Leviticus 17:4

17:4 but has not brought it to the entrance of the Meeting Tent ¹  to present it as ²  an offering to the Lord before the tabernacle of the Lord. He has shed blood, so that man will be cut off from the midst of his people. ³ 

Leviticus 17:10

Prohibition against Eating Blood

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 

[17:4]  ¹ tn Smr and LXX add after “tent of meeting” the following: “to make it a burnt offering or a peace offering to the Lord for your acceptance as a soothing aroma, and slaughters it outside, and at the doorway of the tent of meeting has not brought it.”

[17:4]  ² tc Smr includes the suffix “it,” which is needed in any case in the translation to conform to English style.

[17:4]  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.

[17:10]  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).

[17:10]  ⁵ tn Heb “from the sojourner who sojourns.”

[17:10]  ⁶ tc The LXX, Syriac, and Vulgate have “your” (plural) rather than “their.”

[17:10]  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).