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# Atonement Through Sacrifice and Surrogates
- URL: https://www.pshir.com/atonement-through-sacrifice-and-surrogates/
- Published: 2026-09-20T14:00:15.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-20T14:00:14.000Z
- Author: Pinchas Shir
- Tags: Video

Below is a lecture by Shaye J. D. Cohen, who is a Professor of Hebrew Literature and Philosophy in the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations at Harvard University. He is a well-known historian who also holds a rabbinic ordination from the Jewish Theological Seminary. **If University lectures don't typically bore you, then Dr. Cohen might challenge your thinking.** In this particular lecture, he examines sacrificial atonement in the Hebrew Bible, especially the Day of Atonement rituals and the scapegoat of Leviticus 16\. Ancient Jews possessed conceptual frameworks in which one being could symbolically carry the sins or consequences of others. These ideas created fertile ground for later interpretations of redemptive suffering and substitutionary atonement. 

In this lecture, Dr. Cohen also explores how Second Temple Jews and early Christians interpreted sacrifice. One trajectory viewed sacrifice primarily as a means of atonement: a victim dies so that others may live. This framework naturally encouraged readings of Isaiah 53 and later interpretations of Jesus' death as vicarious suffering. At the same time, the speaker highlights prophetic critiques of sacrifice, emphasizing that biblical prophets often challenged ritual observance divorced from justice, righteousness, and covenant loyalty.

[The Gift of Atonement and Messiah (\~1hr)People have diverse ideas about atonement because the topic is so multifaceted. In this particular lesson, I highlight some foundational truths that center around the imagery of “cleansing” and “purification.” However, the questions I get most often about Atonement are tied to Jesus and the role of the Messiah in![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/cb/92/cb92d6e7-47ce-4f97-8940-40310199fb9b/content/images/icon/60x60-blk-c4e9d2fe-9db5-4bf6-9012-652c6d1a5843.png)PSHIR.COMPinchas Shir![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/cb/92/cb92d6e7-47ce-4f97-8940-40310199fb9b/content/images/thumbnail/Screenshot-2024-10-09-120154-3f1eb919-11ad-4132-abd4-5b44b33a8ead.jpg)](https://www.pshir.com/the-gift-of-atonement-and-messiah/)

[Purity, Sacrifice and The Temple by Jonathan KlawansMisconceptions about ancient Jewish sacrifice have led scholars to overlook the significance and symbolism of the Jerusalem temple to the ancient Jewish worshippers. The author of “Purity, Sacrifice, and the Temple,” Jonathan Klawans, challenges the idea that the eucharist replaced ancient Jewish sacrifice and that these cultic rituals were meaningless![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/cb/92/cb92d6e7-47ce-4f97-8940-40310199fb9b/content/images/icon/60x60-blk-ae9b950f-e581-4909-a785-bf866fa36e2c.png)PSHIR.COMPinchas Shir![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/cb/92/cb92d6e7-47ce-4f97-8940-40310199fb9b/content/images/thumbnail/PST-cover-93496a77-bd81-495a-aa40-05369c94ae03.jpg)](https://www.pshir.com/purity-sacrifice-and-the-temple-by-jonathan-klawans/)