Leviticus 17 - Animals and blood
24/9/23
Introduction
Scholars call Leviticus 17-26 the “Holiness Code”…
“You must be holy, because I, YHWH your God, am holy.”
Leviticus 19:2
…this is how the Israelites are to be holy, not just ritually clean [19:2, 20:7, 20:26, 21:6-8]. Up until now the focus has been on the priests. Now, everyone is responsible for their holy behaviour.
Scripture
Leviticus 17
Questions
The place of sacrifice [vv1-7]
1 Then YHWH spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to Aaron and to his sons and to all the children of Israel, and you shall say to them, ‘This is the word that YHWH has commanded, saying, 3 “Any man from the house of Israel who slaughters1 an ox or a sheep or a goat in the camp or who slaughters2 it outside the camp 4 and he does not bring it to the tent of assembly’s entrance to present an offering to YHWH to the faces of YHWH’s tabernacle, and that man shall be accounted bloodguilty — he has poured out blood, and that man shall be cut off [kā·rǎṯ] from the midst of his people.
Where is the only place an animal can be brought to be sacrificed? What is the reason given?
What does “cut off” mean [Genesis 17:14; Exodus 12:15, 19; 30:33, 38; *31:14*; Leviticus 7:20-21, 25, 27; 17:4, 9, 14; 18:29; 19:8; 20:17-18; 22:3, 29; Numbers 9:13; 15:30-31; 19:13, 20]3? What does this look like in the church [Matthew 18:17; 1 Corinthians 5:1-5; Romans 11:22-24]?
5 This is so that the children of children of Israel may bring their sacrifices that they are sacrificing in the open field and children of Israel them for YHWH to the tent of assembly’s entrance to the priest, and they shall sacrifice fellowship offerings for YHWH with them.
What is the “fellowship offering”?
6 And the priest shall sprinkle the blood on YHWH’s altar at the tent of assembly’s entrance, and he shall turn into smoke the fat as an appeasing fragrance for YHWH.
What is the function of the sprinkled blood [see v11]?
What is the function of the fat offering? How were the priests in the days of Samuel sinning in this regard [1 Samuel 2:12-17 esp. vv16-17]?
7 And not they may sacrifice again their sacrifices to the goat-idols [satyrs, LXX ματαίοις] after which they were prostituting. This is a lasting statute for them throughout their generations.” ’
What had the Israelites been doing!? Why is worshipping other gods linked to sexual immorality?
Instructions against eating blood [vv8-16]
8 “And you shall say to them, ‘if there is anyone from the house of Israel or from the alien who dwells in their midst who offers a burnt offering or a sacrifice 9 and he does not bring it to the tent of assembly’s entrance to sacrifice it for YHWH, then that man shall be cut off from his people. 10 And if there is anyone from the house of Israel or from the alien who is dwelling in their midst who eats any blood, then I will set my face against the person who eats the blood, and I will cut him off from among his people.
11 Because the flesh’s life is in the blood, and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your lives, because it is the blood with the life that makes atonement. 12 Therefore I said to the children of Israel, ‘None of you may eat blood, nor may the alien who is dwelling in your midst eat blood.’
13 “And if there is anyone from the children of Israel or from the alien who is dwelling in their midst who hunts a wild game animal or a bird that may be eaten, then he shall pour out its blood, and he shall cover it with the soil. 14 Because, the life of all flesh, its blood, is in its life, so I said to the children of Israel, ‘You may not eat the blood of any flesh, because the life of all flesh is its blood; anyone who eats it must be cut off.’
How was to be done with blood of animals killed for food [see also Deuteronomy 12:15-16, 23]? Why?
15 “And if there is any person who eats a dead body or a mangled carcass, whether among the native or among the alien, then he shall wash his garments, and he shall wash with water, and he shall be unclean until the evening, and he shall be clean. 16 But if he does not wash his garments and he does not wash his body, then he shall bear his guilt.”
More
Bible Project’s Guide to Leviticus»
Bible Project’s Leviticus Scroll podcasts»
Michael Heiser’s Naked Bible podcast 63: Introducing Leviticus»
שָׁחַט [šā·ḥǎṭ] means slaughter not necessarily sacrifice. Does this mean that any animal slaughtered has to be brought to the priests? Vv13-14, and Deuteronomy 12:15-16, cover [pun intended!] what to do with when the animal is killed for meat.
ditto
We may be missing the point as to whether “cut off” refers to being thrown out into the wilderness or executed. There may be something much worse for that culture. You will have no descendants [Psalm 109:13; Ruth 4:10; Malachi 2:10 etc.].