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href="/bsb/genesis/9.htm" class="clickchap" style="color:#001320" title="Click any translation name for full chapter">  (Click for Chapter)</a></div><div id="par"><span class="versiontext"><a href="/niv/genesis/9.htm">New International Version</a></span><br />&#8220But you must not eat meat that has its lifeblood still in it.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nlt/genesis/9.htm">New Living Translation</a></span><br />But you must never eat any meat that still has the lifeblood in it.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/esv/genesis/9.htm">English Standard Version</a></span><br />But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/bsb/genesis/9.htm">Berean Standard Bible</a></span><br />But you must not eat meat with its lifeblood still in it.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/kjv/genesis/9.htm">King James Bible</a></span><br />But flesh with the life thereof, <i>which is</i> the blood thereof, shall ye not eat.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nkjv/genesis/9.htm">New King James Version</a></span><br />But you shall not eat flesh with its life, <i>that is,</i> its blood.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nasb_/genesis/9.htm">New American Standard Bible</a></span><br />But you shall not eat flesh with its life, <i>that is,</i> its blood.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nasb/genesis/9.htm">NASB 1995</a></span><br />&#8220Only you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nasb77/genesis/9.htm">NASB 1977 </a></span><br />“Only you shall not eat flesh with its life, <i>that is,</i> its blood.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/lsb/genesis/9.htm">Legacy Standard Bible </a></span><br />However, flesh with its life, <i>that is</i>, its blood, you shall not eat.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/amp/genesis/9.htm">Amplified Bible</a></span><br />But you shall not eat meat along with its life, <i>that is,</i> its blood.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/csb/genesis/9.htm">Christian Standard Bible</a></span><br />However, you must not eat meat with its lifeblood in it.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/hcsb/genesis/9.htm">Holman Christian Standard Bible</a></span><br />However, you must not eat meat with its lifeblood in it.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/asv/genesis/9.htm">American Standard Version</a></span><br />But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/cev/genesis/9.htm">Contemporary English Version</a></span><br />But life is in the blood, and you must not eat any meat that still has blood in it. <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/erv/genesis/9.htm">English Revised Version</a></span><br />But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/gwt/genesis/9.htm">GOD'S WORD® Translation</a></span><br />"But you are not to eat meat with blood in it. (Blood is life.)<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/gnt/genesis/9.htm">Good News Translation</a></span><br />The one thing you must not eat is meat with blood still in it; I forbid this because the life is in the blood. <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/isv/genesis/9.htm">International Standard Version</a></span><br />However, you are not to eat meat with its life—that is, its blood—in it! <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/msb/genesis/9.htm">Majority Standard Bible</a></span><br />But you must not eat meat with its lifeblood still in it.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/net/genesis/9.htm">NET Bible</a></span><br />But you must not eat meat with its life (that is, its blood) in it.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nheb/genesis/9.htm">New Heart English Bible</a></span><br />But flesh with its life, its blood, you shall not eat.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/wbt/genesis/9.htm">Webster's Bible Translation</a></span><br />But flesh with the life of it, which is its blood, shall ye not eat.