Leviticus 17:10-12
Because life is in the blood and it is given for atonement, it must be honored as sacred and not consumed.
10 “ ‘Any man of the house of Israel, or of the strangers who live as foreigners among them, who eats any kind of blood, I will set my face against that soul who eats blood, and will cut him off from among his people.
11 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.
12 Therefore I have said to the children of Israel, “No person among you may eat blood, nor may any stranger who lives as a foreigner among you eat blood.”
Because life is in the blood and it is given for atonement, it must be honored as sacred and not consumed.
This passage forbids the consumption of blood among Israelites and foreigners, grounding the command in the theological reality that life is in the blood and it has been given for atonement on the altar.
Leviticus 17:10-12 follows the sanctuary-offering regulations in 17:1-9. The prior units required sacrificial slaughter and offerings to be brought to the LORD rather than redirected to illicit worship. This passage now moves to the theological meaning of blood itself: because blood represents life and is assigned by God for atonement on the altar, it must not be consumed. The following unit, 17:13-16, applies the blood prohibition to hunted animals and birds and explains proper draining and covering of blood.
Leviticus 17 stands within Israel's tabernacle-centered wilderness legislation, where the LORD dwells among His people and governs sacrifice, slaughter, and blood. In the ancient Israelite sacrificial system, blood was handled at the altar, not consumed as food. The prohibition applies to the house of Israel and to the resident foreigner living among them, indicating that anyone dwelling within Israel's covenant community must honor the LORD's regulation of blood.
Blood, Life, Sacrifice, and the LORD's Exclusive Altar
Because life belongs to the LORD and blood has been given by Him for atonement, Israel must bring sacrifice to His appointed altar, reject false worship, and never treat blood as common food.