Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Leviticus 19:26
Ye shall not eat [any thing] with the blood: neither shall ye use enchantment, nor observe times.
26. with the blood ] The LXX. has here instead ‘upon the mountains,’ probably influenced by the phrase in Eze 18:6; Eze 22:9, which, however, according to Rob.-Sm. ( Kinship, p. 312), should be assimilated to accord with Eze 33:25.
use enchantments ] Employ divination. See e.g. Gen 44:5, where the method was by hydromancy (Driver ad loc.).
practise augury ] The original meaning of the Heb. verb is uncertain, but probably its sense is to hum (as insects) or whisper (as leaves), and hence is applied to the low murmuring made by diviners. Augury in the etymological sense (inferences from marking the flight of birds) was practised in the East. See Driver, Deut. p. 225.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Certain pagan customs, several of them connected with magic, are here grouped together. The prohibition to eat anything with the blood may indeed refer to the eating of meat which had not been properly bled in slaughtering (Lev 7:26; Lev 17:10, etc.): but it is not improbable that there may be a special reference to some sort of magical or idolatrous rites. Compare Eze 33:25.
Lev 19:26
Observe times – It is not clear whether the original word refers to the fancied distinction between lucky and unlucky days, to some mode of drawing omens from the clouds, or to the exercise of the evil eye.
Lev 19:27
Round the corners of your heads – This may allude to such a custom as that of the Arabs described by Herodotus. They used to show honor to their deity Orotal by cutting the hair away from the temples in a circular form. Compare the margin reference.
Mar the corners of thy beard – It has been conjectured that this also relates to a custom which existed among the Arabs, but we are not informed that it had any idolatrous or magical association. As the same, or very similar customs, are mentioned in Lev 21:5, and in Deu 14:1, as well as here, it would appear that they may have been signs of mourning.
Lev 19:28
Cuttings in your flesh for the dead – Compare the margin reference. Among the excitable races of the East this custom appears to have been very common.
Print any marks – Tattooing was probably practiced in ancient Egypt, as it is now by the lower classes of the modern Egyptians, and was connected with superstitious notions. Any voluntary disfigurement of the person was in itself an outrage upon Gods workmanship, and might well form the subject of a law.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 26. Neither shall ye use enchantment] lo thenachashu. Conjecture itself can do little towards a proper explanation of the terms used in this verse. nachash; See Clarke on Ge 3:1, we translate serpent, and with very little propriety; but though the word may not signify a serpent in that place, it has that signification in others. Possibly, therefore, the superstition here prohibited may be what the Greeks called Ophiomanteia, or divination by serpents.
Nor observe times.] velo teonenu, ye shall not divine by clouds, which was also a superstition much in practice among the heathens, as well as divination by the flight of birds. What these prohibitions may particularly refer to, we know not. See Clarke on Ge 41:8.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
With the blood, i. e. any flesh out of which the blood is not first poured. See 1Sa 14:32. The Jews write, that the Egyptians and other nations, when they offered sacrifices to the devils, did eat part of the sacrifices, beside the blood which was kept in basons for that end, which also they believed to be as it were the special food of the devils.
Nor observe times, to wit, superstitiously, by the observation of the clouds, or stars, or otherwise, by esteeming some days lucky, others unlucky. See Deu 18:10,11; Es 3:7.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
26. shall not eat any thing with theblood(See on Le 17:10).