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/web/genesis/9.htm">World English Bible</a></span><br />But flesh with its life, that is, its blood, you shall not eat. <div class="vheading2"><b>Literal Translations</b></div><span class="versiontext"><a href="/lsv/genesis/9.htm">Literal Standard Version</a></span><br />only flesh in its life—its blood—you do not eat.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/ylt/genesis/9.htm">Young's Literal Translation</a></span><br /> only flesh in its life -- its blood -- ye do not eat.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/slt/genesis/9.htm">Smith's Literal Translation</a></span><br />But the flesh with its breath, its blood ye shall not eat.<div class="vheading2"><b>Catholic Translations</b></div><span class="versiontext"><a href="/drb/genesis/9.htm">Douay-Rheims Bible</a></span><br />Saving that flesh with blood you shall not eat. <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/cpdv/genesis/9.htm">Catholic Public Domain Version</a></span><br />except that flesh with blood you shall not eat.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nabre/genesis/9.htm">New American Bible</a></span><br />Only meat with its lifeblood still in it you shall not eat.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nrsvce/genesis/9.htm">New Revised Standard Version</a></span><br />Only, you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood.<div class="vheading2"><b>Translations from Aramaic</b></div><span class="versiontext"><a href="/lamsa/genesis/9.htm">Lamsa Bible</a></span><br />Only flesh with the life thereof, that is, the blood thereof, you shall not eat.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/hpbt/genesis/9.htm">Peshitta Holy Bible Translated</a></span><br />Only the flesh whose blood is in itself you shall not eat.<div class="vheading2"><b>OT Translations</b></div><span class="versiontext"><a href="/jps/genesis/9.htm">JPS Tanakh 1917</a></span><br />Only flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/sep/genesis/9.htm">Brenton Septuagint Translation</a></span><br />But flesh with blood of life ye shall not eat.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/parallel/genesis/9-4.htm">Additional Translations ...</a></span></div></div></div><div id="centbox"><div class="padcent"><a name="audio" id="audio"></a><div class="vheadingv"><b>Audio Bible</b></div><iframe width="100%" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/7ehevn8iSgc?start=1877" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe><span class="p"><br /><br /><br /></span><div class="vheadingv"><b>Context</b></div><span class="hdg"><a href="/bsb/genesis/9.htm">The Covenant of the Rainbow</a></span><br>…<span class="reftext">3</span>Everything that lives and moves will be food for you; just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you all things. <span class="reftext">4</span><span class="highl"><a href="/hebrew/389.htm" title="389: ’aḵ- (Adv) -- Surely, howbeit. Akin to 'aken; a particle of affirmation, surely; hence only.">But</a> <a href="/hebrew/3808.htm" title="3808: lō (Adv-NegPrt) -- Not. Or lowi; or loh; a primitive particle; not; by implication, no; often used with other particles.">you must not</a> <a href="/hebrew/398.htm" title="398: ṯō·ḵê·lū (V-Qal-Imperf-2mp) -- To eat. A primitive root; to eat.">eat</a> <a href="/hebrew/1320.htm" title="1320: bā·śār (N-ms) -- Flesh. From basar; flesh; by extension, body, person; also The pudenda of a man.">meat</a> <a href="/hebrew/5315.htm" title="5315: bə·nap̄·šōw (Prep-b:: N-fsc:: 3ms) -- From naphash; properly, a breathing creature, i.e. Animal of vitality; used very widely in a literal, accommodated or figurative sense.">with its lifeblood</a> <a href="/hebrew/1818.htm" title="1818: ḏā·mōw (N-msc:: 3ms) -- Blood. From damam; blood of man or an animal; by analogy, the juice of the grape; figuratively bloodshed.">still in it.