'Blood' in the Bible

The Lord said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s [innocent] blood is crying out to Me from the ground [for justice].

And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s [shed] blood from your hand.

But you shall not eat meat along with its life, that is, its blood.

“Whoever sheds man’s blood [unlawfully],By man (judicial government) shall his blood be shed,For in the image of GodHe made man.

Reuben said to them, “Do not shed his blood, but [instead] throw him [alive] into the pit that is here in the wilderness, and do not lay a hand on him [to kill him]”—[he said this so] that he could rescue him from them and return him [safely] to his father.

Judah said to his brothers, “What do we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood (murder)?

Then they took Joseph’s tunic, slaughtered a male goat and dipped the tunic in the blood;

Reuben answered them, “Did I not tell you, ‘Do not sin against the boy’; and you would not listen? Now the accounting for his blood is required [of us for we are guilty of his death].”

“Tying his foal to the [strong] vineAnd his donkey’s colt to the choice vine,He washes his clothing in wine [because the grapevine produces abundantly],And his robes in the blood of grapes.

But if they will not believe these two signs or pay attention to what you say, you are to take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground; and the water which you take out of the river will turn into blood on the dry ground.”

Then Zipporah took a flint knife and cut off the foreskin of her son and threw it at Moses’ feet, and said, “Indeed you are a husband of blood to me!”

So He let Moses alone [to recover]. At that time Zipporah said, “You are a husband of blood”—because of the circumcision.

Thus says the Lord, “By this you shall know and recognize and acknowledge that I am the Lord: look, with the staff in my hand I will strike the water in the Nile, and it shall be turned to blood.

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt, over their rivers, over their streams, over their pools, and over all their reservoirs of water, so that they may become blood; and there shall be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, in containers both of wood and of stone.’”

So Moses and Aaron did as the Lord commanded; Aaron lifted up the staff and struck the waters in the Nile, in the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants, and all the water that was in the Nile was turned into blood.

The fish in the Nile died, and the river became foul smelling, and the Egyptians could not drink its water, and there was blood throughout all the land of Egypt.

Moreover, they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel [above the door] of the houses in which they eat it.

The blood shall be a sign for you on [the doorposts of] the houses where you live; when I see the blood I shall pass over you, and no affliction shall happen to you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.

You shall take a bunch of hyssop, dip it in the blood which is in the basin, and touch some of the blood to the lintel [above the doorway] and to the two doorposts; and none of you shall go outside the door of his house until morning.

For the Lord will pass through to strike the Egyptians; and when He sees the blood on the lintel [above the entry way] and on the two doorposts, the Lord will pass over the door and will not allow the destroyer to come into your houses to slay you.

“If a thief is caught breaking in [after dark] and is struck [by the owner] so that he dies, there shall be no bloodguilt for him.

But if the sun has risen, there will be bloodguilt for him. The thief [if he lives] must make [full] restitution; if he has nothing, then he shall be sold [as a slave to make restitution] for his theft.

“You shall not offer the blood of My sacrifice with leavened bread; and the fat of My feast is not to be left overnight until morning.

Moses took half of the blood and put it in large basins, and [the other] half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar.

So Moses took the blood [which had been placed in the large basins] and sprinkled it on the people, and said, “Behold the blood of the covenant, which the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words.”

And you shall take some of the blood of the bull and with your finger put it on the horns of the altar [of burnt offering], and you shall pour out the remainder of the blood at the base of the altar.

then you shall kill the ram and you shall take its blood and sprinkle it around the altar [of burnt offering].

Then you shall kill the ram, and take some of its blood and put it on the tip of the right ears of Aaron and his sons and on the thumbs of their right hands and on the big toes of their right feet, and sprinkle the [rest of the] blood around on the altar [of burnt offering].

Then you shall take some of the blood that is on the altar and some of the anointing oil, and sprinkle it on Aaron and his garments and on his sons and their garments. Now Aaron and his garments and his sons and their garments shall be consecrated (dedicated, made holy, declared sacred for God’s purpose).

Once a year Aaron shall make atonement [for sin] on its horns. He shall make atonement on it with the blood of the sin offering of atonement once a year throughout your generations. It is most holy to the Lord.”

“You shall not offer the blood of My sacrifice with leavened bread, nor shall the sacrifice of the Feast of the Passover (Unleavened Bread) be left over until morning.

He shall kill the young bull before the Lord; and Aaron’s sons the priests shall present the blood and sprinkle the blood around on the altar that is at the doorway of the Tent of Meeting.

He shall kill it on the north side of the altar before the Lord, and Aaron’s sons the priests shall sprinkle its blood around on the altar.

The priest shall bring it to the altar, and wring off its head, and offer it up in smoke on the altar; and its blood is to be drained out on the side of the altar.

