The Place of Sacrifice; No Blood
Leviticus 17:1-16
Lev.17.1 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- וידבר: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- אל: NEG
- משה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- לאמר: INF,qal,infc
Parallels
- Lev.4.1 (verbal): Uses the identical introductory formula 'וידבר יהוה אל־משה לאמר' to introduce the laws concerning the sin offering — a direct verbal and functional parallel within Leviticus.
- Lev.6.1 (verbal): Another occurrence of the same phrase 'וידבר יהוה אל־משה לאמר' that begins a new set of priestly/offering regulations, showing the recurring divine address formula in the legal material.
- Num.9.1 (structural): 'ויהי דבר ה' אל־משה במדבר סיני' — a structurally similar divine speech formula introducing ritual instruction (Passover), parallel in function to Leviticus 17:1 as a divine command to Moses.
- Exod.3.4 (thematic): God speaks directly to Moses at the burning bush ('וירא ה' ויקרא אליו מתוך הסנה'), thematically parallel as another theophanic address where God initiates instruction and mission to Moses.
Alternative generated candidates
- And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying:
- And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying:
Lev.17.2 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- דבר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אל: NEG
- אהרן: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ואל: CONJ+PREP
- בניו: NOUN,m,pl,cs
- ואל: CONJ+PREP
- כל: DET
- בני: NOUN,m,pl,construct
- ישראל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ואמרת: CONJ+VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- אליהם: PREP,3,m,pl
- זה: PRON,dem,m,sg
- הדבר: NOUN,m,sg,def
- אשר: PRON,rel
- צוה: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- לאמר: INF,qal,infc
Parallels
- Lev.1.2 (verbal): Uses the same formulaic introduction — 'Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them' (דבר אל־ בני ישראל ואמרת אליהם) — a standard prophetic/legislative opening in Leviticus.
- Lev.4.2 (verbal): Another close verbal parallel: 'Speak unto the children of Israel, saying...' — the book repeatedly employs this wording to introduce sacrificial and legal instructions, as here for the sin-offering.
- Lev.21.1 (structural): Directly parallels the addressee and mode of address: 'Speak unto the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say unto them...' — a similar priestly injunction focusing on Aaron's sons (the priests).
- Lev.8.2 (thematic): God's command concerning Aaron and his sons ('Take Aaron and his sons...') shows the same concern with priestly persons and duties; thematically connected as an instruction given through Moses about Aaronic priests.
Alternative generated candidates
- Speak to Aaron and to his sons and to all the sons of Israel, and you shall say to them: This is the thing that the LORD has commanded, saying:
- Speak to Aaron and to his sons and to all the sons of Israel, and you shall say to them: This is the thing that the LORD has commanded, saying:
Lev.17.3 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- איש: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- איש: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- מבית: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ישראל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אשר: PRON,rel
- ישחט: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- שור: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- או: CONJ
- כשב: CONJ
- או: CONJ
- עז: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- במחנה: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- או: CONJ
- אשר: PRON,rel
- ישחט: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- מחוץ: PREP
- למחנה: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Leviticus 17:2-4 (verbal): Immediate parallel in the same chapter giving the same command that any Israelite who slays an animal must bring it to the door of the tent of meeting — same legal context and wording as v.3.
- Leviticus 17:10-14 (thematic): Explains the reason for centralized slaughter in vv.2–4/3: the prohibition on consuming blood and the theological principle that 'the life is in the blood,' which requires blood to be treated at the sanctuary.
- Deuteronomy 12:6-11, 12:14-15, 12:21 (thematic): Deuteronomy develops and partly modifies the Levitical centralization: it commands bringing sacrifices to the central place of worship (12:6,11), forbids eating blood (12:23–25), but allows slaughter/consumption in local towns if the central sanctuary is too distant (12:15,21).
- Deuteronomy 12:23-25 (verbal): Directly echoes the Levitical prohibition against eating blood and prescribes draining/covering blood — reinforces the ritual-legal concern behind the command about where animals are slain.
