Deuteronomy 12:23
in Deuteronomy 12Only be sure not to eat the blood, because the blood is the life, and you must not eat the life with the meat.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Only be sure that thou eat not the blood: for the blood is the life; and thou shalt not eat the life with the flesh.
KJV
Only be sure that thou eat not the blood: for the blood is the life; and thou mayest not eat the life with the flesh.
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This verse in Deuteronomy 12
Commentary
5 notes on this verseFor the blood is the life - And the life being offered as an atonement, consequently the blood should not be eaten. See the notes on Lev 17:11, where the subject of the vitality of the blood is largely considered.
This site's exposition
Only be sure that thou eat not the blood
on Deuteronomy 12:23-25
The blood rule is repeated with its reason attached, for the blood is the life, which is the sentence of Leviticus 17:11 where the life of the flesh is in the blood and the blood is given upon the altar to make atonement. Genesis 9:4 laid the same restriction on Noah long before Israel existed, so it does not begin at Sinai. Acts 15:20 and 15:29 keep abstaining from blood in the short list the Jerusalem council sends to Gentile believers, and readers have differed since over whether that ruling was permanent or fitted to a particular moment.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Only be sure that thou eat not the blood,....
To prevent a revolt to false gods, we are forbidden to worship the true God in such a way and manner as the false gods were worshipped in, and are commanded to observe the instituted ordinances of worship that we may adhere to the proper object of worship. For this reason Moses is very large in his exposition of the second commandment.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Even as the roebuck and the hart is eaten, so shalt thou eat them, &c.--Game when procured in the wilderness had not been required to be brought to the door of the tabernacle.
The words behind it
14 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| רַ֣ק | rak | only | H7535 → | 109 times |
| חֲזַ֗ק | chazak | be strong | H2388 → | 291 times |
| לְבִלְתִּי֙ | levilti | to not | H1115 → | 112 times |
| אֲכֹ֣ל | ʾakhol | to eat | H398 → | 810 times |
| הַדָּ֔ם | hadam | the blood | H1818 → | 360 times |
| כִּ֥י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| הַדָּ֖ם | hadam | the blood | H1818 → | 360 times |
| ה֣וּא | hu' | it | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| הַנָּ֑פֶשׁ | hanafesh | [is] the life | H5315 → | 754 times |
| וְלֹא־ | velo'- | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תֹאכַ֥ל | tokhal | you must eat | H398 → | 810 times |
| הַנֶּ֖פֶשׁ | hanefesh | the life | H5315 → | 754 times |
| עִם־ | ʾim- | with | H5973 → | 1050 times |
| הַבָּשָֽׂר׃ | habasar | the meat | H1320 → | 270 times |
רַ֣קonly
rakH7535 →109 times
חֲזַ֗קbe strong
chazakH2388 →291 times
לְבִלְתִּי֙to not
leviltiH1115 →112 times
אֲכֹ֣לto eat
ʾakholH398 →810 times
הַדָּ֔םthe blood
hadamH1818 →360 times
כִּ֥יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
הַדָּ֖םthe blood
hadamH1818 →360 times
ה֣וּאit
hu'H1931 →1879 times
הַנָּ֑פֶשׁ[is] the life
hanafeshH5315 →754 times
וְלֹא־and not
velo'-H3808 →5168 times
תֹאכַ֥לyou must eat
tokhalH398 →810 times
הַנֶּ֖פֶשׁthe life
hanefeshH5315 →754 times
עִם־with
ʾim-H5973 →1050 times
הַבָּשָֽׂר׃the meat
habasarH1320 →270 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Leviticus 17:11For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for your souls upon the altar; for it is the blood that makes atonement…
it leads to
- Hebrews 9:22
According to the law, in fact, nearly everything must be purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.
- 1 John 1:7
But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.
- Romans 3:25
God presented Him as the atoning sacrifice through faith in His blood, in order to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance He had passed over the sins committed beforehand.
- Revelation 1:5
and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and has released us from our sins by…
- Mark 14:24
He said to them, “This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many.
- Hebrews 9:22
Through
Genesis 9:4But you must not eat meat with its lifeblood still in it.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 15:23
But you must not eat the blood; pour it on the ground like water.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Deuteronomy 12:16
but you must not eat the blood; pour it on the ground like water.
- Acts 15:20
Instead, we should write and tell them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals, and from blood.
- Deuteronomy 15:23
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Deuteronomy
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.