He shall lay his hand on the head of his offering [transferring symbolically his guilt to the sacrifice] and kill it at the doorway of the Tent of Meeting; and Aaron’s sons the priests shall sprinkle the blood around on the altar.

and he shall lay his hand on the head of his offering and kill it before the Tent of Meeting, and Aaron’s sons shall sprinkle its blood around on the altar.

and he shall lay his hand on its head [transferring symbolically his guilt to the sacrifice], and kill it before the Tent of Meeting; and the sons of Aaron shall sprinkle its blood around on the altar.

It is a permanent statute for your generations wherever you may be, that you shall not eat any fat or any blood.’”

Then the anointed priest is to take some of the bull’s blood and bring it into the Tent of Meeting;

and the priest shall dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle some of it seven times before the Lord in front of the veil (curtain) of the sanctuary.

The priest shall also put some of the blood on the horns of the altar of fragrant incense which is before the Lord in the Tent of Meeting. All the rest of the blood of the bull he shall pour out at the base of the altar of the burnt offering which is at the doorway of the Tent of Meeting.

The anointed priest is to bring some of the bull’s blood to the Tent of Meeting,

and the priest shall dip his finger in the blood, and sprinkle it seven times before the Lord, in front of the veil [which screens off the Holy of Holies and the ark of the covenant].

He shall put some of the blood on the horns of the altar [of incense] which is before the Lord in the Tent of Meeting; and he shall pour out all the rest of the blood at the base of the altar of burnt offering which is at the doorway of the Tent of Meeting.

Then the priest is to take some of the blood of the sin offering with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering; and the rest of its blood he shall pour out at the base of the altar of burnt offering.

The priest shall take some of its blood with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering and shall pour out all the rest of its blood at the base of the altar.

The priest is to take some of the blood of the sin offering with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering and all the rest of the blood of the lamb he shall pour out at the base of the altar.

He shall also sprinkle some of the blood of the sin offering on the side of the altar, and the rest of the blood shall be drained out at the base of the altar; it is a sin offering.

Whatever touches its meat will become consecrated (ceremonially clean). When any of its blood splashes on a garment, you shall wash what was splashed on in a holy place.

But no sin offering from which any of the blood is brought into the Tent of Meeting to make atonement in the Holy Place shall be eaten; it shall be [completely] burned in the fire.

In the place where they kill the burnt offering they are to kill the guilt offering, and he shall sprinkle its blood around on the altar.

Of this he shall present one [cake] from each offering as a contribution to the Lord; it shall belong to the priest who sprinkles the blood of the peace offerings.

Moreover, you are not to eat any blood [of any kind], whether of bird or animal, in any of your dwelling places.

Whoever eats any blood, that person shall be cut off from his people.’”

The son of Aaron who offers the blood of the peace offerings and the fat shall have the right thigh as his portion.

Next Moses killed it and took the blood and with his finger put some of it around on the horns of the altar and purified it [from sin]. Then he poured out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar and consecrated it, to make atonement for it.

Moses killed it and sprinkled the blood around on the altar.

Moses killed it and took some of its blood and put it on the lobe of Aaron’s right ear, and on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot.

He also brought Aaron’s sons forward and put some of the blood on the lobes of their right ears, and the thumbs of their right hands, and the big toes of their right feet; and Moses sprinkled the rest of the blood around on the altar.

So Moses took some of the anointing oil and some of the blood which was on the altar and sprinkled it on Aaron and his garments, and also on his sons and their garments with him; so Moses consecrated Aaron and his garments, and his sons and his sons’ garments with him.

The sons of Aaron presented the blood to him; he dipped his finger in the blood and put some of it on the horns of the altar, and poured out the rest of the blood at the altar’s base;

Then he killed the burnt offering; and Aaron’s sons handed the blood to him and he sprinkled it around on the altar.

He also killed the bull and the ram, the sacrifice of peace offerings which was for the people; and Aaron’s sons handed the blood to him and he sprinkled it around on the altar,

Behold, its blood was not brought into the Holy Place; you certainly should have eaten the goat in the sanctuary, just as I commanded.”

Then she shall remain [intimately separated] thirty-three days to be purified from the blood; she shall not touch any consecrated thing nor enter the [courtyard of the] sanctuary until the days of her purification are over.

But if she gives birth to a female child, then she shall be unclean for two weeks, as during her monthly period, and she shall remain [intimately separated] sixty-six days to be purified from the blood.

and he shall offer it before the Lord and make atonement for her, and she shall be cleansed from the flow of her blood. This is the law for her who gives birth to a child, whether a male or a female child.

As for the live bird, he shall take it together with the cedar wood and the scarlet string and the hyssop, and shall dip them and the live bird in the blood of the bird sacrificed over the running water.

He shall sprinkle [the blood] seven times on the one to be cleansed from the leprosy and shall pronounce him [ceremonially] clean. Then he shall let the live bird go free over the open field.

