“The life is in the blood”
Leviticus 17:11
Cultural referenceSettledGod
For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for your souls upon the altar; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul. (Leviticus 17:11 BSB)
* Blood equals life, so pouring it out meant surrendering a life; this verse is the engine of the entire sacrificial system and the reason blood was never to be eaten.
What it sounds like today
An ancient and rather primitive idea about blood.
The cultural key
This verse states the principle beneath every sacrifice: blood is life. To pour out blood is to give up a life, so atonement, the covering of sin, is accomplished when a life is offered in place of another. It also explains the strict ban on eating blood that runs from Noah through the Law: blood carried life, which belonged to God alone. The New Testament draws the line straight out from here: 'without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.'
Recovered meaning
Sacrifice is not arbitrary ritual but the working out of one equation: life for life, and life is in the blood. This single verse is why the altar ran with blood, and why the cross is described in the same terms.
Parallels: Genesis 9:4; Hebrews 9:22