Alternative generated candidates
- Any man—any man—of the house of Israel who slaughters an ox or a sheep or a goat in the camp, or who slaughters outside the camp,
- Any man, any man from the house of Israel who slaughters an ox or a sheep or a goat in the camp, or who slaughters outside the camp,
Lev.17.4 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ואל: CONJ+PREP
- פתח: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אהל: NOUN,m,sg,construct
- מועד: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- לא: PART_NEG
- הביאו: VERB,hiphil,imperat,2,m,pl
- להקריב: VERB,hiph,inf
- קרבן: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ליהוה: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,def
- לפני: PREP
- משכן: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- דם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יחשב: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- לאיש: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ההוא: DEM,ms,sg
- דם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- שפך: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ונכרת: CONJ+VERB,nip,perf,3,m,sg
- האיש: NOUN,m,sg,def
- ההוא: DEM,ms,sg
- מקרב: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- עמו: PREP+PRON,3,m,sg
Parallels
- Leviticus 17:11 (verbal): Gives the theological basis for Leviticus 17:4 — ‘the life is in the blood’ and blood’s role in atonement, explaining why unlawful shedding/handling of blood makes one guilty.
- Deuteronomy 12:5-7 (structural): Commands that sacrifices be brought to the place the LORD chooses (central sanctuary), paralleling the requirement to bring slaughtered animals to the tent of meeting rather than slaughtering them elsewhere.
- Deuteronomy 12:23 (verbal): Explicit prohibition against consuming blood with the declaration that ‘the blood is the life,’ echoing the special status of blood that underlies the condemnation in Lev 17:4.
- Genesis 9:5-6 (thematic): Establishes the principle that human life (blood) demands account and that shedding human blood brings severe penalties (‘for in the image of God has God made man’), resonating with the ‘blood shall be imputed… cut off’ language.
- Numbers 35:33-34 (thematic): Declares that blood defiles the land and that blood-guilt must be removed from the people, reflecting the communal/ritual consequences and removal (‘cut off’) connected with unlawful bloodshed in Lev 17:4.
Alternative generated candidates
- and has not brought it to the entrance of the tent of meeting, to present it as an offering to the LORD before the tabernacle of the LORD—blood shall be reckoned to that man; he has shed blood; and that man shall be cut off from among his people.
- and has not brought it to the entrance of the tent of meeting to offer it as an offering to the LORD before the tabernacle of the LORD—blood shall be accounted to that man; he has shed blood, and that man shall be cut off from among his people.
Lev.17.5 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- למען: PREP
- אשר: PRON,rel
- יביאו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- בני: NOUN,m,pl,construct
- ישראל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- את: PRT,acc
- זבחיהם: NOUN,m,pl,abs+3mp
- אשר: PRON,rel
- הם: PRON,personal,3,m,pl
- זבחים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- על: PREP
- פני: NOUN,m,sg,cons
- השדה: NOUN,m,sg,def
- והביאם: VERB,qal,impf,3,pl+3mp(obj)
- ליהוה: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,def
- אל: NEG
- פתח: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אהל: NOUN,m,sg,construct
- מועד: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אל: NEG
- הכהן: NOUN,m,sg,def
- וזבחו: VERB,qal,impf,3,pl
- זבחי: NOUN,m,pl,cons
- שלמים: ADJ,m,pl,abs
- ליהוה: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,def
- אותם: PRON,3,m,pl,obj
Parallels
- Lev.17:3 (verbal): Directly parallel wording and command: anyone who slaughters an ox or sheep in the field must bring it to the entrance of the Tent of Meeting to present it before the LORD to the priest.
- Lev.17:4 (verbal): Immediate parallel within the same chapter repeating the obligation to bring a slaughtered animal from the field to the priest at the tent of meeting and to offer it as a sacrifice.
- Deut.12:11-14 (thematic): Commands centralization of sacrifices at the place the LORD will choose, instructing Israelites to bring offerings to that sanctuary (rather than slaughtering and eating them locally), paralleling Lev.17's centralizing requirement.
- Exod.29:38-42 (structural): Gives instructions for regular sacrifices to be offered at the entrance of the tent of meeting and describes priestly performance of those offerings, paralleling Lev.17's emphasis on location and priestly mediation.
- Num.18:8-11 (thematic): Affirms the priests' portion of and role in the sacred offerings and their exclusive rights/responsibilities regarding sacrifices, supporting Lev.17's requirement to bring field-slain animals to the priest.
Alternative generated candidates
- so that the sons of Israel may bring their sacrifices which they are sacrificing in the open field, and bring them to the LORD, to the entrance of the tent of meeting, to the priest, and sacrifice them as peace offerings to the LORD.
