Biblically, when should blood be poured out?

by pennycandy 2 Replies latest watchtower bible

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  pennycandy

  Most notaby, this was done when an animal was killed for food.

  Does the Bible mention any other times blood is to be poured onto the ground? How about when an animal was killed in self-defense, but not eaten? Did it only apply to mammals? How about birds and fish?

  What about people? Does the Bible ever speak about a person's blood being poured out, other than metaphorically?

  How does the society make the jump from animals killed for food to human blood?

  I have to take my son to his taekwondo class now (gasp), but look forward to any replies tonight.
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  TD

  How about when an animal was killed in self-defense, but not eaten?

  If there was no intent to eat the animal (e.g. An unclean animal killed in self defense) then there was no requirement to pour its blood out.

  Did it only apply to mammals? How about birds and fish?

  Birds, but not fish

  What about people? Does the Bible ever speak about a person's blood being poured out, other than metaphorically?

  No.

  How does the society make the jump from animals killed for food to human blood?

  They subtley reword the requirment.

  "Blood must be removed from the body by being poured out"

  ..Is reworded into this:

  "Blood removed from the body must be poured out"

  This removes the animal carcass from the equation and makes blood itself the direct recipient of action. Anyone who buys into this semantic ledger demain comes away with the notion that this was a universal requirement regarding blood instead of a very narrow, situationally specific requirement regarding the butchering of a wild animal for food.
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  Narkissos

  It may be interesting to note that this law appears in the context of the Deuteronomistic reform under Josiah's rule, the main feature of which is the centralisation of worship in the royal temple in Jerusalem, banning every other place of sacrifice (compare 2 Kings 23 with Deuteronomy 12). Out of necessity this creates the new notion of secular (non-sacrificial) slaughter of animals in the rest of the country (Deuteronomy 12:15ff), with the blood rite (v. 16) being left as the only vestige (and reminder) of the sacrifice, the ground being substituted to the altar (compare Leviticus 17). Prior to that every killing was a sacrifice.

  With this sacrificial background in mind the extension to human blood (in a medical context which is neither sacrificial nor dietary) becomes even more absurd imo.