Prohibition on consuming blood

The Prohibition on consuming blood makes blood a boundary between ordinary food and sacred life: because the life of flesh is in its blood, blood is not to be eaten but is assigned to the altar for atonement. The rule applies to Israelites and resident aliens, and its requirements connect dietary conduct to sacrifice, purification, and membership in the community.

The Principle Behind the Prohibition

The law explains the ban through the relation between blood and life: “the life of the flesh is in the blood.” Blood has been given upon the altar to make atonement, and “it is the blood that maketh atonement by reason of the life.” It is therefore not an ordinary portion of food but a consecrated means of atonement.

This principle is repeated as a rule for all flesh: its blood is its life, and eating it brings the stated penalty of exclusion from the people. The prohibition thus joins a practical dietary restriction to a religious distinction: life represented by blood belongs in the sphere of atonement, not consumption.

Scope and Required Practice

The rule prohibits eating blood whether it comes from birds or animals, and it explicitly includes resident aliens alongside Israelites. A hunter who takes an edible animal or bird must pour out its blood and cover it with dust, a prescribed action that disposes of the blood rather than treating it as food.

The prohibition is also stated in the rules for sacrifices. Animals intended for sacrifice are to be brought to the tent of meeting, where the priest dashes the blood against the altar; Israelites are not to sacrifice in the open field or turn to sacrifices offered to satyrs. The rule against eating blood therefore operates alongside the centralization of sacrifice: blood is directed to the altar, where it serves the stated purpose of atonement.

Distinct Cases and Consequences

The text distinguishes eating blood from eating the flesh of an animal that died naturally or was torn by beasts. A person who eats such flesh, whether native-born or a resident alien, must wash their clothes and bathe; they remain unclean until evening and are then clean. Failure to wash and bathe leaves the person bearing their iniquity.

Eating blood, by contrast, is repeatedly assigned the more severe consequence of being cut off from the people; one formulation adds that God will set His face against the person who eats it. The distinction makes the handling of blood central: the prescribed washing addresses contact with flesh from an animal’s death, while consuming blood violates the boundary established because blood represents life and is reserved for atonement.