</a> </span><span class="reftext">5</span>And surely I will require the life of any man or beast by whose hand your lifeblood is shed. I will demand an accounting from anyone who takes the life of his fellow man:…<div class="cred"><a href="//berean.bible">Berean Standard Bible</a> · <a href="//berean.bible/downloads.htm">Download</a></div><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a name="crossref" id="crossref"></a><div class="vheading">Cross References</div><div id="crf"><span class="crossverse"><a href="/leviticus/17-10.htm">Leviticus 17:10-14</a></span><br />If anyone from the house of Israel or a foreigner living among them eats any blood, I will set My face against that person and cut him off from among his people. / For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for your souls upon the altar; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul. / Therefore I say to the Israelites, ‘None of you may eat blood, nor may any foreigner living among you eat blood.’ ...<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/deuteronomy/12-16.htm">Deuteronomy 12:16</a></span><br />but you must not eat the blood; pour it on the ground like water.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/deuteronomy/12-23.htm">Deuteronomy 12:23-24</a></span><br />Only be sure not to eat the blood, because the blood is the life, and you must not eat the life with the meat. / You must not eat the blood; pour it on the ground like water.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/acts/15-20.htm">Acts 15:20</a></span><br />Instead, we should write and tell them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals, and from blood.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/acts/15-29.htm">Acts 15:29</a></span><br />You must abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals, and from sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid these things. Farewell.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/leviticus/3-17.htm">Leviticus 3:17</a></span><br />This is a permanent statute for the generations to come, wherever you live: You must not eat any fat or any blood.”<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/leviticus/7-26.htm">Leviticus 7:26-27</a></span><br />You must not eat the blood of any bird or animal in any of your dwellings. / If anyone eats blood, that person must be cut off from his people.’”<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/1_samuel/14-32.htm">1 Samuel 14:32-34</a></span><br />So they rushed greedily to the plunder, taking sheep, cattle, and calves. They slaughtered them on the ground and ate meat with the blood still in it. / Then someone reported to Saul: “Look, the troops are sinning against the LORD by eating meat with the blood still in it.” “You have broken faith,” said Saul. “Roll a large stone over here at once.” / Then he said, “Go among the troops and tell them, ‘Each man must bring me his ox or his sheep, slaughter them in this place, and then eat. Do not sin against the LORD by eating meat with the blood still in it.’” So that night everyone brought his ox and slaughtered it there.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/ezekiel/33-25.htm">Ezekiel 33:25</a></span><br />Therefore tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘You eat meat with the blood in it, lift up your eyes to your idols, and shed blood. Should you then possess the land?<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/deuteronomy/15-23.htm">Deuteronomy 15:23</a></span><br />But you must not eat the blood; pour it on the ground like water.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/acts/21-25.htm">Acts 21:25</a></span><br />As for the Gentile believers, we have written to them our decision that they must abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals, and from sexual immorality.”<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/leviticus/19-26.htm">Leviticus 19:26</a></span><br />You must not eat anything with blood still in it. You must not practice divination or sorcery.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/hebrews/9-22.htm">Hebrews 9:22</a></span><br />According to the law, in fact, nearly everything must be purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/matthew/26-28.htm">Matthew 26:28</a></span><br />This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/john/6-53.htm">John 6:53-56</a></span><br />So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh and drink the blood of the Son of Man, you have no life in you. / Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. / For My flesh is real food, and My blood is real drink. ...