neither . . . useenchantment, nor observe timesThe former refers to divinationby serpentsone of the earliest forms of enchantment, and the othermeans the observation, literally, of clouds, as a study of theappearance and motion of clouds was a common way of foretelling goodor bad fortune. Such absurd but deep-rooted superstitions often put astop to the prosecution of serious and important transactions, butthey were forbidden especially as implying a want of faith in thebeing, or of reliance on the providence of God.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Ye shall not eat [anything] with the blood,…. Or upon, over, or by the blood s, for this law seems different from that in Ge 9:4, and from those in Le 3:17; and is variously interpreted by the Jewish writers; some of not eating flesh, the blood not being rightly let out of it, as not being thoroughly cleared of it t, and so comes under the notion of things strangled; others of not eating of sacrifices until the blood stands in the basin u; and others of not eating any flesh whose blood is not sprinkled on the altar, if near the holy place w: some think it refers to the custom of murderers who eat over the person slain, that the avengers of the slain may not take vengeance on them, supposing something superstitious in it, because of what follows x; though it rather has respect to an idolatrous practice of the Zabians, as Maimonides y informs us, who took blood to be the food of devils, and who used to take the blood of a slain beast and put it in a vessel, or in a hole dug in the earth, and eat the flesh sitting round about the blood; fancying by this means they had communion with devils, and contracted friendship and familiarity with them, whereby they might get knowledge of future things; [See comments on Eze 33:25]:
neither shall ye use enchantment; soothsaying or divination by various creatures, as by the weasel, birds, or fishes, as the Talmudists z; or rather by serpents, as the word used is thought to have the signification of; or by any odd accidents, as a man’s food falling out of his mouth, or his staff out of his hand, or his son calling after him behind, or a crow cawing to him, or a hart passing by him, or a serpent on his right hand and a fox on his left, or one says, do not begin (any work) tomorrow, it is the new moon, or the going out of the sabbath a:
nor observe times; saying, such a day is a lucky day to begin any business, or such an hour an unlucky hour to go out in, as Jarchi, taking the word to have the signification of times, days, and hours, as our version and others; but Aben Ezra derives it from a word which signifies a cloud, and it is well known, he says, that soothsayers view and consult the clouds, their likeness and motion; but some of the ancient writers, as Gersom observes, derive it from a word which signifies an eye, and suppose that such persons are intended who hold the eyes of people, cast a mist before them, or use some juggling tricks whereby they deceive their sight.
s “super sanguine”, Montanus, Munster; “super sanguinem”, Fagius. t Joseph. Antiqu. l. 6. c. 6. sect. 4. T. Bab. Sanhedrin, fol. 63. 1. u Targum Jon. in loc. T. Bab. Sanhedrin, ib. w Aben Ezra in loc. x Baal Hatturim in loc. y Moreh Nevochim, par. 3. c. 46. z T. Bab. Sanhedrin, fol. 66. 1. Jarchi in loc. a Kimchi, Sepher Shorash. rad. .
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Verses 26-28:
The practices prohibited in this text were those commonly followed in idolatrous worship:
1. Eating of blood.
2. Enchantment, nachash, “whisper or mutter after holding communication with spirits (serpents).”
3. Observe times, predict events by horoscope or omens.
4. Round the corners of the head, or the hair; a form of mourning; De 14:1; Isa 22:12 According to Herodotus, this was also a form of tonsure practiced by some pagan tribes in honor of their God Orotal.
5. Mar the corners of the beard, a form of mourning used in conjunction with the trimming of the hair, Le 21:5; Isa 15:2; Jer 48:37.
6. Cutting the flesh for the dead, another form of mourning associated with the two practices above, De 21:5; 14:1, Jer 16:6; 41:3.
7. Printing marks, that is, to tattoo in memory of the dead.
Among some pagan religions, self-mutilation was commonly practiced as a sign of mourning for the dead. The pagan view of death is that of despair and hopelessness. Mutilation was a reminder of this. But death to the child of God is not hopeless, despair, futility; it is the beginning of a better life, one of joy and union with the God of the universe. Thus there was to be none of the pagan marks of despair.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
(26) Ye shall not eat any thing with the blood.According to the administrators of the law during the second Temple, there are no less than five different things forbidden here. It prohibits (1) eating the flesh of a legally slaughtered animal as long as its life is not quite gone, or whilst the flesh is still trembling; (2) eating the flesh of sacrificial animals whilst the blood is still in the sprinkling bowl, and before it has been sprinkled on the altar; (3) eating the meat of mourners by the relatives when a member of the family has been publicly executed, and his blood has been shed; (4) eating anything by the judicial court on the day when their sentence of death is being executed on the criminal; and (5) it warns the rebellious and gluttonous son not to eat immoderately by the penalty of blood. The ancient Chaldee Version, therefore, which translates it Ye shall not eat the flesh of any sacrifice whilst the blood is in the basin unsprinkled, exhibits the second of these prohibitions involved in this interpretation; and all the five premise the rendering of this phrase, Ye shall not eat by the blood, which has the merit of being literal; whilst the Authorised Version follows the first of these five prohibitions. Others, again, who also translate it Ye shall not eat by the blood, take it as a prohibition of the idolatrous practice which obtained among the Zabii, who, to obtain favour from the demons, gathered the blood of the sacrifices which they offered to them into a vessel or a hole dug in the earth, and then sat around it to consume the sacrificial meal by the blood, thinking that thereby they fraternised with these demons. This seems to be favoured by the next clause.
