Leviticus 17:14

14 This is because the life of any creature is in its blood. So I have said to the people of Israel: Never eat any blood, because the life of any creature is in its blood. Whoever eats blood must be excluded [from the people].

Leviticus 17:14 Meaning and Commentary

Leviticus 17:14

For [it is] the life of all flesh
Of every animal:

the blood of it [is] for the life thereof;
for the production, preservation, and continuance of life; that on which life depends, as Jarchi observes:

therefore I said unto the children of Israel, ye shall eat the blood
of no manner of flesh;
of beasts or birds, whose flesh was fit for food; but their blood was not to be eaten, for the reasons before given:

for the life of all flesh [is] the blood thereof;
which is repeated, that it might be observed and taken notice of, as that in which the force of the reason lay for giving this law:

whosoever eateth it shall be cut off;
by death, whether he be an Israelite or a proselyte of righteousness; wherefore if this law was now in force, its penalty also would be continued, whereas it is not, and which shows the abrogation of it. Also (See Gill on Leviticus 17:4).

Leviticus 17:14 In-Context

12 That is why I have said to the people of Israel: Neither you nor foreigners should ever eat blood.
13 "If Israelites or foreigners hunt any animal or bird that may be eaten, they must pour out the animal's blood and cover it with dirt.
14 This is because the life of any creature is in its blood. So I have said to the people of Israel: Never eat any blood, because the life of any creature is in its blood. Whoever eats blood must be excluded [from the people].
15 "Native Israelites or foreigners who eat the body of an animal that dies naturally or is killed by another animal must wash their clothes and their bodies. They will be unclean until evening. Then they will be clean.
16 If they don't wash their clothes and their bodies, they will be guilty of sin."
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