Leviticus 17:3

17:3 “Blood guilt ¹  will be accounted to any man ²  from the house of Israel ³  who slaughters an ox or a lamb or a goat inside the camp or outside the camp, ⁴ 

Leviticus 17:8

17:8 “You are to say to them: ‘Any man ⁵  from the house of Israel or ⁶  from the foreigners who reside ⁷  in their ⁸  midst, who offers ⁹  a burnt offering or a sacrifice

Leviticus 17:10

Prohibition against Eating Blood

17:10 “‘Any man ¹⁰  from the house of Israel or from the foreigners who reside ¹¹  in their ¹²  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, ¹³ 

[17:3]  ¹ tn The complex wording of vv. 3-4 requires stating “blood guilt” at the beginning of v. 3 even though it is not mentioned until the middle of v. 4. The Hebrew text has simply “blood,” but in this case it refers to the illegitimate shedding of animal blood, similar to the shedding of the blood of an innocent human being (Deut 19:10, etc.). In order for it to be legitimate the animal must be slaughtered at the tabernacle and its blood handled by the priests in the prescribed way (see, e.g., Lev 1:5; 3:2, 17; 4:5-7; 7:26-27, etc.; cf. vv. 10-16 below for more details).

[17:3]  ² tn Heb “Man man.” The reduplication is way of saying “any man” (cf. Lev 15:2; 22:18, etc.). See the note on Lev 15:2.

[17:3]  ³ tn The original LXX adds “or the sojourners who sojourn in your midst” (cf. Lev 16:29, etc., and note esp. 17:8, 10, and 13 below).

[17:3]  ⁴ tn Heb “or who slaughters from outside to the camp.”

[17:8]  ⁵ tn Heb “Man, man.” The repetition of the word “man” is distributive, meaning “any [or “every”] man” (GKC 395-96 §123.c; cf. Lev 15:2).

[17:8]  ⁶ tn Heb “and.” Here the Hebrew conjunction ו (vav, “and”) has an alternative sense (“or”).

[17:8]  ⁷ tn Heb “from the sojourner who sojourns.”

[17:8]  ⁸ tc The LXX, Syriac, and Vulgate have “your” (plural) rather than “their.”

[17:8]  ⁹ tn Heb “causes to go up.”

[17:10]  ¹⁰ 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).

[17:10]  ¹¹ tn Heb “from the sojourner who sojourns.”

[17:10]  ¹² tc The LXX, Syriac, and Vulgate have “your” (plural) rather than “their.”

[17:10]  ¹³ 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).