The priest shall take some of the blood of the guilt offering and put it on the lobe of the right ear of the one to be cleansed, and on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot.

Of the rest of the oil which is in his palm, the priest shall put some on the lobe of the right ear of the one to be cleansed, and on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot, on top of the blood of the guilt offering.

Next he shall kill the lamb of the guilt offering; and the priest is to take some of the blood of the guilt offering and put it on the lobe of the right ear of the one to be cleansed, and on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot.

The priest shall put some of the oil in his palm on the lobe of the right ear of the one to be cleansed, and on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot, on the places where he has put the blood of the guilt offering.

and he shall take the cedar wood and the hyssop and the scarlet string, and the living bird, and dip them in the blood of the slain bird as well as in the running water, and sprinkle the house seven times.

So he shall cleanse the house with the blood of the bird and with the running water, along with the live bird and the cedar wood and the hyssop and the scarlet string.

‘When a woman has a discharge, if her bodily discharge is blood, she shall continue in her menstrual impurity for seven days; and whoever touches her shall be unclean until evening.

‘Now if a woman has a flow of blood for many days, not during the time of her menstruation, or if she has a discharge beyond that period, as long as the impure discharge continues she shall be as she is in the days of her [normal] menstrual impurity; she is unclean.

He shall take some of the bull’s blood and sprinkle it with his finger on the east side of the mercy seat; also in front of the mercy seat he shall sprinkle some of the blood with his finger seven times.

“Then he shall kill the goat of the sin offering that is for [the sins of] the people and bring its blood within the veil [into the Most Holy Place] and do with its blood as he did with the blood of the bull, and sprinkle it on the mercy seat and in front of the mercy seat.

Then he shall go out to the altar [of burnt offering in the court] which is before the Lord and make atonement for it, and shall take some of the blood of the bull and of the goat and put it on the horns of the altar on all sides.

With his finger he shall sprinkle some of the blood on the altar of burnt offering seven times and cleanse it and consecrate it from the uncleanness of the Israelites.

The bull for the sin offering and the goat for the sin offering, whose blood was brought in to make atonement in the Holy Place (Holy of Holies), shall be taken outside the camp; their skins, their meat, and their waste shall be burned in the fire.

and has not brought it to the doorway of the Tent of Meeting to offer it as an offering to the Lord before the tabernacle of the Lord, that man shall be guilty of bloodshed. He has shed blood and shall be cut off from his people [excluding him from the atonement made for them].

The priest shall sprinkle the blood on the altar of the Lord at the doorway of the Tent of Meeting and offer the fat up in smoke as a sweet and soothing aroma to the Lord.

‘Any man from the house of Israel, or any stranger living temporarily among you, who eats any blood, against that person I shall set My face and I will cut him off from his people [excluding him from the atonement made for them].

For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and 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 [which it represents].’

Therefore I have said to the sons of Israel, ‘No person among you may eat blood, nor may any stranger living temporarily among you eat blood.’

So when any Israelite or any stranger living temporarily among them, catches any ceremonially clean animal or bird when hunting, he shall pour out its blood and cover it with earth.

“For in regard to the life of all flesh, its blood is [the same] as its life; therefore I said to the Israelites, ‘You are not to eat the blood of any flesh, for the life of all flesh is its blood. Whoever eats it shall be cut off [excluding him from the atonement made for them].’

‘You shall not eat anything with the blood, nor practice divination [using omens or witchcraft] or soothsaying.

The man who lies [intimately] with his father’s wife has uncovered his father’s nakedness; both of them shall most certainly be put to death; their blood is on them.

If a man lies [intimately] with his daughter-in-law, both of them shall most certainly be put to death; they have committed incest; their blood is on them.

If a man lies [intimately] with a male as if he were a woman, both men have committed a detestable (perverse, unnatural) act; they shall most certainly be put to death; their blood is on them.

If a woman approaches any animal to mate with it, you shall kill the woman and the animal; they shall most certainly be put to death; their blood is on them.

If a man lies [intimately] with a woman during her menstrual cycle and uncovers her nakedness, he has exposed her flow, and she has uncovered the flow of her blood; both of them shall be cut off from their people [excluding them from the atonement made for them].

‘A man or woman who is a medium [who pretends to consult the dead] or who is a spiritist shall most certainly be put to death, and be stoned with stones; their blood is on them.’”

except for his relatives who are nearest to him, his mother, his father, his son, his daughter, and his brother,

He shall not become unclean as a relative by marriage among his people, and so profane himself.

But the firstborn of a cow or of a sheep or of a goat you shall not redeem; they are holy [and belong to the Lord]. You shall sprinkle their blood on the altar and shall offer up their fat in smoke as an offering by fire, for a sweet and soothing aroma to the Lord.

Next Eleazar the priest shall take some of its blood with his finger and sprinkle some of it toward the front of the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle) seven times.