Vinny
Thank you.. I will look at them now
An Essay on Blood
by IWillBeDubbedNoMore 15 Replies latest jw friends
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outofthebox
Excellent. Got me thinking. New points I wasn't aware of. Kudos!
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Athanasius
Excellent post Marvin. Last April Genesis 9 was discussed in our Bible class at church and there was some discussion of verse 4 so I did some research into several Torah commentaries. It is interesting what the ArtScroll Tanach says about Genesis 9:4. Using commentary from great Torah scholars like Rashi, Radak, Abarbanel, and Rambam, Bereishis (Genesis) Volume 1(a), page 286-287 says:
"Rashi explains that this verse prohibits a limb cut from a living animal--i.e, while its soul is still in it, you may not eat its flesh...He accordingly interprets that there are two prohibitions implicit in the verse: both the flesh and the blood taken from a living animal are forbidden. Rashi's interpretation follows the view of Rav Chaninah ben Gamliel in Sanhedrin 59, who holds that the verse prohibits both flesh cut from a living animal and blood drawn from a living animal.
"Targum Yonasn renders: But flesh which is torn from a living beast, while the life is in it, or that is torn from a slaughtered animal before all the breath has gone forth, you shall not eat."
On page 288 of the same publication, it mentioned Hirsch, another Torah scholar, commenting on Genesis 9:4: "Hirsch, rendering the verse in consonance with the Sages in Sanhedrin 59, stresses that blood from a living animal is not forbidden a Noachide." Hirsch concludes that Genesis 9:4 "cannot be rendered other than nevertheless, flesh, while its blood is in its soul, you shall not eat -- clearly referring to the living state of the animal and prohibiting flesh from a living animal."
Instead of being a prohibition of blood transfusions, Genesis 9:4 is humane law against cruelty to animals by prohibiting the tearing and eating of flesh from a living creature. Not surprisingly the Watchtower GB refuses to take the word of the great Jewish Torah scholars who were fluent in Hebrew and spent their whole life studying the Torah; instead they accept the speculations of Freddy Franz who supposedly taught himself Hebrew and then attempted to translate the Hebrew Bible into English.
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Bangalore
Nicely written essay.
Bangalore
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finally awake
This stuff is just amazing. I feel like the scales are falling off my eyes.