Leviticus 17: Blood, Atonement, and One Place

Short answer: Leviticus 17 commands Israel to bring every slaughtered animal to the tabernacle door as a peace offering, forbids eating blood because the life is in the blood, and requires cleansing for anyone who eats an animal that died naturally or was torn by beasts. The chapter grounds these rules in the truth that blood is given on the altar to make atonement for souls.

What Leviticus 17 says

The chapter opens with Yahweh speaking to Moses and directing him to address Aaron, his sons, and all the children of Israel. The first command concerns any man of the house of Israel who kills a bull, lamb, or goat, whether inside the camp or outside it, and does not bring it to the door of the Tent of Meeting as an offering. Such a man is counted as having shed blood and must be cut off from among his people. The stated purpose in verses 4 and 5 is that Israel would stop sacrificing in the open field and instead bring their sacrifices to Yahweh, to the priest, at the tabernacle door, as peace offerings. The priest then sprinkles the blood on Yahweh's altar and burns the fat as a pleasant aroma. Verse 7 adds that they must no longer sacrifice to goat idols, after which they play the prostitute, and calls this a statute forever throughout their generations.

Verses 8 and 9 extend the same requirement to the strangers who live as foreigners among Israel. Any man, whether of the house of Israel or a foreigner, who offers a burnt offering or sacrifice and does not bring it to the door of the Tent of Meeting to sacrifice it to Yahweh shall be cut off from his people. The rule is not limited to native Israelites. The foreigner who lives among them is bound by the same command and faces the same penalty. The text does not explain every reason for this severity, but it ties the requirement to sacrificing to Yahweh, not merely to a location. The door of the Tent of Meeting is where the priest stands and where the altar is, and it is the place Yahweh has appointed for approach.

Verses 10 through 12 turn to blood as food. Any man of the house of Israel or of the strangers who live as foreigners among them who eats any kind of blood will have Yahweh set his face against that soul, and that person will be cut off from among his people. The reason given is that the life of the flesh is in the blood, and Yahweh has given it on the altar to make atonement for souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by reason of the life. Therefore no person among Israel and no stranger who lives as a foreigner may eat blood. The prohibition is absolute and applies to the whole community. The chapter does not separate the foreigner from the native in this matter; both are included in the command and in the warning.

Verses 13 through 16 address animals taken in hunting and animals that die without being slaughtered. Anyone, Israelite or foreigner, who takes in hunting any animal or bird that may be eaten must pour out its blood and cover it with dust. The reason repeats that the life of all flesh is its blood, and whoever eats it shall be cut off. Verses 15 and 16 then speak of a person who eats what dies of itself or what is torn by animals. Whether native-born or foreigner, that person must wash his clothes, bathe himself in water, and be unclean until evening, and then he shall be clean. But if he does not wash them or bathe his flesh, he shall bear his iniquity. The chapter closes with cleansing and with the warning that neglect leaves guilt in place.

Verses that carry the chapter

• “and hasn’t brought it to the door of the Tent of Meeting to offer it as an offering to Yahweh before Yahweh’s tabernacle: blood shall be imputed to that man. He has shed blood. That man shall be cut off from among his people.” (Leviticus 17:4) — This verse states the penalty for killing an animal without bringing it to the tabernacle door: blood is imputed to the man, and he is cut off from his people. It carries weight because it shows that the location and manner of sacrifice are not optional details but matters of life and death.
• “They shall no more sacrifice their sacrifices to the goat idols, after which they play the prostitute. This shall be a statute forever to them throughout their generations.’” (Leviticus 17:7) — This verse names the goat idols and the prostitution of going after them, and it sets a statute forever throughout Israel's generations. It carries weight because it reveals that the command about the tabernacle door is a command about exclusive worship.
• “For the life of the flesh is in the blood. I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement by reason of the life.” (Leviticus 17:11) — This verse gives the theological center of the chapter: the life of the flesh is in the blood, and Yahweh has given blood on the altar to make atonement for souls. It carries weight because it explains both why blood is forbidden as food and why blood is essential in sacrifice.
• “For as to the life of all flesh, its blood is with its life. Therefore I said to the children of Israel, “You shall not eat the blood of any kind of flesh; for the life of all flesh is its blood. Whoever eats it shall be cut off.” (Leviticus 17:14)” (Leviticus 17:14) — This verse restates that the life of all flesh is its blood and applies the prohibition to any kind of flesh, with the penalty of being cut off. It carries weight because it extends the principle beyond Israel to all flesh and repeats the warning for the whole community.

