Deuteronomy 12:23

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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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
sure	חֲזַ֗ק cha.Zak	H2388	to fasten upon · verb, qal imperative, 2nd person masculine singular
eat	אֲכֹ֣ל 'a.Khol	H398	to eat (literally or figuratively) · verb, qal infinitive construct
blood	הַדָּ֔ם ha.Dam	H1818	blood (as that which when shed causes death) of man or… · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
blood	הַדָּ֖ם ha.Dam	H1818	blood (as that which when shed causes death) of man or… · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
life	הַנָּ֑פֶשׁ ha.Na.fesh	H5315	properly · definite article + noun, common feminine singular absolute
eat	תֹאכַ֥ל to.Khal	H398	to eat (literally or figuratively) · verb, qal imperfect, 2nd person masculine singular
life	הַנֶּ֖פֶשׁ ha.Ne.fesh	H5315	properly · definite article + noun, common feminine singular absolute
flesh	הַבָּשָֽׂר ha.ba.Sar	H1320	flesh (from its freshness) · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Leviticus 17:11 For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the bloo…
Genesis 9:4 But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat.
Leviticus 17:13-14 And whatsoever man there be of the children of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn among you, which hunteth and catcheth any beast or f…
Leviticus 3:16-17 And the priest shall burn them upon the altar: it is the food of the offering made by fire for a sweet savour: all the fat is the LORD’s.
Deuteronomy 12:16 Only ye shall not eat the blood; ye shall pour it upon the earth as water.
Matthew 20:28 Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.
Revelation 5:9 And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Deuteronomy 12:5–end

There is not any one particular precept (as I remember) in all the law of Moses so largely pressed and inculcated as this, by which they are all tied to bring their sacrifices to that one altar which was set up in the court of the tabernacle, and there to perform all the rituals of their religion; for, as to moral services, then, no doubt, as now, men might pray every where, as they did in their synagogues. The command to do this, and the prohibition of the contrary, are here repeated again and again, as we teach children: and yet we are sure that there is in scripture no vain repetition; but all this stress is laid upon it, 1. Because of the strange proneness there was in the hearts of the…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Deuteronomy 12:22

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 people were now to be as free in the killing of domestic cattle as of wild animals. The permission to hunt and use venison for food was doubtless a great boon to the Israelites, not only in the wilderness, but on their settlement in Canaan, as the mountainous ranges of Lebanon, Carmel, and Gilead, on which deer abounded in vast numbers, would thus furnish them with a plentiful and luxuriant repast.

John Gill on Deuteronomy 12:23

Only be sure that thou eat not the blood,.... This is repeated again, that they might be careful to observe the law concerning that: for the blood is the life: which is the reason given for the prohibition of it; see Gill on Leviticus 17:11, and thou mayest not eat the life with the flesh: by which it seems that the meaning of the law was, that the blood might not be eaten in or with the flesh, but to be let out of it, or the fish not to be eaten raw, but dressed; for there were various laws about eating of blood, which are differently expressed.

John Calvin on Deuteronomy 12:19-27

Deuteronomy 12:19 19. Take heed to thyself that thou forsake not the Levite as long as thou livest upon the earth. 19. Cave autem tibi ne derelinquas Levitam omnibus diebus tuis super terrain tuam. 20 And the Lord spake unto Aaron. This passage only refers in general to the payment of those tithes which were common to all the Levites. We shall soon afterwards see that the Levites, by God's command, paid other tithes to the priest; and a third sort will be added, which were only offered every third year. As to the present passage, God requires tithes of the people for the maintenance of the tribe of Levi. It is indeed certain that the custom had existed of old among the ancient patriarchs…

The Church Fathers

The troubling utterance is the following: "The soul of all flesh is the blood" — behold an extremely difficult passage, which has shaken those who did not understand it! And also: "Do not eat the soul together with the meat. Strictly observe that you do not eat the blood; do not eat the soul together with the meat." Such are the truly difficult passages, since the others, though numerous, are less striking. … Do not doubt, then, also concerning the blood, homonymous with the sentient blood, which, like the other parts of the body, the inner man has. It is precisely this blood of which the soul of the sinner is deprived.
— Origen of Alexandria, DIALOGUE WITH HERACLIDES

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Blood — (1.) As food, prohibited in Gen. 9:4, where the use of animal food is first allowed. Comp. Deut. 12:23; Lev. 3:17; 7:26; 17:10-14. The injunction to abstain from blood is renewed in the decree of the…
High place — An eminence, natural or artificial, where worship by sacrifice or offerings was made (1 Kings 13:32; 2 Kings 17:29). The first altar after the Flood was built on a mountain (Gen. 8:20). Abraham also…
B · Not to be eaten alive or with blood — Not to be eaten alive or with blood
Blood · Is the life — Is the life
Sanitation · FOOD — FOOD

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Deuteronomy 12:23

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Deuteronomy 12:5–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Deuteronomy 12:22

John Gill on Deuteronomy 12:23

John Calvin on Deuteronomy 12:19-27

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Deuteronomy 12:23

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Deuteronomy 12:5–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Deuteronomy 12:22

John Gill on Deuteronomy 12:23

John Calvin on Deuteronomy 12:19-27

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Keil & Delitzsch on Deuteronomy 12:23-24

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Deuteronomy 12:23

Rashi on Deuteronomy 12:23