Lev 17.1-16 tells us about the sanctity of the blood. It discusses the fact that meat and foods be free from any idolatrous stain (Acts 15.26). This stain comes in two forms: sacrificing to the shedim (demons-v 7) and eating the blood (v 10-14). Much has been said about the blood in the Scriptures, especially in Leviticus. It is a major concept so we will need some information on it.
Gen 2.7 says that Yehovah breathed into the nostrils of Adam (meaning “blood of God”) the breath of life and he became a living soul (nefesh). Gen 9.4 says that we are not to eat flesh with it’s life-the blood. Why not? Lev 17.11 says, For the life of the flesh is in the blood…for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul.”
Medical science has demonstrated a significance to the blood. We can submit a blood sample and have blood work done, checking many areas for health information. Blood also supplies oxygen and nutrients to the body, and it also removes impurities. Blood is the highway to pathogens that can make a person sick, or to help them heal. We will have more detail on tis inLev 17.11 notes.
The Jewish Rabbis viewed Lev 17 through Lev 20 as the “Kernal (essentials) of the Torah.”
Holiness is…
v 1…Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,
v 2…”Speak to Aaron and his sons, and to all the sons of Israel, and say to them, ‘This is what the Lord has commanded, saying,
v 3…”Any man from the house of Israel who slaughters an ox, or a lamb or a goat in the camp, or who slaughters it outside the camp,
v 4…and has not brought it to the doorway of the tent of meeting to present it as an offering to the Lord before the Mishkan of the Lord, bloodguiltiness is to be reckoned to that man. He has shed blood and that man shall be cut off from among his people (“karet”-unable to take advantage of congregational life and its advantages; death by the hand of God).
v 5…The reason is so that the sons of Israel may bring their sacrifices which they are sacrificing in the open field (in “high places” or “bamot” before the Mishkan was erected), that they may bring them to the Lord, at the doorway of the tent of meeting to the priest (this law was given to make sure that nobody was sacrificing to demons/idols in secret) and sacrifice them as sacrifices of of peace offerings (Korban Shelemim in which the offerer had a share) to the Lord (although only the Korban Shelemim is mentioned, this included all the others).
v 6…And the priest shall sprinkle the blood on the altar of the Lord at the doorway of the tent of meeting, and offer up the fat (that covered the innards) in smoke as a soothing aroma to the Lord (he is pleased with our faith and obedience).
v 7…And they shall no longer sacrifice their sacrifices to the goat demons (who inhabited the wilderness-Isa 13.21, 34.14; or idols, like the golden calf-2 Chr 11.15; 1 Cor 10.20) with which they play the harlot (the Torah was given to wean them away from some of their primitive ideas and idolatrous practices and to direct their focus upon Yehovah). This shall be a permanent (olam) statute (chukat) to them throughout their generations.
v 8…Then you shall say to them, ‘Any man from the house of Israel or from the aliens (gerim-those non-Jews who believe in Yehovah and follow the Torah as it applies to them) who sojourn among them, who offers a burnt offering or sacrifice,
v 9…and does not bring it to the doorway of the tent of meeting to offer it to the Lord, that man shall be cut off from his people (karet).
v 10…And any man from the house of Israel, or from the aliens (gerim; those non-Jews who believe in Yehovah and follow the Torah as it applies to them) who sojourn among them, who eats any blood, I will set my face against that person who eats blood, and will cut him off from among his people.
v 11…For the life of the flesh (nefesh basar) is in the blood (b’dam) and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement (restore a covering) for your souls (nafshetaychem); for it is the blood (ha dam) by reason of the life (nefesh) that makes atonement (So let’s take a look at some of the concepts associated with “life is in the blood” in this verse. The nefesh is seen as the individual person or human life in Gen 2.7. Emotions start in the womb and the sinful Adamic blood-line is passed down from generation to generation (Exo 20.8). Sin is in our life and flesh. We are created in our parents “blood” and we are “flesh of their flesh” and it is as if their “voices” are out there. Now DNA is our programming dats, and RNA carries the instructions from our DNA. THoughts and emotions impact our will, the action part of the nefesh. So the voices of our parents cry out through the memory of the blood. If we listen we become like them. We “inherit” their mindset, fears, and anger. These are unrighteous “roots” if we repeat these long enough, and it becomes our nature. God’s nature is found in his word where we learn strength, love, forgiveness and mercy. Here are some Scriptures for consideration” Heb 4.12-13; 1 John 4.18; Neh 8.10; 1 John 1.8-9; 1 Cor 10.5; Rom 7. 