Chapter Seventeen
Additional Rules Regarding Sacrifices
17:1 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to Aaron and his sons and to all the people of Israel and say to them, This is the thing that the LORD has commanded. 3 If any one of the house of Israel kills an ox or a lamb or a goat in the camp, or kills it outside the camp, 4 and does not bring it to the entrance of the tent of meeting to offer it as a gift to the LORD in front of the tabernacle of the LORD, bloodguilt shall be imputed to that man. He has shed blood, and that man shall be cut off from among his people. 5 This is to the end that the people of Israel may bring their sacrifices that they sacrifice in the open field, that they may bring them to the LORD, to the priest at the entrance of the tent of meeting, and sacrifice them as sacrifices of peace offerings to the LORD. 6 And the priest shall throw the blood on the altar of the LORD at the entrance of the tent of meeting and burn the fat for a pleasing aroma to the LORD. 7 So they shall no more sacrifice their sacrifices to goat demons, after whom they whore. This shall be a statute forever for them throughout their generations.
God told Moses to tell Aaron, his sons, and all the people of Israel to stop offering sacrifices anywhere except the Tabernacle. Even though it is clear that God is referring to sacrifices in this section, some prefer to read that since the reference to killing an animal lacks clarification in verse three as a sacrifice, that it is referring to all meat killed for food and that all meat must be offered as a peace offering. That is not the case, prior to the Tabernacle, sacrifices were made at various locations on a variety of altars. Now that the Tabernacle was in full service, that practice was no longer allowed. The word translated here as ‘bloodguilt’ is the Hebrew word ‘dām’,[1] meaning simply ‘blood’, put in context this might be best understood as a reference to having blood on their hands, one guilty of an intentional killing.[2] This would be considered a serious offense as the penalty would be that the person would be cut off from their community.
The practice of bringing their sacrifices to a central location also serves to stop any pagan sacrifices, listed here as goat demons, a ritual that appears to have still been practiced by some of the people.
17:8 “And you shall say to them, Any one of the house of Israel, or of the strangers who sojourn among them, who offers a burnt offering or sacrifice 9 and does not bring it to the entrance of the tent of meeting to offer it to the LORD, that man shall be cut off from his people.
The rules regarding the offering of any sacrifice at any location other than at the Tabernacle for anybody from the house of Israel or anyone that was visiting or traveling through Israel was clearly summarized in these two verses. If violated, God would cut them off from His people.
Regulations Regarding the Consumption of Blood
17:10 “If any one of the house of Israel or of the strangers who sojourn among them eats any blood, I will set my face against that person who eats blood and will cut him off from among his people. 11 For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life. 12 Therefore I have said to the people of Israel, No person among you shall eat blood, neither shall any stranger who sojourns among you eat blood.
The consumption of any blood is forbidden. The penalty for consuming blood is described as being twofold: God will set His face against the person (receiving the wrath of God) and He will cut them off from among His people. The next verse is a key verse to understanding the concept of atonement and forgiveness of sins.[3] Since blood represents life and is allowed by God to be offered on the altar to atone for sins of another (the innocent blood of an animal given to cover the sins of a person), it is not to be consumed by anybody, for any reason. The regulation applies to all the people of Israel, as well as anyone else who might be living among them.
17:13 “Any one also of the people of Israel, or of the strangers who sojourn among them, who takes in hunting any beast or bird that may be eaten shall pour out its blood and cover it with earth. 14 For the life of every creature is its blood: its blood is its life. Therefore I have said to the people of Israel, You shall not eat the blood of any creature, for the life of every creature is its blood. Whoever eats it shall be cut off. 15 And every person who eats what dies of itself or what is torn by beasts, whether he is a native or a sojourner, shall wash his clothes and bathe himself in water and be unclean until the evening; then he shall be clean. 16 But if he does not wash them or bathe his flesh, he shall bear his iniquity.”
The regulation to not consume blood is further amplified in these verses, beginning with the instruction on how to properly handle blood of an animal that was hunted. The blood is to be drained out of the animal’s body onto the ground and then covered with dirt. The linkage between life and blood is again explained succinctly as, “the life of every creature is its blood,” stated twice here (see also Genesis 9:4), which is also given as the reason it is not to be consumed. If someone does consume the blood of a hunted animal, they will be cut off from their community.
However, if an animal dies on its own accord or is killed by another animal, it would be too late to properly drain the blood from the body, so if someone were to eat the meat from that animal, they would be considered unclean. The person, regardless of being an Israelite or one living among them, would need to wash their clothes and bathe in water, then at evening they would then be clean. If they do not wash their clothes or bathe, they shall bear iniquity from God (Hebrew ‘ǎwōn’,[4] punishment).
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[1] Strong’s Hebrew 1818.
[2] See commentary under Exodus 22:2-3.
[3] See commentary under Genesis 49:11, the Law and Gospel section to the Brief Introduction to God’s Law and the commentary under Leviticus 1:1-2.
[4] Strong’s Hebrew 5771.