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Leviticus

About this book
Chapter 17

1 The Lord spoke to Moses, 2 “Speak to Aaron, his sons, and all the Israelites, and tell them, ‘This is the word that the Lord has commanded, 3 “Blood guilt will be accounted to any man from the house of Israel who slaughters an ox or a lamb or a goat inside the camp or outside the camp, 4 but has not brought it to the entrance of the Meeting Tent to present it as an offering to the Lord before the tabernacle of the Lord. He has shed blood, so that man will be cut off from the midst of his people.⁠ 5 This is so that the Israelites will bring their sacrifices that they are sacrificing in the open field to the Lord at the entrance of the Meeting Tent—to the priest—and sacrifice them there as peace-offering sacrifices to the Lord. 6 The priest is to splash the blood on the altar of the Lord at the entrance of the Meeting Tent, and offer the fat up in smoke for a soothing aroma to the Lord. 7 So the people must no longer offer their sacrifices to the goat demons, acting like prostitutes by going after them.⁠ This is to be a perpetual statute for them throughout their generations.”’ 8 “You are to say to them: ‘Any man from the house of Israel or from the resident foreigners who live in their midst, who offers a burnt offering or a sacrifice 9 but does not bring it to the entrance of the Meeting Tent to offer it to the Lord—that person will be cut off from his people. 10 “‘Any man from the house of Israel or from the resident foreigners who live in their midst who eats any blood, I will set my face against that person who eats the blood,⁠ and I will cut him off from the midst of his people,⁠ 11 for the life of every living thing is in the blood. So I myself have assigned it to you on the altar to make atonement for your lives, for the blood makes atonement by means of the life. 12 Therefore, I have said to the Israelites: No person among you is to eat blood, and no resident foreigner who lives among you is to eat blood. 13 “‘Any man from the Israelites or from the resident foreigners who live in their midst who hunts a wild animal or a bird that may be eaten must pour out its blood and cover it with soil,⁠ 14 for the life of all flesh is its blood. So I have said to the Israelites: You must not eat the blood of any living thing because the life of every living thing is its blood—all who eat it will be cut off. 15 “‘Any person who eats an animal that has died of natural causes or an animal torn by beasts, whether a native citizen or a resident foreigner, must wash his clothes, bathe in water, and be unclean until evening; then he will be clean. 16 But if he does not wash his clothes and does not bathe his body, he will bear his punishment for his iniquity.’”

Texts in conversation

Compare Genesis 9:4 and Leviticus 17:10

Hebrew Bible

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Summary

Genesis describes a universal ban on eating blood, which Leviticus develops into detailed commandments about Israel's community life. This shift from universal rule to specific command shows how principles in the Torah evolved to form Israelite identity.

Passages

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. 4 “But 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.
750–400 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Genesis

Leviticus 17:10

Hebrew Bible
8 “You are to say to them: ‘Any man from the house of Israel or from the resident foreigners who live in their midst, who offers a burnt offering or a sacrifice 9 but does not bring it to the entrance of the Meeting Tent to offer it to the Lord—that person will be cut off from his people. 10 “‘Any man from the house of Israel or from the resident foreigners who live in their midst who eats any blood, I will set my face against that person who eats the blood, and I will cut him off from the midst of his people, 11 for the life of every living thing is in the blood. So I myself have assigned it to you on the altar to make atonement for your lives, for the blood makes atonement by means of the life. 12 Therefore, I have said to the Israelites: No person among you is to eat blood, and no resident foreigner who lives among you is to eat blood.
750–400 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Leviticus

References

"... The prohibition on blood (Acts 15:29) recalls the dietary restrictions of Genesis 9:4, while the general prohibition of bloodshed recalls Genesis 9:5–6. On the face of things, there is clearly some overlap with the biblical Noahide laws in Genesis 9 ... This sets out a range of obligations for resident aliens living in the land of Israel. The parallels are found in the blood taboos of Leviticus 17:10–14, the dietary laws of Leviticus 17:15ff, and the list of forbidden sexual relationships in Leviticus 18:6–30. It mirrors the concerns of Acts 15. There are good reasons, then, for thinking that Acts 15 is really a creative New Testament application of Leviticus 17–18, in much the same way as, for example, the prophet Ezekiel appears to draw on Leviticus 17–18 in his insistence that there are certain preconditions to living in the land of Israel (Ezekiel 33:24–26) ..."
Jonathan Burnside, God, Justice, and Society: Aspects of Law and Legality in the Bible (New York: Oxford University Press, 2011), 96–97.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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Genesis 9:4 and Leviticus 17:10

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