And whatsoever man there be of the house of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn among you, that eateth any manner of blood; I will even set my face against that soul that eateth blood, and will cut him off from among his people.

LEVITICUS 17:10KJV
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Leviticus 17:10 (KJV)

What does Leviticus 17:10 mean?

Leviticus 17:10 says that God forbids both Israelites and foreigners living among them to eat blood. The rule carries a serious consequence: God says he will oppose the person who eats it and cut that person off from the people.

God is speaking through Moses to the Israelites. The image “set my face against” pictures God turning toward someone as an opponent, rather than looking on that person with favor. The phrase makes the judgment personal: God himself says he will act.

The Hebrew behind Leviticus 17:10

  • “strangers” — גֵּר (ger): This word refers to a foreigner living among another people. Here the rule reaches beyond native Israelites to outsiders who reside with them.
  • “soul” — נֶפֶשׁ (nephesh): This word can refer to a living being or a person. In this sentence, “that soul” means the person who eats the blood.
  • “off” — כָּרַת (karat): This word means to cut. The phrase “cut him off from among his people” describes removal from the community; the sentence leaves the manner of that removal unstated.

Why Leviticus 17:10 matters

  • The ban covers blood broadly, rather than naming just one kind: the verse says “any manner of blood.” The rule applies to a person who eats it, regardless of whether that person is an Israelite or a resident foreigner.
  • The next verse gives the reason for treating blood differently: “the life of the flesh is in the blood” (Leviticus 17:11). Blood is linked with life and has a place in the worship described there.

Where else these words appear

“strangers” Hebrew H1616 · used in 83 verses

  • Genesis 15:13 And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years;
  • Leviticus 25:47 And if a sojourner or stranger wax rich by thee, and thy brother that dwelleth by him wax poor, and sell himself unto the stranger or sojourner by thee, or to the stock of the stranger's family:
  • Deuteronomy 27:19 Cursed be he that perverteth the judgment of the stranger, fatherless, and widow. And all the people shall say, Amen.

“sojourn” Hebrew H1481 · used in 94 verses

  • Genesis 12:10 And there was a famine in the land: and Abram went down into Egypt to sojourn there; for the famine was grievous in the land.
  • Deuteronomy 1:17 Ye shall not respect persons in judgment; but ye shall hear the small as well as the great; ye shall not be afraid of the face of man; for the judgment is God's: and the cause that is too hard for you, bring it unto me, and I will hear it.
  • Psalms 61:4 I will abide in thy tabernacle for ever: I will trust in the covert of thy wings. Selah.