Neither shall ye use enchantment.- Better, ye shall use no enchantment. According to the authorities during the second Temple, this consisted in any one saying, A morsel has dropped out of my mouth; the staff has fallen out of my hand; my child has called out behind me; a crow has cawed to me; a deer has crossed my path; a serpent crept on my right hand; a fox has gone by on my left; and regarding these as bad omens for the day which has now began or for the work which he has just commenced. Or if he says to the man who raises the taxes, Do not begin with me; it is still early in the day; it is the first of the month; it is the beginning of the week; I shall be unlucky the whole day, week, or month to be the first to be burdened; this is enchantment.
Nor observe times.This, according to the same authorities, consists in taking notice of the seasons and days, and in saying this is a good day to begin a journey, to-morrow will be lucky to make a purchase.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
26. Neither use enchantment Literally, Ye shall not whisper, hence, divine, or give oracles. The magical practices against which the Hebrews are here warned were borrowed from the nations around, for they had no magic of their own. Yet from the conquest of Canaan until the destruction of Jerusalem we have constant glimpses of magic practised in secret, not only by the ignoble, but by the great. Whether or not there is any reality in the art, it is clearly incompatible with a calm and firm trust in God alone to order future events for our good. “Israel is directed to the word of revelation (Deu 18:9-22) in contrast to all heathen mantic, which has searched through heaven and earth to find signs of the divine counsel, but finding no help, falls into dissolution. The exorcism of the dead, and other forms of mantic, are a horror, and astrology is a folly. Isa 47:13.” Oehler.
Nor observe times Practise soothsaying by regarding the aspect of the clouds. Jeremiah (Jer 10:2) exhorts the people not to be “dismayed at the signs of heaven,” at which the heathen are “dismayed.” The practice of regarding some days as lucky and others as unlucky, and of foretelling the future by seeing the new moon over the right or left shoulder, are relics of this species of divination. Keil, with certain rabbins, derives the Hebrew term from ayin an eye; hence, literally, “to ogle, to bewitch with an evil eye.”
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Bans In Religious Matters: Warnings Against Pagan Practises ( Lev 19:26-29 ).
There now follow in the name of Yahweh a number of provisions banning various aspects connected with ‘other-worldly’ practises which were forbidden. They were to look to Yahweh and Yahweh alone, and He was against these things. They were contrary to what He was.
Lev 19:26
“You (p) shall not eat anything with the blood: neither shall you (p) use enchantments, nor practise divination.”
As has already been noted nothing must be eaten with its blood. The blood must be drained out (Lev 17:10-14). They must not seek to eat the life principle of the animal, for that is the practise of bestial men. This repetition brings home the vital importance of the pronouncement. It was a reminder of the strength of the prohibition. Its mention in this list may also suggest it was a particular idolatrous trait. It was anti-Yahweh.
Nor were they to use enchantments or practise sorcery or divination. All magic was forbidden. Divination was a means of discovering what the ‘portents’ pointed to in the making of ‘right’ choices, especially with regard to the future. But they were to leave their futures in the hand of God, not look to superstitious and evil practises. Both forbidden things would result in going out of their spheres.
This makes clear to us today that all contact with the supernatural and the occult apart from prayer and worship to God are totally forbidden and can only lead men into harm. They are firmly and strongly forbidden, and we disobey at our peril.
Lev 19:27
“You (p) shall not round the corners of your heads, neither shall you (s) mar the corners of your beard.”
These were either idolatrous or magical practises. They were forbidden. Compare Lev 21:5. They were not to be tempted to follow the ways of the idolatrous ‘world’ outside. Again it would be going outside their sphere into the realms of the gods or of magic.
Lev 19:28
“You (p) shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print (p) any marks on you. I am Yahweh.”
“Cuttings in the flesh” for the dead were pagan mourning practise and were also forbidden (Deu 14:1-2). To follow them was to enter the sphere of the dead. Tattoos were a forbidden mark of ownership. The invisible God needed no visible marks of ownership, and they were not to mark themselves as belonging to anyone else. Thus tattoos were also totally banned. And this because God was Yahweh. (Even today our tattoos reveal what we are and whether we put first God or the world).
