Goat

The goat (Capra hircus) was among the most important domestic animals of ancient Israel, kept for milk, meat, leather, and hair. Goats feature prominently in Israel's sacrificial system: a male goat was among the acceptable burnt offerings (Lev. 1:10), and the Day of Atonement ritual involved two goats — one sacrificed as a sin offering and one, the scapegoat, over which the high priest confessed Israel's sins before releasing it into the wilderness bearing the people's iniquities (Lev. 16:7–10, 20–22). In prophecy and eschatology, goats represent the wicked: the parable of the sheep and goats separates the righteous from the unrighteous at the final judgment (Matt. 25:32–33). Daniel's prophetic vision of a goat from the west represented the Greek empire under Alexander the Great (Dan. 8:5–8).