Deuteronomy 15:23
in Deuteronomy 15But you must not eat the blood; pour it on the ground like water.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Only thou shalt not eat the blood thereof; thou shalt pour it out upon the ground as water.
KJV
Only thou shalt not eat the blood thereof; thou shalt pour it upon the ground as water.
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This verse in Deuteronomy 15
Commentary
4 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
But if an animal has a defect
on Deuteronomy 15:21-23
Lame and blind is the pair Malachi 1:8 throws back at priests who brought such animals to the altar. What cannot be sacrificed is eaten at home as common food by clean and unclean alike, the allowance of 12:15 and 12:22.
This site's exposition
pour it on the ground
John Gill counts the firstborn animal with a defect as common food to eat within your gates, and the blood rule follows it there. The same words govern ordinary slaughter at 12:16 and 12:24. Saul's army ate meat with the blood at 1 Samuel 14:32.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Only thou shalt not eat the blood thereof,.... Of the firstling: thou shalt pour it upon the ground as water; See Gill on Deu 12:16; see Gill on Deu 12:23; see Gill on Deu 12:24.
The frequent repetition of this caution intimates what need the people had of it, and what stress God laid upon it. What a mercy it is that we are not under this yoke! We are not dieted as they were; we make no difference between a first calf, or lamb, and the rest that follow.
The words behind it
9 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| רַ֥ק | rak | only | H7535 → | 109 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| דָּמ֖וֹ | damo | blood its | H1818 → | 360 times |
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תֹאכֵ֑ל | tokhel | you must eat | H398 → | 810 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| הָאָ֥רֶץ | haaretz | the ground | H776 → | 2504 times |
| תִּשְׁפְּכֶ֖נּוּ | tishpekhenu | you will pour out it | H8210 → | 114 times |
| כַּמָּֽיִם׃ פ | kamayim | like <the> water | H4325 → | 581 times |
רַ֥קonly
rakH7535 →109 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
דָּמ֖וֹblood its
damoH1818 →360 times
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
תֹאכֵ֑לyou must eat
tokhelH398 →810 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
הָאָ֥רֶץthe ground
haaretzH776 →2504 times
תִּשְׁפְּכֶ֖נּוּyou will pour out it
tishpekhenuH8210 →114 times
כַּמָּֽיִם׃ פlike <the> water
kamayimH4325 →581 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
Deuteronomy 12:23Only be sure not to eat the blood, because the blood is the life, and you must not eat the life with the meat.
it leads to
- Genesis 9:4
But you must not eat meat with its lifeblood still in it.
Reached by 5 separate paths from here.
- Deuteronomy 12:16
but you must not eat the blood; pour it on the ground like water.
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Leviticus 17:11
For 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…
- Leviticus 17:13–14
And if any Israelite or foreigner living among them hunts down a wild animal or bird that may be eaten, he must drain its blood and cover it with dirt.
- Leviticus 3:16–17
Then the priest is to burn the food on the altar as an offering made by fire, a pleasing aroma. All the fat is the LORD’s.
- Genesis 9:4
Through
1 Samuel 14:32So they rushed greedily to the plunder, taking sheep, cattle, and calves. They slaughtered them on the ground and ate meat with the blood still in it.
it leads to
- Leviticus 3:17
This is a permanent statute for the generations to come, wherever you live: You must not eat any fat or any blood.”
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Leviticus 17:10–14
If anyone from the house of Israel or a foreigner living among them eats any blood, I will set My face against that person and cut him off from among his people.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 1 Samuel 15:19
So why did you not obey the LORD? Why did you rush upon the plunder and do evil in the sight of the LORD?”
- Leviticus 3:17
Where this verse is studied
About Deuteronomy
This page draws on John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.