Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Leviticus 17:14
For [it is] the life of all flesh; the blood of it [is] for the life thereof: therefore I said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall eat the blood of no manner of flesh: for the life of all flesh [is] the blood thereof: whosoever eateth it shall be cut off.
Verse 14. Ye shall eat the blood of no manner of flesh] Independently of the moral reasons given above, we may add,
1. That blood, being highly alkalescent, especially in hot climates, is subject to speedy putrefaction.
2. That it affords a gross nutriment, being very difficult of digestion, so much so that bull’s blood was used in ancient times as poison, “Its extreme viscidity rendering it totally indigestible by the powers of the human stomach.”
3. It is allowed that when blood was used in this country in great quantities, the scurvy was more frequent than at other times.
4. It appears from history that those nations who lived most on it were very fierce, savage, and barbarous, such as the Scythians, Tartars, Arabs of the desert, the Scandinavians, &c., &c., some of whom drank the blood of their enemies, making cups of their sculls!
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
For [it is] the life of all flesh,…. Of every animal:
the blood of it [is] for the life thereof; for the production, preservation, and continuance of life; that on which life depends, as Jarchi observes:
therefore I said unto the children of Israel, ye shall eat the blood of no manner of flesh; of beasts or birds, whose flesh was fit for food; but their blood was not to be eaten, for the reasons before given:
for the life of all flesh [is] the blood thereof; which is repeated, that it might be observed and taken notice of, as that in which the force of the reason lay for giving this law:
whosoever eateth it shall be cut off; by death, whether he be an Israelite or a proselyte of righteousness; wherefore if this law was now in force, its penalty also would be continued, whereas it is not, and which shows the abrogation of it. Also [See comments on Le 17:4].
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(14) For it is the life of all flesh . . . Better, for the soul of all flesh is its blood, in, or through, its soul, that is, the sacredness of the blood arises from the fact that it contains the vital principle of all animal life. Or this clause may be rendered, for the life of all flesh is its blood in, or during, its life, that is, the life of all creatures consists in its blood; but only as long as the blood contains this life, for when it is dried up, or coagulated, the life has passed away from it.
For the life of all flesh.Better, for the soul of all flesh (see Lev. 17:11), that is, even of those wild animals which, in contradistinction to the sacrificial quadrupeds, must not be offered upon the altar, the blood constitutes the vital principle.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
Lev 17:14 For [it is] the life of all flesh; the blood of it [is] for the life thereof: therefore I said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall eat the blood of no manner of flesh: for the life of all flesh [is] the blood thereof: whosoever eateth it shall be cut off.
Ver. 14. Is the blood, ] i.e., Is in the blood, and goeth out together with it.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Lev 17:11, Lev 17:12, Gen 9:4, Deu 12:23
Reciprocal: Exo 12:15 – that soul Lev 7:21 – cut off Lev 17:4 – be cut off Num 9:13 – forbeareth Act 15:29 – ye abstain