Extracts from paper of W. H. S., who gains First Prize, Dr. Thomson’s “Land and Book”—
“The first mention we have of goats in the Scriptures is in Genesis 15:9, where Abraham is directed to take a she-goat to offer it up for a sacrifice. From this passage it would appear that goats formed part of the possessions of Abraham; so that these animals have been domesticated by man for at least 3800 years, and most probably they were domesticated a long time before Abraham. The passages of Scripture which refer to goats may be divided into two classes—those passages that refer to the uses of the goat, and those that refer to its habits and natural characteristics.
“As to the uses of this animal, we find from Genesis 27:9 that the hairy skins were used for clothing; afterwards, when weaving had become known, the long, silky hair of the goats was woven into cloth, the use of which was by no means confined to clothing, but it was employed for numerous other purposes; for instance, eleven of the curtains of the Tabernacle were made of woven goats-hair, as we learn from Exodus 26:6-8; and on account of its softness we find goats-hair used for a pillow. (1 Samuel 19:13-16).
“From a great number of verses of Scripture we learn that goats were used in sacrifices. In Abraham’s sacrifice (Genesis 15:9), a she-goat was one of the animals offered up. In the burnt offering a male goat might be employed; likewise in the peace offering (Leviticus 1 to 3:12). In the sin-offering for the ruler the kid appointed for sacrifice was to be a male; while in the sin-offering for one of the common people the kid was to be a female. If a kid were employed in the trespass-offering it was to be invariably a female (Leviticus 4:23, 28; 5:6). In all cases the animal was to be without blemish. On the Great Day of Atonement two kids were chosen, and lots cast on them; one being for the Lord, and the other for the scapegoat or Azazel. The goat on which the Lord’s lot fell was then offered for a sin offering, and the other goat was presented alive before the Lord. Then Aaron, or the high priest, went into the most holy place, or holy of holies. After he had come out he laid his hands on the head of the surviving one and confessed over him all the iniquities and transgressions of the children of Israel, so putting them on the head of the goat, which was then led by the hands of a fit man to the wilderness, and there let go. All the details of this solemn ceremony are given in Leviticus 16.
“There are very few passages in the Bible from which we can gather anything definite respecting the habits of the goat. The domesticated goats were always considered distinct from the wild goats (see Deuteronomy 14:4-5). The former were kept in flocks, apart from the sheep (Matt. 25:32), but the favourite abode of the latter was on the rocky mountains of Palestine (see 1 Samuel 24:2; Job 39; Psalms 114:18). The stateliness and majestic bearing of the he-goat are referred to in Proverbs 30:31. The first time goats are used symbolically in the Bible is in Exodus 12:5, where the goat is mentioned as an animal to be used in the Passover. In this passage the animal undoubtedly is a symbol of the Lord Jesus, for, as in the blood shed at the Passover, all who are sheltered by His precious blood are saved from the doom which will surely overtake all those who reject Christ. In the laws and descriptions of the sacrifices the goat always typically represents the Lord Jesus; likewise the scapegoat, for the sins of all those who believe in Him are borne away by the blessed Saviour to a ‘a land not inhabited.’ They are for ever forgiven.
“In the book of the prophet Daniel we have the goat employed by the Spirit of God to represent the King of Greece, who rose out of the west and subdued the power of the ram (the Persian empire), but in turn his power was broken, and his vast empire divided into four. All this is literally true of Alexander the Great, the Macedonian king, who, as history tells us, flourished greatly, but was struck down in the midst of his career, and his kingdom broken up.”
The Second Prize, “Tales of Alsace,” is gained by A. S. R. T., of Manchester.