Biblical Hebrew Forum

[ben.crick AT argonet.co.uk (Ben Crick)]

On Sun 24 Oct 1999 (08:53:16), nbtp AT sil.org wrote:
> Could you please help me to do the correct translation (from Hebrew)
> for Genesis 9:4
> Which of the following is right:
> 1. But you should not eat flesh (meat) with blood which is its
> soul(life).
> 2. But you should not eat flesh (meat) with its (life) soul and with
> its blood. If both are incorrect, please send me correct translation
> for the above verse.

 Dear Yousaf,

 After the Flood, permission was given to eat no longer vegetables and fruit,
 but also meat (flesh). To be Kosher, the blood had to be drained well from
 the corpse before cooking and eating the meat. And the meat had to be from
 a "clean" animal (regulations given in Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14).

 'aK-Ba&aR   B:NaF:$oW    DaMoW      Lo' To'KeLuW
 Only flesh  in its soul its blood  you shall not eat

 DaMoW is in apposition to B:NaF:$oW here. "You shall not eat flesh with
 its soul, i.e. its blood, in it". This is nearly the same as your (1).

> Also I have the following questions regarding this verse:
> 1. Does this verse means that blood is the soul (life) of flesh (meat),
> so we shouldn't eat? or flesh (meat) is not permitted to eat if it's
> still with soul (life) and with blood?

 For ceremonial purposes, the "life" is considered to be resident in the
 "lifeblood" of an animal. When the blood is shed, the "life" visibly departs
 from the body (the "flesh"). So the "blood" = the "life"; and the shedding
 of blood = the "death". i.e. the blood and the flesh *together* give living
 flesh. Release of the blood is not the *release* of the life, but the
 *termination* of the life of the flesh. Compare Genesis 9:4 (your verse),
 Leviticus 17:11, 14; Deuteronomy 12:23. The pouring out of the blood is a
 witness to the physical death of the victim, not its spiritual survival.

> 2. The Hebrew words (Nefesh, Basar & Dam) used for flesh (meat),
> soul (life) & blood in this verse is same for human and animal's
> soul (life), flesh (meat) & blood or there are different words for all of
> these?

 These words are used equally of human and non-human animals, as far as
 I know.

> I heard someone saying that we shouldn't take the blood (blood
> transfussion) from anyone because Bible tells us that blood is
> soul (life) of flesh (meat) & we are not suppose to have it in any
> condition.  He showed the above reference (Gen 9:4) for that.  Do you
> think this verse really means to say that? or there are some other
> theological reasons that my friend is not aware of?

 This is not the forum for debating matters of religious conviction held
 by this or that group. The meaning of NeFe$ is a matter for debate though;
 see Leviticus 17:11. Does the third NeFe$ refer back to the first NeFe$, or
 to the second NeFe$ ?

 KiY NeFe$ HaBBF&FR         BaDDFM HiW'  
 For the life of the flesh, it is in the blood 

 Wa'a:NiY NeTaTTiYW     LFKeM     `aL HaMMiZ:Be``aC
 and I    have given it to you     upon the altar

 L:KaPPeR `aL-NaF:$oTeYKeM
 to atone for your souls  

 KiY HaDDFM         HuW' BaNNeFe$ YeKaPPeR        [Leviticus 17:11]
 because the blood, it makes atonement /BaNNeFe$/

 /BaNNeFe$/ is the crunch. The blood makes atonement BaNNeFe$. The prefix B:
 here may be the prefix of price or value: the blood makes atonement *at the
 cost of the life of the sacrificial victim*. Compare 1 Kings 2:23; 2 Samuel
 23:17; Proverbs 7:23; Lamentations 5:9 where B: is used in this sense.

 Or the prefix B: may be the prefix of Substitution. The blood makes
 atonement *in the place of the life of the worshippers* (not the animal).
 Compare Exodus 21:3 (NeFe$ TaCaT NeFe$); Deuteronomy 19:21 (NeFe$ B:NeFe$);
 2 Samuel 14:7 (B:NeFe$); Jonah 1:14 (B:NeFe$).

 For Christians such as me, the relationship of the blood and the flesh is
 expressed in Hebrews 9:12-20. A Testament or Covenant involves *death* if it
 is to come into effect. Even the Mosaic Covenant was not dedicated without
 blood.

 As to eating the blood: Under the New Covenant, new dietary laws apply
 as St Peter found out on Simon the Tanner's roof (Acts 10:6-16). We may
 eat raw steaks and black puddings if we so wish. The blood of butchers'
 meat is not considered as a sacrifice to an idol; it's just another
 by-product of the shambles, like the offal (1 Corinthians 10:25). Under the
 Old Covenant, there was a strict taboo on the eating of blood, for the
 above-considered reasons. Eating meat or not is a matter for the individual
 conscience; accepting a blood transfusion or not is a matter for the
 individual conscience.

 Shalom,

 Ben
-- 
 Revd Ben Crick, BA CF
 <ben.crick AT argonet.co.uk>
 232 Canterbury Road, Birchington, Kent, CT7 9TD (UK)
 http://www.cnetwork.co.uk/crick.htm