</div><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a name="tsk" id="tsk"><div class="vheading">Treasury of Scripture</div><p class="tsk2">But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall you not eat.</p><p class="hdg">the life.</p><p class="tskverse"><b><a href="/leviticus/3-17.htm">Leviticus 3:17</a></b></br> <i>It shall be</i> a perpetual statute for your generations throughout all your dwellings, that ye eat neither fat nor blood.</p><p class="tskverse"><b><a href="/leviticus/7-26.htm">Leviticus 7:26</a></b></br> Moreover ye shall eat no manner of blood, <i>whether it be</i> of fowl or of beast, in any of your dwellings.</p><p class="tskverse"><b><a href="/leviticus/17-10.htm">Leviticus 17:10-14</a></b></br> And whatsoever man <i>there be</i> of the house of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn among you, that eateth any manner of blood; I will even set my face against that soul that eateth blood, and will cut him off from among his people… </p><div class="vheading">Jump to Previous</div><a href="/genesis/4-11.htm">Blood</a> <a href="/genesis/3-22.htm">Eat</a> <a href="/genesis/8-17.htm">Flesh</a> <a href="/genesis/9-3.htm">Food</a> <a href="/genesis/7-22.htm">Life</a> <a href="/genesis/9-3.htm">Meat</a> <a href="/genesis/6-16.htm">Thereof</a><div class="vheading2">Jump to Next</div><a href="/genesis/9-5.htm">Blood</a> <a href="/genesis/18-8.htm">Eat</a> <a href="/genesis/9-11.htm">Flesh</a> <a href="/genesis/12-10.htm">Food</a> <a href="/genesis/9-6.htm">Life</a> <a href="/genesis/24-33.htm">Meat</a> <a href="/genesis/23-17.htm">Thereof</a><div class="vheading2">Genesis 9</div><span class="reftext">1. </span><span class="outlinetext"><a href="/genesis/9-1.htm">God blesses Noah and his sons, and grants them flesh for food.</a></span><br><span class="reftext">4. </span><span class="outlinetext"><a href="/genesis/9-4.htm">Blood and murder are forbidden.</a></span><br><span class="reftext">8. </span><span class="outlinetext"><a href="/genesis/9-8.htm">God's covenant, of which the rainbow was constituted a pledge.</a></span><br><span class="reftext">18. </span><span class="outlinetext"><a href="/genesis/9-18.htm">Noah's family replenishes the world.</a></span><br><span class="reftext">20. </span><span class="outlinetext"><a href="/genesis/9-20.htm">Noah plants a vineyard,</a></span><br><span class="reftext">21. </span><span class="outlinetext"><a href="/genesis/9-21.htm">Is drunken, and mocked by his son;</a></span><br><span class="reftext">25. </span><span class="outlinetext"><a href="/genesis/9-25.htm">Curses Canaan;</a></span><br><span class="reftext">26. </span><span class="outlinetext"><a href="/genesis/9-26.htm">Blesses Shem;</a></span><br><span class="reftext">27. </span><span class="outlinetext"><a href="/genesis/9-27.htm">Prays for Japheth, and dies.</a></span><br></div></div><div id="mdd"><div align="center"><div class="bot2"><table align="center" width="100%"><tr><td><div align="center"> <script id="3d27ed63fc4348d5b062c4527ae09445"> (new Image()).src = 'https://capi.connatix.com/tr/si?token=51ce25d5-1a8c-424a-8695-4bd48c750f35&cid=3a9f82d0-4344-4f8d-ac0c-e1a0eb43a405'; 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The permission to eat meat marks a significant shift from the pre-flood diet, which was primarily plant-based as seen in <a href="/genesis/1-29.htm">Genesis 1:29</a>. This change acknowledges the altered relationship between humans and animals post-flood, where animals now fear humans (<a href="/genesis/9-2.htm">Genesis 9:2</a>).<p><b>with its lifeblood</b><br>The term "lifeblood" emphasizes the sanctity of life, as blood is often associated with life itself (<a href="/leviticus/17-11.htm">Leviticus 17:11</a>). In ancient Near Eastern cultures, blood was considered the seat of life and had significant religious and cultural implications. This prohibition underscores the respect for life and the recognition of God's sovereignty over it.<p><b>still in it.