Question for mature Christians, who are knowledgable in the bible?

Question

Hello friends,
I pray that you are all doing well today. I have a couple of questions from my reading today. I was reading in Genesis again and noticed something that I never really thought too much about before.
Genesis 9:4-6:
But you must not eat meat that has it's lifeblood still in it. And for your lifeblood I will surely demand an accounting. I will demand an accounting from every animal. And from each man, too. I will demand an accounting for the life of his fellow man. Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made man.

Ok, so my questions are: What exactly is lifeblood? I think I know a little what God is saying but I am not sure. Especially when He talks about demanding an accounting of mans lifeblood. Also, reading this two or three times, it seems to me that this is actually the first time that God commanded men not to murder. But, then I think about where it says that if man sheds the blood of man, so

so by man his blood will be shed.

So, anyone want to give this a shot? Will someone try to explain this to me, the way that you understand it, from your reading of it?


Thank you, dear friends.

Answer 1

That is one of the verses Jehovah Witnesses use to forbid their members blood transfusions.

God has always given his people direction for their lives designed to keep them seperate from pagan activities, and raw meat being consumed would have health consequences.
Shedding the blood of man seems to me to obviously talking about murder or manslaughter.

Answer 2

I would not call myself a mature Christian but rather a maturing Christian. But this is my understanding of this passage.

Genesis 9:4
"But you must not eat meat that has it's lifeblood still in it."

If you read the verse prior God is giving the animals to man to eat, But he says not to eat their blood. Life blood or life giving blood has no special meaning. It is the same blood that courses through our vains. This is another example of a scientific fact proclaimed in the Bible. Noah could not have known how our blood gives us life by delivering oxygen to our body like we do today. Why does God say not to eat Blood? It could be that it is unhealthy but its not that important because God said not to eat blood therefore we don't do it.

Genesis 9:5-6
"And for your lifeblood I will surely demand an accounting. I will demand an accounting from every animal. And from each man, too. I will demand an accounting for the life of his fellow man. Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made man."

Simple put God is saying that for murder (your life blood) he demands a accounting. An accounting meaning that a man who murders a man must be put to death and an animal that murders a man must be put to death. The reason being is that Man is made in the image of God.

I would say that Genesis 4:1-16 is the first reference to murder being wrong. But it seams that God had given the law to Adam if only in part because we see that Cain and Abel had some understanding or sacrifice and it was obvious that Cain knew he had done wrong when he killed Abel. Remember Adam and Eve ate from the tree of good and evil and therefore had an understanding of right and wrong. I believe there is plenty that God reveled to early man that was not recorded by God because it was not part of his plan.

A good resourse I have found to help you understand any scripture is a DVD called "Herman Who?" which is a crash course in Hermeneutics (the interpretation of scripture). You can get it through the way of the master.

Answer 3

Genesis 9:4 But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat.

The profoundly scientific truth that “the life of the flesh is in the blood” (see also Leviticus 17:11) is here mentioned for the first time, the great biological truth concerning the importance of blood in our body’s mechanism has been fully comprehended only in recent years. Up until 120 years ago, sick people were "bled," and many died because of the practice. If you lose your blood, you lose your life. Yet Leviticus 17:11, written 3,000 years ago, declared that blood is the source of life: "For the life of the flesh is in the blood.".

Genesis 9:4. This, as well as the other principles of the Edenic Mandate and the Noahic covenant, is still in effect and should be observed by Christians especially. The blood, both in symbol and in reality, is “the life of the flesh.” Thus, it is appropriate to offer in sacrifice (until the offering of Christ, that is) but never to consume, either as food or as a religious ritual.

Answer 4

Yes, to my understanding God asks us not to murder, but let me write what couple different commentaries say about it.

From then on animals would fear people and were given to be food for them, except for their blood.

Blood here represents the animal's life. It may be used in sacrifice, for all life belongs to God.

4. But flesh..the blood...shall ye not eat: The sole intention of this prohibiting was to prevent these excesses of cannibal ferocity in eating flesh of living animals, to which men in the earlier ages of the world were liable.

5. Surely your blood of your lives will I require: The fourth part establishes a new power for protecting life - the institution of the civil magistrate ( Rom 13:4 ), armed with public and official authority to repress the commission of violence and crime. Such a power had not previously existed in patriarchal society.

6. Whoso sheddeth man's blood..for in the image of God made He man: It is true that the image has been injured by the fall, but not lost. In this view, a high value is attached to the life of every man, even the poorest and humblest, and an awful criminality is involved in the destruction of it.

The wages of the sin was death. After the Adam and Eve's fall, the first animal was sacrificed for their clothing. When man kills another man, then the animal sacrifice was needed.

Answer 5

When I read that passage, I got the impression that lifeblood is simply blood. I thought whoever wrote that part of the Bible didn't want people eating meat that was undercooked instead of well-done.

However, I think a lot of those rules that were written back then were not directly from God Himself (Don't forget that the Bible was written by humans! The guys who wrote the Bible chapters often thought quite highly of their own lifestyles, too.). A lot of those rules were written for sanitation, health, or economical reasons, and were put in religious teachings to get more people to follow them. If people thought they'd be punished by God for eating meat with blood in it, they'd be more likely to comply with the rule forbidding it, and fewer people would get sick from eating undercooked meat.

Answer 6

Life blood is blood comming out of a living (or dying) creature (or human). A vial of blood you give at the doctor for testing, well when someone recieves that vial 3 days later in a refrigerated container, it's just blood.

The second part is merely eye for an eye. It's not a command however. It's saying that if you kill, others will kill you. Note that this does not say that God will punish you, but that man can. It's pointing out the classic moral precept of reciprocity. If you kill, you will anger others enough to kill you. Basic moral and human instinct.

Answer 7

Genesis 9:4 King James Version
But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat.

Blood is the life. We don't eat blood.



Genesis 9:5
And surely your blood of your lives will I require; at the hand of every beast will I require it, and at the hand of man; at the hand of every man's brother will I require the life of man.
Genesis 9:6
Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man.

Who ever kills a man God requires the same.

Answer 8

Life blood means the animal still lives while it is being consumed. It means that an animal should be killed humanely before it is eaten. Apparently this had to be spelled out in early civilization or someone would just lop off the leg of an animal and eat it.

This also has to do with hunting. If you would an animal you must track it down and see that it is dispatched humanely.

Answer 9

The life of the body is in the blood. It is well known that the body corrupts faster when the dead blood is left in the body. I suspect the 'lifeblood' means enough blood to keep you alive'. Man is not to murder. But society is to require retribution from those who have murdered anyway.This is one of the first references to God's authorizing human governments.

Answer 10

Lifeblood is nothing more than another term for blood.
That passage simply means that when a human kills another human he should be punished and that if an animal kills another human it shall be punished too.

Your Bible my use the term 'lifeblood' because it's a more descriptive version. Cross referance this verse with others on biblegateway.com and you will see that they simply use the word blood instead.