- So that the sons of Israel may bring their sacrifices that they are sacrificing in the open field, and bring them to the LORD, to the entrance of the tent of meeting, to the priest, and they shall slaughter sacrifices of well-being to the LORD.
Lev.17.6 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- וזרק: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- הכהן: NOUN,m,sg,def
- את: PRT,acc
- הדם: NOUN,m,sg,abs,def
- על: PREP
- מזבח: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- פתח: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אהל: NOUN,m,sg,construct
- מועד: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- והקטיר: VERB,hiph,perf,3,m,sg
- החלב: NOUN,m,sg,def
- לריח: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ניחח: ADJ,m,sg
- ליהוה: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,def
Parallels
- Lev.3.2 (verbal): Same sacrificial prescription: the priest sprinkles the blood on the altar of the LORD (peace/meal offering context) — closely parallels the action and ritual language.
- Lev.7.31 (verbal): Speaks of burning the fat upon the altar as a 'sweet savour' to the LORD and declares that all the fat is the LORD's — parallels the instruction to burn the fat for a pleasing aroma.
- Exod.29.12 (structural): In the consecration rite Moses/ Aaron the blood of the offering is taken and sprinkled in the ritual context — a parallel instance of blood-sprinkling as part of priestly cultic procedure.
- Gen.8.21 (verbal): Noah's offering produces a 'sweet savour' (ריח ניחוח) to the LORD — the same phrase and concept of a pleasing aroma resulting from sacrificial offerings.
- Heb.9.13-14 (thematic): New Testament reflection on the effect of animal blood 'sprinkled' to purify and cleanse, pointing to the theological significance of sacrificial blood and its purifying/atoning function — a theological parallel to the Levitical sprinkling.
Alternative generated candidates
- And the priest shall dash the blood on the altar of the LORD at the entrance of the tent of meeting, and shall turn the fat into smoke as a pleasing aroma to the LORD.
- And the priest shall dash the blood on the altar of the LORD at the entrance of the tent of meeting, and he shall burn the fat as a pleasing aroma to the LORD.
Lev.17.7 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ולא: CONJ
- יזבחו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- עוד: ADV
- את: PRT,acc
- זבחיהם: NOUN,m,pl,abs+3mp_suff
- לשעירם: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs+3mp_suff
- אשר: PRON,rel
- הם: PRON,personal,3,m,pl
- זנים: VERB,ptcp,qal,act,m,pl
- אחריהם: PREP,3,m,pl
- חקת: NOUN,f,sg,cons
- עולם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- תהיה: VERB,qal,imperfect,3,f,sg
- זאת: DEM,f,sg
- להם: PREP+PRON,3,m,pl
- לדרתם: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs+3mp
Parallels
- Deut.32.17 (verbal): Uses similar language condemning sacrifices 'to demons' (shedim); Leviticus 17:7 echoes this prohibition against idolatrous/diabolical worship.
- Psalm.106.37 (verbal): Describes Israel sacrificing their children to demons—an explicit example of the kind of demonic worship Leviticus forbids.
- 1 Cor.10.20 (quotation): Paul explicitly states that what pagans sacrifice they offer to demons and not to God, directly applying the Old Testament idea behind Lev 17:7 to the Christian context.
- Amos.5.26 (thematic): Condemns Israel's adoption of foreign cult objects and star‑worship—part of the broader denunciation of offering worship to gods/spirits other than YHWH.
- Acts.7.43 (allusion): Stephen cites Amos (and thus the critique of idolatry) when accusing Israel of turning to false gods—New Testament parallel to Leviticus' prohibition of sacrifices to demons.
Alternative generated candidates
- And they shall no longer sacrifice their sacrifices to the goat-idols after which they prostitute themselves. This shall be for them a statute forever throughout their generations.
- And they shall no more sacrifice their sacrifices to the goat-demons after whom they prostitute themselves. It shall be a statute forever for them throughout their generations.
Lev.17.8 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ואלהם: PREP+PRON,3,m,pl
- תאמר: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- איש: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- איש: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- מבית: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ישראל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ומן: CONJ+PREP
- הגר: NOUN,f,sg,def,prop
- אשר: PRON,rel
- יגור: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- בתוכם: PREP+PRON,3,m,pl
- אשר: PRON,rel
- יעלה: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- עלה: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- או: CONJ
- זבח: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Lev.17.3 (verbal): Immediate intratextual parallel: both verses address Israelites and sojourners about presenting offerings to the sanctuary (same legal formulation and setting at the tent of meeting).