</b><br>The command to not consume blood is reiterated in the Mosaic Law (<a href="/leviticus/17-10.htm">Leviticus 17:10-14</a>) and in the New Testament (<a href="/acts/15-20.htm">Acts 15:20, 29</a>), indicating its ongoing importance. This prohibition foreshadows the sacrificial system where blood is used for atonement, ultimately pointing to the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, whose blood was shed for the remission of sins (<a href="/hebrews/9-22.htm">Hebrews 9:22</a>). The respect for blood in this context highlights the sacredness of Christ's sacrifice.<div class="vheading2">Persons / Places / Events</div>1. <b><a href="/topical/n/noah.htm">Noah</a></b><br>- The recipient of God's covenant and instructions after the flood. He represents humanity in this new beginning.<br><br>2. <b><a href="/topical/g/god.htm">God</a></b><br>- The divine authority giving commands and establishing covenants with Noah and his descendants.<br><br>3. <b><a href="/topical/t/the_flood.htm">The Flood</a></b><br>- A significant event preceding this command, symbolizing judgment and a new start for creation.<br><br>4. <b><a href="/topical/c/covenant.htm">Covenant</a></b><br>- The agreement between God and Noah, which includes stipulations for human conduct and divine promises.<br><br>5. <b><a href="/topical/p/post-flood_earth.htm">Post-Flood Earth</a></b><br>- The setting for this command, marking a new era for humanity and creation.<div class="vheading2">Teaching Points</div><b><a href="/topical/s/sanctity_of_life.htm">Sanctity of Life</a></b><br>The command underscores the sacredness of life, as represented by blood. Respect for life is foundational to our relationship with God and others.<br><br><b><a href="/topical/o/obedience_to_god's_commands.htm">Obedience to God's Commands</a></b><br>This directive is part of a broader covenant relationship, reminding us of the importance of obedience in our walk with God.<br><br><b><a href="/topical/s/symbolism_of_blood.htm">Symbolism of Blood</a></b><br>Blood is a powerful symbol throughout Scripture, representing life, sacrifice, and atonement. Understanding its significance helps us appreciate the depth of Christ's sacrifice.<br><br><b><a href="/topical/h/holiness_in_daily_living.htm">Holiness in Daily Living</a></b><br>The command to abstain from blood calls us to live distinctively, reflecting God's holiness in our everyday choices.<br><br><b><a href="/topical/c/continuity_of_god's_moral_law.htm">Continuity of God's Moral Law</a></b><br>This principle, carried from the Old Testament into the New, shows the unchanging nature of God's moral expectations.<div class="vheading2">Lists and Questions</div><a href="/top10/lessons_from_genesis_9.htm">Top 10 Lessons from Genesis 9</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/q/what_does_the_bible_say_on_blood_in_meat.htm">What does the Bible say about eating meat with blood?</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/q/bible's_view_on_blood_transfusions.htm">What is the Bible's stance on blood transfusions?</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/q/does_blood_sustain_life.htm">Is life sustained by the presence of blood?</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/q/is_blood_thicker_than_covenant_ties.htm">Is blood thicker than water in covenant relationships?</a><a name="commentary" id="commentary"></a><div class="vheading2"><a href="/commentaries/ellicott/genesis/9.htm">Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers</a></div>(4) <span class= "bld">But flesh. . . . --</span>The words are remarkable. "Only flesh in its soul, its blood, ye shall not eat." The Authorised Version is probably right in taking <span class= "ital">blood </span>as in apposition to <span class= "ital">soul, </span>which word means here the principle of animation, or that which causes an animal to live. This is God's especial gift; for He alone can bestow upon that aggregation of solids and fluids which we call a body the secret principle of life. Of this hidden life the blood is the representative, and while man is permitted to have the body for his food, as being the mere vessel which contains this life, the gift itself must go back to God, and the blood as its symbol be treated with reverence.<p><div class="vheading2"><a href="/commentaries/pulpit/genesis/9.htm">Pulpit Commentary</a></div><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 4.