Texts in Conversation
Leviticus 7:26 and its rendering in Onkelos emphasize the absolute ban on consuming blood, extending the rule beyond sacrificial contexts to all locations. This universality contrasts with other commands that are limited to the Temple setting.
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Leviticus 7:26
Hebrew Bible
25 If anyone eats fat from the animal from which he presents a gift to the Lord, that person will be cut off from his people. 26 And you must not eat any blood of the birds or of the domesticated land animals in any of the places where you live. 27 Any person who eats any blood—that person will be cut off from his people.’”
Date: 5th Century B.C.E. (Final composition) (based on scholarly estimates)
Source
Onkelos Leviticus 7:26
Targum
25 Anyone who eats the fat of an animal from which an offering by fire may be made to the Lord, that person shall be cut off from their people. 26 You must not eat any blood, whether from birds or animals, in any of your settlements. 27 Anyone who eats any blood, that person shall be cut off from their people.
Date: 100-200 C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... One might have thought that since the prohibition against eating blood is stated within the laws dealing with sacrifices, it applies only in Canaan / lsrael when the Temple is standing. The Torah, therefore, stresses that it applies everywhere and at all times (Rashi; Babylonian Talmud, Kiddushin 37b). The Bible uses the same language for other laws such as matzah and the Sabbath ..."
Drazin, Israel, and Stanley M. Wagner
Onkelos on the Torah, Leviticus: Understanding the Bible Text
(p. 46) Gefen, 2006
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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