- Num.15.14-16 (verbal): Commands that the same statute applies to native-born and to the resident alien regarding offerings and obligations—echoes the equality of rule for 'house of Israel' and 'the sojourner.'
- Exod.12.49 (verbal): Declares 'one law' for the native and the stranger who sojourns among you, the same principle of uniform legal treatment reflected in Lev 17:8's address to both groups.
- Deut.12.13-14 (thematic): Commands centralization of sacrifices to the place the LORD will choose and forbids offering in every place—connects to Lev 17's concern that offerings be presented in the proper sanctuary context rather than privately or to other powers.
Alternative generated candidates
- And you shall say to them: Any man—any man—of the house of Israel, and from the sojourner who sojourns among them, who offers up a burnt offering or a sacrifice,
- And to them you shall say: Any man, any man from the house of Israel, and from the sojourner who sojourns among them, who offers up a burnt offering or a sacrifice,
Lev.17.9 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ואל: CONJ+PREP
- פתח: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אהל: NOUN,m,sg,construct
- מועד: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- לא: PART_NEG
- יביאנו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg,1,pl
- לעשות: VERB,qal,inf
- אתו: PRON,3,m,sg,acc
- ליהוה: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,def
- ונכרת: CONJ+VERB,niphal,perf,3,m,sg
- האיש: NOUN,m,sg,def
- ההוא: DEM,ms,sg
- מעמיו: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,3,m,sg
Parallels
- Leviticus 17:5-7 (verbal): Immediate context: repeats and expands the prohibition against offering blood or slaughtering for sacrifice anywhere except at the entrance of the tent of meeting; same threat of being cut off.
- Deuteronomy 12:5-7 (structural): Establishes the principle of a single, divinely appointed place of worship (the central sanctuary) where the people are to bring sacrifices and offerings—structurally parallels Leviticus' place-based restriction.
- Deuteronomy 12:13-14 (thematic): Explicit prohibition against offering burnt offerings 'as you please' in any place you see fit and insistence that sacrifices be brought to the chosen place; echoes Leviticus' ban and rationale.
- 2 Chronicles 30:8-9 (thematic): Hezekiah's summons to Israel and Judah not to be stiff-necked but to bring their sacrifices to the house of the LORD in Jerusalem—applies the centralization principle from the Pentateuch in later history.
- Hebrews 13:10-12 (allusion): New Testament reflection on cultic place and sacrifice: speaks of an 'altar' and notes that Jesus suffered outside the gate—echoes concerns about sacred space and proper locus of sacrifice, drawing on Levitical/temple traditions.
Alternative generated candidates
- and does not bring it to the entrance of the tent of meeting to present it to the LORD—that man shall be cut off from his people.
- and does not bring it to the entrance of the tent of meeting to present it to the LORD, that man shall be cut off from among his people.
Lev.17.10 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ואיש: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- איש: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- מבית: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ישראל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ומן: CONJ+PREP
- הגר: NOUN,f,sg,def,prop
- הגר: NOUN,f,sg,def,prop
- בתוכם: PREP+PRON,3,m,pl
- אשר: PRON,rel
- יאכל: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- כל: DET
- דם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ונתתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,_,sg
- פני: NOUN,m,sg,cons
- בנפש: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- האכלת: VERB,qal,ptc,3,f,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- הדם: NOUN,m,sg,abs,def
- והכרתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,ms,sg
- אתה: PRON,2,m,sg
- מקרב: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- עמה: PREP+PRON,3,f,sg
Parallels
- Genesis 9:4 (verbal): Explicit prohibition against eating flesh with its blood—closely parallels Leviticus' ban on consuming blood.
- Leviticus 3:17 (verbal): Reiterates the command that blood shall not be eaten among the Israelites (uses similar wording and legal prohibition).
- Leviticus 7:26 (verbal): Forbids eating blood and links the prohibition to impurity/ritual law, echoing Lev 17:10's injunction and penalty.
- Deuteronomy 12:23-25 (thematic): Admonishes Israelites not to eat blood and prescribes pouring it out on the earth—develops the practical application of the prohibition.
