the Flood, awaiting Judgment Day. The Apostles Peter and Jude also referred to their imprisonment in 2 Peter 2:4-5 and Jude 1:6 in agreement with 1 Enoch.

Satan, however, is not currently bound. He roams the earth seeking to steal, kill, and destroy. His time is short, but he is still very active. If Azazel is imprisoned in darkness, according to the Scriptures, Azazel cannot be Satan.

So who is Azazel?

Is Azazel the Beast?

In Revelation 17:8, in a vision about the future, John saw a beast coming up out of “the pit of the deep.” This pit is the underworld, also known as She’ol in Scripture. This is where the fallen Watchers, including Azazel, are currently imprisoned.

In the Book of Revelation, the Beast created a One World Government. The Beast’s government was marked with massive war and death, sins attributed to Azazel.

The Beast was conquered by Yahushua (Jesus) and thrown into the lake of fire. (Revelation 19:20)

I believe the Beast could be Azazel. He comes up out of “the pit” where Azazel was imprisoned. His reign is marked by the exact sins that Azazel taught. And just as Azazel’s destiny is in the lake of fire, so is the Beast’s.

If Azazel is the Beast, it now makes sense why all sin was attributed to him.

Conquered by Yahushua

The Book of 1 Enoch described Azazel’s judgment. He will be conquered by the Son of Man, Yahushua. The world will be restored. Truth and peace will prosper.

1 Enoch 10:17-18a,22 “Then all the righteous will escape and will live until they beget thousands of children, and they will complete all the days of their youth and their old age in peace. And then the whole earth will be tilled in righteousness…And the earth will be cleansed from all defilement, and from all sin, and from all punishment, and from all torment, and I will never again send them on it from generation to generation and forever.” (LSV)

1 Enoch 11:1-2 “And in those days I will open the store chambers of blessing which are in the heavens, so as to send them down on the earth over the work and labor of the children of men. And truth and peace will be associated together throughout all the days of the world and throughout all the generations of men.” (LSV)

Final Thoughts

Identifying Azazel is on my mind as I prepare to observe the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur). The Day of Atonement is one of the set-apart days YHWH’s people are commanded to keep. The Book of Revelation tells us that the people who overcome the Beast are those who guard Elohim’s (God’s) commands and have belief in Yahushua.

Revelation 14:12 “Here is the endurance of the set-apart ones, here are those guarding the commands of Elohim and the belief of יהושע.”

For further reading about the Day of Atonement, the Goat Sacrifice, and Azazel, I recommend the book Written in the Heavens by Jordan Ryan and his articles The Goat: Sacrificed and Set Free and The Goat: A Witness to the Day of Atonement.

Purchase Written in the Heavens