Gospel connection

Leviticus 17 locates atonement in blood given on the altar, and it insists that the life of the flesh is in the blood. The chapter does not name Jesus, but it establishes the pattern that the New Testament later takes up: blood is the means by which souls are atoned for, and it is given by Yahweh for that purpose. The command to bring every sacrifice to the one appointed place also anticipates the single, final sacrifice that would not be repeated. The warning against goat idols and against playing the prostitute with them stands behind the call to worship the one true God alone. The cleansing required for eating what died of itself or was torn shows that uncleanness is real and must be dealt with, not ignored. In the wider biblical story, this chapter helps explain why the death of Christ is spoken of in terms of blood and atonement, and why the people of God are called away from rival worship to the one place where sin is dealt with.

Application

This chapter asks the reader to take worship seriously and to refuse to invent private alternatives to what God has appointed. It asks whether we treat the blood of atonement as central or as a detail we can set aside. It asks us to examine what we run after when we are not bringing our sacrifices to the door of the Tent of Meeting, and to name the goat idols of our own day. It also asks us to handle life with reverence, since the text ties blood to life and forbids treating it as common food. And it asks us to deal honestly with uncleanness rather than ignoring it, because verse 16 says that the one who does not wash bears his iniquity. The response is not frantic but unhurried: come to the place God has provided, honor the blood that makes atonement, and turn from the prostitutions that pull the heart away.

Biblical fidelity check

The chapter does not claim that every slaughter of an animal for food was forbidden, only that the killing described in verses 3 and 4 must be brought to the door of the Tent of Meeting as an offering. It does not explain how the penalty of being cut off was carried out, and it does not say whether the goat idols were literal images or something else. It does not name the specific animals that may be eaten in hunting beyond saying any animal or bird that may be eaten. It does not describe the manner of washing beyond washing clothes and bathing in water. It does not say that the foreigner is exempt from any of these commands; in fact, it includes the stranger who lives as a foreigner. It does not state how atonement works beyond saying that blood makes atonement by reason of the life, and it does not identify a future sacrifice. Where the text is silent, the reader should not fill in details from later custom or speculation.

Questions for study

1. Why does the chapter require that a bull, lamb, or goat be brought to the door of the Tent of Meeting rather than killed in the open field?
2. What does verse 7 mean when it says the people play the prostitute after the goat idols, and how does that image shape the command?
3. According to verses 11 and 14, what is the relationship between blood, life, and atonement?
4. How do verses 8 and 9 treat the stranger who lives as a foreigner among Israel, and what does that show about the scope of the command?
5. What is the difference between the cleansing in verses 15 and 16 and the penalty of being cut off in verses 10 and 14?

Keep reading

Related studies: Leviticus 1 Bible Study, Leviticus 10 Bible Study, Leviticus 11 Bible Study, Leviticus 12 Bible Study.

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FAQ

Why is eating blood forbidden in this chapter?

The chapter says the life of the flesh is in the blood, and Yahweh has given blood on the altar to make atonement for souls. Because blood is tied to life and atonement, it is not to be eaten by Israel or by the stranger who lives among them.

Who is included in the commands about sacrifice and blood?

The commands address the house of Israel and also the strangers who live as foreigners among them. Verses 8, 10, 13, and 15 all include the foreigner, so the same rules and penalties apply to both groups.

What must a person do after eating an animal that died of itself or was torn by animals?

Verses 15 and 16 say that person must wash his clothes and bathe himself in water, and he remains unclean until evening, after which he is clean. If he does not wash and bathe, he bears his iniquity.