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">But</span> - <span class="hebrew">אַך</span>, an adverb of limitation or exception, as in <a href="/leviticus/11-4.htm">Leviticus 11:4</a>, introducing a restriction on the foregoing precept - <span class="cmt_word">flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof</span>. Literally, <span class="accented">with its soul, its blood</span>; the blood being regarded as the seat of the soul, or life principle (<a href="/leviticus/17-11.htm">Leviticus 17:11</a>), and even as the soul itself (<a href="/leviticus/17-14.htm">Leviticus 17:14</a>). The idea of the unity of the soul and the blood, on which the prohibition of blood is based, comes to light everywhere in Scripture. In the blood of one mortally wounded his soul flows forth (<a href="/lamentations/2-12.htm">Lamentations 2:12</a>), and he who voluntarily sacrifices himself pours out his soul unto death (<a href="/isaiah/53-12.htm">Isaiah 53:12</a>). The murderer of the innocent slays the soul of the blood of the innocent (<span class="greek">ψυχὴν αἵματος ἀθώου</span>, <a href="/deuteronomy/27-25.htm">Deuteronomy 27:25</a>), which also cleaves to his (the murderer's) skirts (<a href="/jeremiah/2-34.htm">Jeremiah 2:34</a>; cf. <a href="/proverbs/28-17.htm">Proverbs 28:17</a>, blood of a soul; cf. <a href="/genesis/4-10.htm">Genesis 4:10</a> with <a href="/hebrews/12-24.htm">Hebrews 12:24</a>; <a href="/job/24-12.htm">Job 24:12</a> with <a href="/revelation/6-9.htm">Revelation 6:9</a>; <span class="accented">vide</span> also <a href="/psalms/94-21.htm">Psalm 94:21</a>; <a href="/matthew/23-35.htm">Matthew 23:35</a>). Nor can it be said to be exclusively peculiar to Holy Scripture. In ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics the hawk, which feeds on bloods, represents the soul. Virgil says of a dying person, "purpuream vomit ille animam" ('AEneid,' 9:349). The Greek philosophers taught that the blood was either the soul (Critias), or the soul s food (Pythagoras), or the soul's seat (Empedocles), or the soul's producing cause (the Stoics); but only Scripture reveals the true relation between them both when it declares the blood to be not the soul absolutely, but the means of its self-attestation (vide Delitzsch s ' Bib. Psychology,' div. 4. sec. 11.). <span class="cmt_word">Shall ye not eat.</span> Not referring to, although certainly forbidding, the eating of flesh taken from a living animal (Raschi, Cajetan, Delitzsch, Luther, Peele, Jamieson) - a fiendish custom which may have been practiced among the antediluvians, as, according to travelers, it is, or was, among modern Abyssinians; rather interdicting the flesh of slaughtered animals from which the blood has not been properly drained (Calvin, Keil, Kalisch, Murphy, Wordsworth). The same prohibition (commonly regarded by the Hebrew doctors as the seventh of the Noachic precepts which were enjoined upon all nations; <span class="accented">vide infra</span>, ver. 6) was afterwards incorporated in the Mosaic legislation (cf. <a href="/leviticus/3-17.htm">Leviticus 3:17</a>; <a href="/leviticus/7-26.htm">Leviticus 7:26, 27</a>; <a href="/leviticus/17-10.htm">Leviticus 17:10-14</a>; <a href="/leviticus/19-26.htm">Leviticus 19:26</a>; <a href="/deuteronomy/12-16.htm">Deuteronomy 12:16, 23, 24</a>; <a href="/deuteronomy/15-23.htm">Deuteronomy 15:23</a>), and subsequently imposed upon the Gentile converts in the Christian Church by the authority of the Holy Ghost and the apostles (<a href="/acts/15-28.htm">Acts 15:28, 29</a>). Among other reasons, doubtless, for the original promulgation of this law were these: - <p><span class="Text_Heading">1.</span> A desire to guard against the practice of cruelty to animals (Chrysostom, Calvin, 'Speaker's Commentary'). <p><span class="Text_Heading">2.</span> A design to hedge about human life by showing the inviolability which in God s eye attached to even the lives of the lower creatures (Calvin, Willet, Peele, Kalisch, Murphy). <p><span class="Text_Heading">3.</span> The intimate connection which even in the animal creation subsisted between the blood and the life (Kurtz, 'Sacr. Worship,' I. A.V.). . . . <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/commentaries/genesis/9-4.htm">Parallel Commentaries ...