16-18, 22-25; Rom 8.1-2; 1 John 5.1-2; 2 Cor 7.1, Rom 5.1-2; Prov 17.22; 1 John 4.18; Isa 35.3-6; Psa 51.10; Prov 23.7; Phil 4.6-7; Jam 1.14, 19-22. The will of the person is the action part of the person, based on thoughts and emotions. The feelings are sensory data where we “see, hear and feel” and are the result of what we believe about sensory data (perception is how we relate to the world around us through our senses). Emotions have bodily functions and fuel that feeling with a belief system that has been programmed with negative data, so the body functions are negative rather than positive. Emotional roots of fear, anger and sorrow come from our memory part of the nefesh. Any thoughts we have that do not match how the Lord thinks and speaks cause (blockages” to peace and healing. As a result. that is the root of many diseases. The ultimate purpose of the Torah is life (Deut 11.26, 30.6; Prov 3.1-18; Acts 10.35). So let’s look again at Lev 17.11.If life is in the blood, why do people say life begins before there is blood? There is an article in “Answers in Genesis.org” called “Flesh and Blood” and it is written by Dr Elizabeth Mitchell, dated Oct 14, 2011. It is a very balanced article on this verse and will answer the above question. Just about any believer has gotten into a discussion about when life begins and abortion. Traditionally, conception has been defined as he moment when the sperm fertilizes the egg. Medicine has redefined (conception” as a synonym for “implantation” that occurs several days after fertilization. Fertilization is when the sperm fertilizes the egg, combining their genetic information producing a zygote with full DNA. The “new person” only needs to develop. The earliest blood cells and cardiovascular systems develop during the third week of development. Does that mean a human life does not begin until there is blood? Lev 17.11 says, “LIfe is in the blood?” But we need to understand that verse to answer the above question, so let’s look at some context. In Lev 17.10 we learn that while in the wilderness, Israel was instructed to slaughter their animals at the Mishkan to make sure that nobody was sacrificing to demons in secret. They were to pour out the blood instead of eating it. Blood was special to the Lord and they were to remember that the korbanot had a “kedusha” and the blood was to be poured out on the altar. To eat it would diminish the kedusha and its meaning. Lev 17.14 is the key verse in understanding Lev 17.11. That verse says that “it (the blood) is the life of all flesh. Its blood sustains its life. Therefore, I said to the children of Israel, ‘You shall not eat the blood of any flesh, for the life of all flesh is in its blood.’ ” Blood is not alive, but any creature beyond a certain size requires a circulatory system to stay alive. As wwe have said before, the blood transports oxygen and nutrients to the body. When all the blood leaves the body, that creature dies because life cannot be sustained. Dr Mitchell explains that the Bible never really defines what life is, but neither does science. We can be alive one minute, and dead the next. The characteristics of life can be described but what that unidentified thing is that makes something alive has not been discovered. The Torah uses the word “nefesh” to refer to the life and soul of humans and animals, but not in regards to plant and insects. Life comes from God (Acts 17.28), and the blood sustains life. Creatures continue to live because they have blood, but the blood does not make them alive. That is a big difference. We can die from something other than loss of blood. We are still dead even though there is still blood in their bodies. So, the presence of blood in an embryo beyond a certain size is needed in order to maintain life, but it already possessed life from God before that. In the case of a human embryo, that gift includes being made in God’s image. So, based on Leb 17.14 as it elaborates on Lev 17.11, the life of the flesh is in the blood because it sustains life in the flesh. From the third week forward a human embryo develops blood and a system to circulate it through the body to maintain the life it already possesses. when an egg is fertilized the gift of life is given to it by God, just like when he breathed into Adam in Gen 2.17. The genetic blueprint at the time of fertilization marks the moment when a human life begins. Even if there will be twins (like Jacob and Esau), God provides the resources for creating two (or more) individual souls in the womb (Psa 139.16). Dna may be similar, but they will have individual personalities because there is more to a person than the blueprint. When three weeks have passed, that life (or lives) will begin to produce the blood and circulatory system that is needed to sustain that life already there until death. So, like begins at fertilization, but the blood does not make them alive. It keeps them alive, and that is what Lev 17.11-14 is saying).
v 12…Therefore I said to the sons of Israel, ‘No person among you may eat the blood, not any alien (ger) who sojourns among you eat blood.’
v 13…So when any man form the sons of Israel, or from the aliens who sojourn among them, in hunting catches a beast or a bird which may be eaten (on the Lev 11 list like a deer, gazelle, elk, turkey, chicken, goose, etc), he shall pour out its blood and cover it with earth (like a burial).
v 14…For as for the life of all flesh its blood is identified with its life. Therefore I said to the sons of Israel, ‘You are not to eat the blood of any flesh, for the life of all flesh is its blood; whoever eats it shall be cut off (karet-see v 11 notes).’
v 15…And when a person eats an animal which dies (“nevilah”-of itself), or is torn by beasts (“treifah”), whether he is a native or an alien (a “ger” or a non-Jew who has joined himself to Israel; but a ger who has not joined himself to Israel would also live among them in the land and he may eat it because they would not be going into the sanctuary/Mishkan/Temple-Deut 14.21), he shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and remain unclean (out of place) until evening; then he will become clean (in place).
v 16…But if he does not wash them or bathe his body, then he shall bear his guilt (should he enter the sanctuary/Mishkan/Temple).”
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