Leviticus 17 Study Notes
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17:10 The prohibition against eating blood pertains to both sacrificial and nonsacrificial animals and is mentioned in other parts of the Torah (3:17; 7:26-27; Gn 9:4; Dt 12:16,23-25). The expression I will turn against is literally “I will set my face against.” It points to God’s decision not just to oppose those who disobey the law, but also to destroy those who committed such lawlessness (20:3; 26:17; Ezk 14:8; 15:7).
17:11-14 The concept that the life was in the blood goes back to creation (Gn 2:7; 7:22). Here the Lord gave a rationale for the law—that the blood is the life, and God has designed the blood for atonement. Eating blood would profane something that God had sanctified or set apart for the sanctuary. The NT clearly teaches that Jesus’s blood serves as atonement for the sin of humanity (Heb 9:24-26). Not eating blood was one of the requirements the Jerusalem Council placed on the Gentiles (Ac 15:29).
17:15-16 The reason an animal found dead rendered someone unclean was that its blood had not been drained. But the penalty was not as severe as if one refused to drain the blood. See the variation in the law in Dt 14:21.