What was the Day of Atonement?
Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16), was Israel’s annual day of national cleansing — when the high priest entered the Holy of Holies with sacrificial blood and laid the people’s sins on a scapegoat sent into the wilderness. It is the most solemn day of the Jewish year.
Two goats: one sacrificed for the people’s sins, the other "carrying" them away. Together they pictured forgiveness and removal.
Hebrews 9–10 sees the whole ritual fulfilled in Christ — High Priest and Sacrifice in one, entering the true Holy of Holies "once for all" with his own blood.
For Christians the Day of Atonement is now a constant reality in Jesus. We are forgiven; the sin is carried away; we may draw near with confidence.
Original BibleDawn answer · reviewed 2026-06. Drafted with AI assistance and reviewed for accuracy.