Living Like the Azazel Goat in Romans 12:1b

Abstract

Among the three epithets to ‘sacrifice’ in Romans 12:1b (‘living’, ‘holy’, and ‘acceptable to God’), ‘living’ does not appear to derive from Old Testament rituals. Thus, the term is commonly thought to apply only to the New Testament believer. However, such a conclusion is syntactically and semantically awkward because the other two epithets clearly have Old Testament ritual as their background. Moreover, the Old Testament does know of a ‘living’ sacrifice. This study argues that these three epithets allude to a literal Old Testament (Levitical) ritual so as to portray the Christian life in a general way. Two interpretive assumptions are refuted. The first is that the spiritual dimension of the sacrifice in Romans 12:1 is absent in the sacrificial rituals of the Old Testament. The second pertains to what is meant by the phrase ‘spiritual life’. Though it is commonly thought that ‘spiritual life’ is a New Testament concept, the Old Testament sacrificial system is also concerned with the offerer’s spiritual life. It is shown that the difference between the Old Testament and New Testament concepts (cf. Rom. 12:1b) is the way in which the believer becomes the sacrifice in the latter. Thus it seems reasonable to think that the ‘living sacrifice’ of Romans 12:1b may have an Old Testament precedent. This study argues that its literal counterpart is the ritual for the Azazel-goat, the prescribed means for making atonement for the whole people in Leviticus 16. Reading ‘living sacrifice’ from this perspective suggests that Paul was encouraging believers to live like an Azazel-goat, suffering for others by the power of the Holy Spirit.