17:10 “‘Any man 4 from the house of Israel or from the foreigners who reside 5 in their 6 midst who eats any blood, I will set my face against that person who eats the blood, and I will cut him off from the midst of his people, 7
17:15 “‘Any person 11 who eats an animal that has died of natural causes 12 or an animal torn by beasts, whether a native citizen or a foreigner, 13 must wash his clothes, bathe in water, and be unclean until evening; then he becomes clean. 17:16 But if he does not wash his clothes 14 and does not bathe his body, he will bear his punishment for iniquity.’” 15
1 tn Smr and LXX add after “tent of meeting” the following: “to make it a burnt offering or a peace offering to the
2 tc Smr includes the suffix “it,” which is needed in any case in the translation to conform to English style.
3 sn The exact meaning of this penalty clause is not certain. It could mean (1) that he will be executed, whether by God or by man, (2) that he will be excommunicated from sanctuary worship and/or community benefits, or (3) that his line will be terminated by God (i.e., extirpation). See also the note on Lev 7:20.
4 tn Heb “And man, man.” The repetition of the word “man” is distributive, meaning “any (or every) man” (GKC 395-96 §123.c; cf. Lev 15:2).
5 tn Heb “from the sojourner who sojourns.”
6 tc The LXX, Syriac, and Vulgate have “your” (plural) rather than “their.”
7 tn Heb “I will give my faces against [literally “in”] the soul/person/life [נֶפֶשׁ, nefesh, feminine] who eats the blood and I will cut it [i.e., that נֶפֶשׁ, nefesh] off from the midst of its people.” The uses of נֶפֶשׁ in this and the following verse are most significant for the use of animal blood in Israel’s sacrificial system. Unfortunately, it is a most difficult word to translate accurately and consistently, and this presents a major problem for the rendering of these verses (see, e.g., G. J. Wenham, Leviticus [NICOT], 244-45). No matter which translation of נֶפֶשׁ one uses here, it is important to see that both man and animal have נֶפֶשׁ and that this נֶפֶשׁ is identified with the blood. See the further remarks on v. 11 below. On the “cutting off” penalty see the note on v. 4 above. In this instance, God takes it on himself to “cut off” the person (i.e., extirpation).
8 tn Heb “for the life/soul (נֶפֶשׁ, nefesh) of all flesh, its blood in its life/soul (נֶפֶשׁ) it is.” The LXX, Syriac, and Vulgate leave out “in its life/soul,” which would naturally yield “for the life of all flesh, its blood it is” (see J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 261, 263). The present translation is something of an oversimplification, but the meaning is basically the same in any case. Cf. NRSV “For the life of every creature – its blood is its life.”
9 tn Heb “of all flesh” (also later in this verse). See the note on “every living thing” in v. 11.
10 tn For remarks on the “cut off” penalty see the note on v. 4 above.
11 tn Heb “And any soul” (נֶפֶשׁ, nefesh).
12 tn Heb “carcass,” referring to the carcass of an animal that has died on its own, not the carcass of an animal slaughtered for sacrifice or killed by wild beasts. This has been clarified in the translation by supplying the phrase “of natural causes”; cf. NAB “that died of itself”; TEV “that has died a natural death.”
13 tn Heb “in the native or in the sojourner.”
14 tn The words “his clothes” are not in the Hebrew text, but are repeated in the translation for clarity.
15 tn Heb “and he shall bear his iniquity.” The rendering “bear the punishment for the iniquity” reflects the use of the word “iniquity” to refer to the punishment for iniquity. This is sometimes referred to as the consequential use of the term (cf. Lev 5:17; 7:18; 10:17; etc.).