Lev 19:29
“Do not profane your daughter, to make her a prostitute, lest the land fall to whoredom, and the land become full of wickedness.”
The main thought here is against prostitution as a whole, but making her a religious prostitute may have been a way of trying to make it seem respectable. However, for a man to make his daughter a prostitute so that he could profit by it was to be seen as obscene, whatever the circumstances, and if permitted would be the first beginnings of a downward slide for Israel. Men should have a higher regard for their daughters. Sexual relations on this basis were forbidden. Even though extreme poverty often did mean that fathers succumbed in this way, they did so contrary to God’s law, and had to face their shame.
If the thought was of making her a cult prostitute, that would be no better. They were not to even consider following such Canaanite practises and sex in that way had no part in the religion of Yahweh. This was thus also strictly forbidden.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Lev 19:26. Nor observe times This should certainly be read, nor augur or divine by clouds; which is well known to have been a general practice among the heathens. That this is the precise meaning of the original word, see Parkhurst on .
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
These precepts are rather obscure. It is probable, that they refer to the heathenish practices of the idolatrous neighbours around Israel. And if so, they serve to teach, that everything which hath the remotest tendency to the unfruitful works of darkness, is to be cautiously abstained from. Eph 5:11-12 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Lev 19:26 Ye shall not eat [any thing] with the blood: neither shall ye use enchantment, nor observe times.
Ver. 26. Neither shall ye use enchantment. ] Or, observe fortunes, conjecture by signs of good or evil luck, as some render it.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
observe times: i.e. watch clouds, or days, for good or ill luck, e.g. not commencing a journey on a Friday. See note on Lev 19:31 below.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
with the blood: Lev 3:17, Lev 7:26, Lev 17:10-14, Deu 12:23
use: Exo 7:11, Exo 8:7, 1Sa 15:23, Jer 10:2, Dan 2:10, Mal 3:5
nor: Deu 18:10-14, 2Ki 17:17, 2Ki 21:6, 2Ch 33:6
Reciprocal: Gen 9:4 – the life Gen 44:5 – divineth Exo 22:18 – General Lev 19:31 – General Lev 20:6 – familiar 1Sa 14:32 – did eat Eze 33:25 – Ye eat
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Lev 19:26. Any thing with the blood Any flesh out of which the blood is not first poured. Neither shall ye use enchantments It was unpardonable in them, to whom were committed the oracles of God, to ask counsel of the devil. And yet worse in Christians, to whom the Son of God is manifested, to destroy the works of the devil. For Christians to have their nativities cast, or their fortunes told, or to use charms for the cure of diseases, is an intolerable affront to the Lord Jesus, a support of idolatry, and a reproach both to themselves and to that worthy name by which they are called. Nor observe times Superstitiously, esteeming some days lucky, others unlucky.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Lev 19:26-32. Miscellaneous Precepts, all found elsewhere, except the last. Most of the forbidden actions have some magical significance, e.g. cutting the hair in a special fashion, or maiming oneself (originally, to delude the dangerous spirits of the dead while they are still near, at or after a funeral, or perhaps as a respectful offering to them, see p. 110). Lev 19:29 probably refers to the licentious cults of nature and other pagan deities. For Lev 19:31, cf. 1Sa 28:8 ff., Deu 18:11, Isa 8:19. Note that wizards defile those who visit them, as bringing them into contact with an alien deity or power.
[Lev 19:27. A similar practice is attested for the Arabs by Herodotus III. 8, and is alluded to in Jer 9:26* Jer 25:23. It is not unlikely that the hair was offered in sacrifice: the practice would then be an instance of the widespread custom of making hair-offerings (Num 6:13-21*).
Lev 19:28. print any marks: this tattooing was probably a religious usage; the name of a deity (Isa 44:5*), or it might be the clan totem or other tribal mark, being tatooed on the person in sign that the bearer was consecrated to that deity or belonged to that clan.A. S. P.]
Fuente: Peake’s Commentary on the Bible
19:26 Ye shall not eat [any thing] with the blood: neither shall ye use enchantment, nor {i} observe times.
(i) To measure lucky or unlucky days.