Question
Was the scapegoat sent away to wander freely in the desert?
Answer
The Torah, in referring to the sending away of the scapegoat in the desert (Lev.16:22), uses the term “eretz gezerah”. Targum Onkelos translates “gezerah” as “uninhabited”, but Targum Yonasan translates it as “steep” or “mountainous”.
The Mishnah (Yoma 6:6) says explicitly that the scapegoat was pushed off a cliff. The Talmud (Yoma 67b) derives various aspects of the procedure from (midrashic) interpretations of the word “gezerah”.