</a></span><span class="p"><br /><br /><br /></span><a name="lexicon" id="lexicon"></a><div class="vheading">Hebrew</div><span class="word">But</span><br /><span class="heb">אַךְ־</span> <span class="translit">(’aḵ-)</span><br /><span class="parse">Adverb<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_389.htm">Strong's 389: </a> </span><span class="str2">A particle of affirmation, surely</span><br /><br /><span class="word">you must not</span><br /><span class="heb">לֹ֥א</span> <span class="translit">(lō)</span><br /><span class="parse">Adverb - Negative particle<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_3808.htm">Strong's 3808: </a> </span><span class="str2">Not, no</span><br /><br /><span class="word">eat</span><br /><span class="heb">תֹאכֵֽלוּ׃</span> <span class="translit">(ṯō·ḵê·lū)</span><br /><span class="parse">Verb - Qal - Imperfect - second person masculine plural<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_398.htm">Strong's 398: </a> </span><span class="str2">To eat</span><br /><br /><span class="word">meat</span><br /><span class="heb">בָּשָׂ֕ר</span> <span class="translit">(bā·śār)</span><br /><span class="parse">Noun - masculine singular<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_1320.htm">Strong's 1320: </a> </span><span class="str2">Flesh, body, person, the pudenda of a, man</span><br /><br /><span class="word">with its lifeblood</span><br /><span class="heb">בְּנַפְשׁ֥וֹ</span> <span class="translit">(bə·nap̄·šōw)</span><br /><span class="parse">Preposition-b | Noun - feminine singular construct | third person masculine singular<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_5315.htm">Strong's 5315: </a> </span><span class="str2">A soul, living being, life, self, person, desire, passion, appetite, emotion </span><br /><br /><span class="word">[still] in it.</span><br /><span class="heb">דָמ֖וֹ</span> <span class="translit">(ḏā·mōw)</span><br /><span class="parse">Noun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine singular<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_1818.htm">Strong's 1818: </a> </span><span class="str2">Blood, of man, an animal, the juice of the grape, bloodshed</span><br /><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><div class="vheading">Links</div><a href="/niv/genesis/9-4.htm">Genesis 9:4 NIV</a><br /><a href="/nlt/genesis/9-4.htm">Genesis 9:4 NLT</a><br /><a href="/esv/genesis/9-4.htm">Genesis 9:4 ESV</a><br /><a href="/nasb/genesis/9-4.htm">Genesis 9:4 NASB</a><br /><a href="/kjv/genesis/9-4.htm">Genesis 9:4 KJV</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="//bibleapps.com/genesis/9-4.htm">Genesis 9:4 BibleApps.com</a><br /><a href="//bibliaparalela.com/genesis/9-4.htm">Genesis 9:4 Biblia Paralela</a><br /><a href="//holybible.com.cn/genesis/9-4.htm">Genesis 9:4 Chinese Bible</a><br /><a href="//saintebible.com/genesis/9-4.htm">Genesis 9:4 French Bible</a><br /><a href="/catholic/genesis/9-4.htm">Genesis 9:4 Catholic Bible</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/genesis/9-4.htm">OT Law: Genesis 9:4 But flesh with its life its blood (Gen. Ge Gn)</a></div></div></td></tr></table></div><div id="left"><a href="/genesis/9-3.htm" onmouseover='lft.src="/leftgif.png"' onmouseout='lft.src="/left.png"' title="Genesis 9:3"><img src="/left.png" name="lft" border="0" alt="Genesis 9:3" /></a></div><div id="right"><a href="/genesis/9-5.htm" onmouseover='rght.src="/rightgif.png"' onmouseout='rght.src="/right.png"' title="Genesis 9:5"><img src="/right.png" name="rght" border="0" alt="Genesis 9:5" /></a></div><div id="botleft"><a href="#" onmouseover='botleft.src="/botleftgif.png"' onmouseout='botleft.src="/botleft.png"' title="Top of Page"><img src="/botleft.png" name="botleft" border="0" alt="Top of Page" /></a></div><div id="botright"><a href="#" onmouseover='botright.src="/botrightgif.png"' onmouseout='botright.src="/botright.png"' title="Top of Page"><img src="/botright.png" name="botright" border="0" alt="Top of Page" /></a></div><div id="bot"><iframe width="100%" height="1500" scrolling="no" src="/botmenubhnew2.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></div></td></tr></table></div></body></html>