The basic idea of the scapegoat has existed since the early days of the Bible, primarily seen in the passage of Leviticus 16. In that tradition the term literally meant a goat that carried the sins of others, but metaphorically the excuse used to sacrifice a single person for the sins of society is generally how the concept has been used metaphorically. .
The main difference is that in the biblical story, the woman is found guilty, but Jesus calls everyone else guilty in His statement about those being without sin to cast the first stone. However in "The Lottery " each person doesn't take the blame for their guilt, but rather uses Tessie as a scapegoat for their sin. The connection between the two stories is that the ritual of the scapegoat is actually taken from the Old Testament of the bible in Leviticus. Each year on the Day of Atonement, the Hebrews would choose two goats: one to be sacrificed to the Lord and one to atone for people's sins. Beyond this literal idea of being sacrificed for the sins of others is a more general idea that people need to have someone to blame or hate. The idea being that by being able to simply heap all of their aggression onto one person, they are able to free themselves of it for another year. In these stories, it is human nature for people to feel justified in their own wrong doings if they have a scapegoat. .
In the biblical story of the woman who was caught in adultery, Jesus comes and speaks to the people who are about to stone her. He brings something to the table that no one else has before; forgiveness. The woman, who was blatantly living in sin, was then given a second chance to repent and turn away from her wrong doings. The difference between this passage and the situation in "The Lottery, " is that essentially Jesus became the scapegoat. Both instances include the law and tradition of each community. At the time in the Bible, it was the law that anyone caught in adultery was to be stoned.