- Acts 15:20,29 (thematic): The Jerusalem Council instructs Gentile converts to abstain from blood, reflecting the ongoing application of the Levitical ban in the early church.
Alternative generated candidates
- And any man—any man—of the house of Israel, and from the sojourner who sojourns among them, who eats any blood—I will set my face against the person who eats the blood, and I will cut that person off from among his people.
- And any man, any man from the house of Israel and from the sojourner who sojourns among them who eats any blood, I will set my face against the person who eats the blood, and I will cut that person off from among his people.
Lev.17.11 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- כי: CONJ
- נפש: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- הבשר: NOUN,m,sg,def
- בדם: PREP
- הוא: PRON,3,m,sg
- ואני: PRON,1,sg
- נתתיו: VERB,qal,perf,1,x,sg+PRON,3,m,sg
- לכם: PREP,2,m,pl
- על: PREP
- המזבח: NOUN,m,sg,def
- לכפר: PREP+VERB,qal,inf
- על: PREP
- נפשתיכם: NOUN,f,pl,abs,2,mp
- כי: CONJ
- הדם: NOUN,m,sg,abs,def
- הוא: PRON,3,m,sg
- בנפש: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- יכפר: VERB,pi'el,impf,3,m,sg
Parallels
- Genesis 9:4-6 (verbal): Explicitly forbids eating blood because ‘the blood is the life,’ and ties the life-in-blood concept to human dignity and accountability (Noahic prohibition and penalty for bloodshed).
- Deuteronomy 12:23 (verbal): Echoes the Leviticus formula — ‘For the blood is the life’ — and repeats the injunction not to eat blood because life resides in it, reinforcing cultic/ethical concern for blood.
- Hebrews 9:22 (quotation): Declares that ‘without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins,’ directly connecting the Levitical function of blood on the altar with the concept of atonement and forgiveness.
- Romans 3:25 (allusion): Speaks of God presenting Christ as a propitiation ‘by his blood,’ applying the sacrificial/atoning significance of blood in Leviticus to Christ’s death (theological fulfillment).
- 1 John 1:7 (thematic): Affirms that ‘the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin,’ thematically continuing the OT link between blood and cleansing/atonement into the New Testament.
Alternative generated candidates
- For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your lives; for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life.
- For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your lives; for the blood is what makes atonement by reason of the life.
Lev.17.12 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- על: PREP
- כן: ADV
- אמרתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,com,sg
- לבני: PREP
- ישראל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- כל: DET
- נפש: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- מכם: PREP,2,m,pl
- לא: PART_NEG
- תאכל: VERB,qal,impf,3,f,sg
- דם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- והגר: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,def
- הגר: NOUN,f,sg,def,prop
- בתוככם: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,2,m,pl
- לא: PART_NEG
- יאכל: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- דם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Genesis 9:4 (verbal): Early prohibition after the Flood: “You shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood” — a foundational statement against consuming blood.
- Leviticus 3:17 (verbal): Within Levitical legislation: calls the ban on blood a perpetual statute — “you shall not eat any blood,” echoing the prohibition in 17:12.
- Leviticus 7:26 (verbal): Another nearby restatement of the ban: “You shall not eat any blood whatever, whether of bird or of beast,” reinforcing the absolute nature of the rule.
- Deuteronomy 12:23 (thematic): Admonishes Israel not to eat blood because “the blood is life,” giving theological rationale that underlies Leviticus 17:12.
- Acts 15:29 (allusion): The Jerusalem Council’s decree to Gentile believers includes abstaining from blood, reflecting the ongoing application of the Levitical prohibition in the post‑biblical community.
Alternative generated candidates
- Therefore I said to the sons of Israel: No person among you shall eat blood; nor shall the sojourner who sojourns among you eat blood.
- Therefore I said to the sons of Israel: None of you shall eat blood, and the sojourner who sojourns among you shall not eat blood.
Lev.17.13 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ואיש: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- איש: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- מבני: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,construct
- ישראל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ומן: CONJ+PREP
- הגר: NOUN,f,sg,def,prop
- הגר: NOUN,f,sg,def,prop
- בתוכם: PREP+PRON,3,m,pl
- אשר: PRON,rel
- יצוד: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- ציד: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- חיה: VERB,qal,impf,3,f,sg
- או: CONJ
- עוף: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אשר: PRON,rel
- יאכל: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- ושפך: CONJ+VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- דמו: NOUN,m,sg,abs,poss3ms
- וכסהו: CONJ+VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg,obj=3ms
- בעפר: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Genesis 9:4 (verbal): Explicit prohibition against eating flesh with its life (its blood); a verbal/thematic antecedent to Leviticus’ ban on consuming blood.
