Albert Barnes Commentary Leviticus 17:10-14

"And whatsoever man there be of the house of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn among them, that eateth any manner of blood, I will set my face against that soul that eateth blood, and will cut him off from among his people. For the life of the flesh is in the blood; and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh atonement by reason of the life. Therefore I said unto the children of Israel, No soul of you shall eat blood, neither shall any stranger that sojourneth among you eat blood. And whatsoever man there be of the children of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn among them, who taketh in hunting any beast or bird that may be eaten; he shall pour out the blood thereof, and cover it with dust. For as to the life of all flesh, the blood thereof is [all one] with the life thereof: therefore I said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall eat the blood of no manner of flesh; for the life of all flesh is the blood thereof: whosoever eateth it shall be cut off." — Leviticus 17:10-14 (ASV)

The prohibition to eat blood is repeated in seven places in the Pentateuch, but in this passage, two distinct grounds are given for the prohibition: first, its own nature as the vital fluid; and secondly, its consecration in sacrificial worship.

Rather, For the soul of the flesh is in the blood, and I have ordained it for you upon the altar, to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement by means of the soul (Leviticus 17:11). In the Old Testament, there are three words relating to the constitution of man:

1. “Life” as opposed to death (Genesis 1:20; Deuteronomy 30:15).
2. The “soul” as distinguished from the body; the individual life in either man or beast, whether united to the body during life or separated from the body after death .
3. The “spirit” as opposed to the flesh (Romans 8:6), and as distinguished from the life of the flesh; the highest element in man; that which, in its true condition, holds communion with God.

The soul has its dwelling in the blood as long as life lasts. In Leviticus 17:14, the soul is identified with the blood, as it is in Genesis 9:4 and Deuteronomy 12:23. That the blood is rightly distinguished in this way from all other constituents of the body is acknowledged by the highest authorities in physiology.

“It is the fountain of life,” says Harvey, “the first to live, and the last to die, and the primary seat of the animal soul; it lives and is nourished by itself, and by no other part of the human body.” John Hunter inferred that it is the seat of life because all the parts of the frame are formed and nourished from it. “And if,” he says, “it has not life before this operation, it must then acquire it in the act of forming: for we all acknowledge the existence of life in the parts when once formed.”

Milne Edwards observes that, “if an animal is bled until it falls into a state of syncope, and the further loss of blood is not prevented, all muscular motion quickly ceases, respiration is suspended, the heart pauses from its action, life is no longer manifested by any outward sign, and death soon becomes inevitable. But if, in this state, the blood of another animal of the same species is injected into the veins of the one to all appearance dead, we see with amazement this inanimate body return to life, gaining accessions of vitality with each new quantity of blood that is introduced, eventually beginning to breathe freely, moving with ease, and finally walking as it was accustomed to do, and recovering completely.”

More or less distinct traces of the recognition of blood as the vehicle of life are found in Greek and Roman writers. The knowledge of the ancients on this subject may indeed have been based on the mere observation that an animal loses its life when it loses its blood.

But it may deepen our sense of the wisdom and significance of the Law of Moses to know that the fact which it presents so distinctly and consistently, and in such a significant connection, is so clearly recognized by modern scientific research.

Rather, For the soul of all flesh is its blood with its soul (i.e., its blood and soul together); therefore I spoke to the children of Israel, You shall not eat the blood of any flesh, for the soul of all flesh is its blood, etc. (Leviticus 17:14).