Genesis 9:4

Hebrew Bible

2 Every living creature of the earth and every bird of the sky will be terrified of you. Everything that creeps on the ground and all the fish of the sea are under your authority. 3 You may eat any moving thing that lives. As I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything. 4But you must not eat meat with its life (that is, its blood) in it. 5 For your lifeblood I will surely exact punishment, from every living creature I will exact punishment. From each person I will exact punishment for the life of the individual since the man was his relative. 6 “Whoever sheds human blood, by other humans must his blood be shed; for in God’s image God has made humankind.

Zechariah 9:7

Hebrew Bible

5 Ashkelon will see and be afraid; Gaza will be in great anguish, as will Ekron, for her hope will have been dried up. Gaza will lose her king, and Ashkelon will no longer be inhabited. 6 A mongrel people will live in Ashdod, for I will greatly humiliate the Philistines. 7 I will take away their blood from their mouth and their abominations from between their teeth;9 then those who survive will become a community of believers in our God, like a clan in Judah, and Ekron will be like the Jebusites. 8 Then I will surround my temple to protect it like a guard from anyone crossing back and forth; so no one will cross over against them anymore as an oppressor, for now I myself have seen it. 9 Rejoice greatly, daughter of Zion! Shout, daughter of Jerusalem! Look! Your king is coming to you: He is legitimate and victorious, humble and riding on a donkey—on a young donkey, the foal of a female donkey.

 Notes and References

"... Blood is considered the locus of life (Leviticus 17:11, “The soul of the flesh is in the blood”) or is identified with it (Genesis 9:4; Leviticus 17:14; Deuteronomy 12:23). For this reason, blood may not be consumed (Leviticus 3:17; 7:26; 17:10, 12, 14; Deuteronomy 12:16, 23; 15:23), nor flesh “that has its blood” (Genesis 9:4; compare Leviticus 19:26; 1 Samuel 14:32–34; Ezekiel 33:25). Probably originally understood animistically, the statements are stripped of this character through attribution to the revelation of God’s will and foundation upon it ..."

Jenni, Ernst, and Claus Westermann Theological Lexicon of the Old Testament (p. 460) Hendrickson Publishers, 1997

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