- Leviticus 3:17 (verbal): Declares a perpetual statute not to eat blood (and fat); a close legal echo within Leviticus reinforcing the prohibition addressed in 17:13.
- Leviticus 17:11 (structural): Provides the theological rationale (‘for the life of the flesh is in the blood’) that undergirds the prohibition and the requirement to dispose of/cover blood.
- Deuteronomy 12:23-24 (verbal): Commands Israelites not to eat blood and instructs that blood be poured out on the ground, paralleling Leviticus 17:13’s prescription to cover hunted blood with earth.
- Acts 15:20,29 (allusion): The Jerusalem Council instructs Gentile believers to abstain from blood (and things strangled), reflecting the continued application/recognition of the biblical prohibition in the early church.
Alternative generated candidates
- And any man—any man—of the sons of Israel, and from the sojourner who sojourns among them, who hunts game—an animal or a bird that may be eaten—he shall pour out its blood and cover it with dust.
- And any man, any man from the sons of Israel and from the sojourner who sojourns among them who hunts game, an animal or a bird that may be eaten, he shall pour out its blood and cover it with dust.
Lev.17.14 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- כי: CONJ
- נפש: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- כל: DET
- בשר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- דמו: NOUN,m,sg,abs,poss3ms
- בנפשו: PREP,3,m,sg
- הוא: PRON,3,m,sg
- ואמר: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- לבני: PREP
- ישראל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- דם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- כל: DET
- בשר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- לא: PART_NEG
- תאכלו: VERB,qal,impf,2,mp
- כי: CONJ
- נפש: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- כל: DET
- בשר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- דמו: NOUN,m,sg,abs,poss3ms
- הוא: PRON,3,m,sg
- כל: DET
- אכליו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg+obj3,m,sg
- יכרת: VERB,niphal,impf,3,m,sg
Parallels
- Leviticus 17:11 (verbal): Same immediate context and key wording: links blood with life and explains divine purpose (blood given on the altar for atonement), providing the theological basis for the prohibition.
- Genesis 9:4 (verbal): Post‑Flood prohibition using similar language — 'but you shall not eat flesh with its lifeblood' — showing an earlier covenantal prohibition against consuming blood.
- Deuteronomy 12:23-25 (verbal): Commands Israelites not to eat blood and repeats the rationale that 'the blood is the life,' applying Levitical principle to domestic slaughter and communal worship.
- Acts 15:20,29 (allusion): The Jerusalem Council's decree for Gentile believers to 'abstain from blood' echoes the Levitical prohibition as a continuing ethical/ritual requirement in the early church.
- 1 Samuel 14:32-34 (thematic): Narrative incident where meat eaten with blood provokes a legal/religious judgment, illustrating practical consequences and communal sensitivity to the ban on consuming blood.
Alternative generated candidates
- For the life of all flesh—its blood is its life. And I said to the sons of Israel: You shall not eat the blood of any flesh, for the life of all flesh is its blood. Everyone who eats it shall be cut off.
- For the life of all flesh—its blood is its life. Therefore I said to the sons of Israel, You shall not eat the blood of any flesh, for the life of all flesh is its blood. Anyone who eats it shall be cut off.
Lev.17.15 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- וכל: CONJ+PRON,indef
- נפש: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- אשר: PRON,rel
- תאכל: VERB,qal,impf,3,f,sg
- נבלה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- וטרפה: CONJ+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- באזרח: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ובגר: CONJ+PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- וכבס: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- בגדיו: NOUN,m,pl,abs+PRON,3,m,sg
- ורחץ: CONJ+VERB,qal,imperfect,3,m,sg
- במים: PREP
- וטמא: ADJ,m,sg,abs
- עד: PREP
- הערב: NOUN,m,sg,def
- וטהר: CONJ+VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
Parallels
- Lev.11:39-40 (verbal): Almost identical prescription: one who eats a carcass must wash garments, bathe in water, be unclean until the evening, then become clean.
