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Leviticus

About this book
Chapter 3

1 “‘Now if his offering is a peace-offering sacrifice, if he presents an offering from the herd, he must present before the Lord a flawless male or a female. 2 He must lay his hand on the head of his offering and slaughter it at the entrance of the Meeting Tent, and the sons of Aaron, the priests, must splash the blood against the altar’s sides. 3 Then the one presenting the offering must present a gift to the Lord from the peace-offering sacrifice: He must remove the fat that covers the entrails and all the fat that surrounds the entrails, 4 the two kidneys with the fat on their sinews,⁠ and the protruding lobe on the liver (which he is to remove along with the kidneys). 5 Then the sons of Aaron must offer it up in smoke on the altar atop the burnt offering that is on the wood in the fire as a gift of a soothing aroma to the Lord. 6 “‘If his offering for a peace-offering sacrifice to the Lord is from the flock, he must present a flawless male or female. 7 If he presents a sheep as his offering, he must present it before the Lord. 8 He must lay his hand on the head of his offering and slaughter it before the Meeting Tent, and the sons of Aaron must splash its blood against the altar’s sides. 9 Then he must present a gift to the Lord from the peace-offering sacrifice: He must remove all the fatty tail up to the end of the spine, the fat covering the entrails, and all the fat on the entrails, 10 the two kidneys with the fat on their sinews, and the protruding lobe on the liver (which he is to remove along with the kidneys). 11 Then the priest must offer it up in smoke on the altar as⁠ a food gift to the Lord. 12 “‘If his offering is a goat, he must present it before the Lord, 13 lay his hand on its head, and slaughter it before the Meeting Tent, and the sons of Aaron must splash its blood against the altar’s sides. 14 Then he must present from it his offering as a gift to the Lord: the fat which covers the entrails and all the fat on the entrails, 15 the two kidneys with the fat on their sinews, and the protruding lobe on the liver (which he is to remove along with the kidneys). 16 Then the priest must offer them up in smoke on the altar as a food gift for a soothing aroma—all the fat belongs to the Lord. 17 This is a perpetual statute throughout your generations in all the places where you live: You must never eat any fat or any blood.’”⁠

Texts in conversation

Compare Leviticus 3:17 and Deuteronomy 12:16

Hebrew Bible

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Summary

Deuteronomy forbids eating blood in everyday meals, extending rules found in Leviticus about sacred food. Both trace back to Genesis, which gives the ban to all humanity and ties it to daily life in Israel.

Passages

Leviticus 3:17

Hebrew Bible
15 the two kidneys with the fat on their sinews, and the protruding lobe on the liver (which he is to remove along with the kidneys). 16 Then the priest must offer them up in smoke on the altar as a food gift for a soothing aroma—all the fat belongs to the Lord. 17 This is a perpetual statute throughout your generations in all the places where you live: You must never eat any fat or any blood.’”
750–400 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Leviticus

Deuteronomy 12:16

Hebrew Bible
14 for you may do so only in the place the Lord chooses in one of your tribal areas—there you may do everything I am commanding you. 15 On the other hand, you may slaughter and eat meat as you please when the Lord your God blesses you in all your villages. Both the ritually pure and impure may eat it, whether it is a gazelle or an ibex. 16 However, you must not eat blood—pour it out on the ground like water. 17 You will not be allowed to eat in your villages your tithe of grain, new wine, olive oil, the firstborn of your herd and flock, any votive offerings you have vowed, or your freewill and personal offerings. 18 Only in the presence of the Lord your God may you eat these, in the place he chooses. This applies to you, your son, your daughter, your male and female servants, and the Levites in your villages. In that place you will rejoice before the Lord your God in all the output of your labor.
750–400 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Deuteronomy

References

"... In Genesis 9:4 the prohibition against ingesting blood is given to Noah as the sole restriction on the control of the animal kingdom granted to him and his heirs. It is thus defined as binding on the whole human race, unlike all the other dietary laws, which serve to distinguish Israel from the nations. It is repeated for Israel in the context of the sacrificial rituals (Leviticus 3:17; 7:26-27) and for Israel and resident aliens (Leviticus 17:10-14). This latter passage applies the rule to game as well as domestic animals, including birds (Leviticus 17:13), and offers explanations. Leviticus 7:27 and 17:10, 14 ordain a sanction: Yahweh will “cut off anyone who eats blood.” Leviticus 19:26 is frequently read as speaking of “eating with the blood,” but the literal translation is “on the blood,” and a different practice may be in view (compare 1 Samuel 14:31-34; Ezekiel 33:25). The rule is also found in Deuteronomy 12:16, 23-25; 15:23, where permission is given (as against Leviticus 17) for the secular slaughter of animals. In sacrificial slaughter the blood would have been poured against the altar as the divine portion; its mention here ensures that in the less-controlled secular environment the animal’s blood still does not pass human lips. The texts all speak of eating blood, not drinking it; this probably shows that the issue is one of eating blood as part of the meat ..."
T. Desmond Alexander and David W. Baker, Dictionary of the Old Testament: Pentateuch (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 2003), 330–331.

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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Leviticus 3:17 and Deuteronomy 12:16

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