- Lev.11:24 (verbal): States that touching a carcass renders a person unclean until evening; shares the same 'unclean until evening' temporal/legal formula.
- Deut.14:21 (thematic): Prohibits eating animals that die of themselves (nebelah) and treats such meat as inappropriate for Israel; related dietary/holiness concern.
- Lev.15:16-17 (structural): Applies the same ritual sequence (wash clothes, bathe, be unclean until evening) to bodily impurity from sexual emissions, showing a common purification formula.
- Num.19:11-19 (structural): Rules for impurity caused by contact with the dead and the water-based purification process; parallels the requirement to wash clothes and bathe to restore cleanliness.
Alternative generated candidates
- And any person who eats what dies of itself or what is torn by beasts, whether native-born or sojourner, shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and be unclean until the evening; then he shall be clean.
- And any person who eats what dies of itself or what is torn, whether a native or a sojourner, he shall wash his clothes and bathe in water and be unclean until the evening; then he shall be clean.
Lev.17.16 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ואם: CONJ
- לא: PART_NEG
- יכבס: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- ובשרו: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,3,m,sg
- לא: PART_NEG
- ירחץ: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- ונשא: CONJ+VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- עונו: NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,3,m,sg
Parallels
- Lev.17:15 (verbal): Immediate parallel in the same context: prescribes washing clothes and being unclean until evening after eating a carcass; 17:16 continues with the consequence if one does not wash and cleanse.
- Lev.11:39-40 (verbal): Similar wording and legal logic about contact with a dead animal—one must wash garments and be unclean until evening; failure to observe the cleansing leads to impurity consequences.
- Num.19:11-13 (thematic): Ritual law about defilement by a corpse and required purification with water; like Lev 17:16 it links failure to purify with serious communal/ritual consequences (being unclean or 'cut off').
- Ezek.18:20 (thematic): Uses the language of 'bearing iniquity' to articulate individual responsibility for sin; thematically contrasts/pairs with Lev 17:16's statement that the person who fails to cleanse 'shall bear his iniquity.'
Alternative generated candidates
- But if he does not wash them, and does not bathe his body, he shall bear his iniquity.
- But if he does not wash them, and he does not bathe his flesh, he shall bear his iniquity.
And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying:
Speak to Aaron and to his sons and to all the sons of Israel, and you shall say to them: This is the thing that the LORD has commanded, saying:
Any man, any man of the house of Israel who slaughters an ox or sheep or goat in the camp, or who slaughters outside the camp,
and does not bring it to the entrance of the tent of meeting to offer it as an offering to the LORD before the tabernacle of the LORD—blood-guilt shall be reckoned to that man; he has shed blood, and that man shall be cut off from among his people.
This is so that the sons of Israel will bring their sacrifices that they are sacrificing in the open field, and bring them to the LORD, to the entrance of the tent of meeting, to the priest, and sacrifice them as sacrifices of peace offerings to the LORD. And the priest shall dash the blood on the altar of the LORD at the entrance of the tent of meeting, and turn the fat into smoke as a pleasing aroma to the LORD. And they shall no longer sacrifice their sacrifices to the goat-demons after whom they prostitute themselves. This shall be for them a statute forever throughout their generations. And to them you shall say: Any man, any man of the house of Israel, and from the sojourner who resides among them, who offers a burnt offering or a sacrifice,
and does not bring it to the entrance of the tent of meeting to present it to the LORD—that man shall be cut off from his people. And any man, any man of the house of Israel, and from the sojourner who resides among them, who eats any blood—I will set my face against that person who eats the blood, and I will cut him off from among his people.
For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I myself have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your lives; for it is the blood that, by means of the life, makes atonement.
Therefore I said to the sons of Israel: No person among you shall eat blood, and the sojourner who resides among you shall not eat blood. And any man, any man from the sons of Israel and from the sojourner who resides among them, who hunts game—wild animal or bird that may be eaten—he shall pour out its blood and cover it with dust.
For the life of all flesh—its blood is its life. Therefore I said to the sons of Israel: You shall not eat the blood of any flesh, for the life of all flesh is its blood; everyone who eats it shall be cut off. And any person who eats what has died naturally or what has been torn by beasts, whether native or sojourner, shall wash his clothes and bathe in water and be unclean until evening; then he shall be clean. But if he does not wash his clothes and bathe his body, he shall bear his iniquity.