Verse-by-Verse Commentary
The Book of Leviticus
Chapter 17: The Life Is in the Blood
At the center of this chapter stands one of the most important verses in the Bible about atonement: 'the life of the flesh is in the blood... it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.' Around that truth God gathers all sacrifice to one altar, forbids the offering of sacrifices to devils, and commands that blood never be treated as common food. Blood is sacred because life is in it and because God has given it to cover sin. Every line points to the precious blood of Jesus Christ.
About This Commentary
This is a verse-by-verse study of Leviticus chapter 17. For each section you will find the KJV text, the Hebrew words that sharpen the meaning, plain explanation, and a Gospel Focus. The chapter guards the sanctity of blood: all sacrifice must come to the one altar and never to devils, and blood must never be eaten, for the life is in it and God has given it to make atonement. It is one of the clearest statements in Scripture of why the blood of Christ saves. Every Scripture quotation is from the King James Version.
Setting the Stage
Not in the Field
All sacrifice had to be brought to the door of the tabernacle, so worship stayed pure and centered on God.
No Other Gods
Israel was forbidden to offer sacrifices "unto devils," the demons behind pagan worship they had chased after.
Life in the Blood
"The life of the flesh is in the blood," and God gave that blood upon the altar to make atonement for the soul.
Poured Out, Covered
Even a hunter's kill had its blood poured out and covered with dust; blood was never to be treated lightly.
No More Sacrifice to Devils (Leviticus 17:1-9)
All sacrifice must be brought to the one altar at the tabernacle, so that Israel could no longer offer in the open field to the demons behind the pagan gods.
Turning from the Demons
"And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto Aaron, and unto his sons, and unto all the children of Israel, and say unto them; This is the thing which the LORD hath commanded, saying, What man soever there be of the house of Israel, that killeth an ox, or lamb, or goat, in the camp, or that killeth it out of the camp, And bringeth it not unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, to offer an offering unto the LORD before the tabernacle of the LORD; blood shall be imputed unto that man; he hath shed blood; and that man shall be cut off from among his people: To the end that the children of Israel may bring their sacrifices, which they offer in the open field, even that they may bring them unto the LORD, unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, unto the priest, and offer them for peace offerings unto the LORD. And the priest shall sprinkle the blood upon the altar of the LORD at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and burn the fat for a sweet savour unto the LORD. And they shall no more offer their sacrifices unto devils, after whom they have gone a whoring. This shall be a statute for ever unto them throughout their generations. And thou shalt say unto them, Whatsoever man there be of the house of Israel, or of the strangers which sojourn among you, that offereth a burnt offering or sacrifice, And bringeth it not unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, to offer it unto the LORD; even that man shall be cut off from among his people. 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."
Hebrew Study
"devils," se'irim (שְׂעִירִים). Literally "hairy ones," goat-shaped demons or goat-idols worshiped in the open country. Behind Israel's temptation to sacrifice "in the open field" lay these demonic powers. Scripture is blunt that idolatry is never harmless; real spiritual evil hides behind false worship.
Explanation
God commands that every animal killed for sacrifice be brought "unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation" and offered to the LORD there, on His altar, by His priest. Anyone who sacrificed elsewhere, "in the open field," was counted a shedder of blood and "cut off." Why so strict? Verse 7 gives the reason: "they shall no more offer their sacrifices unto devils, after whom they have gone a whoring." Out in the fields, away from the altar, Israelites had been tempted to offer to the goat-demons of the surrounding nations. By requiring all sacrifice at the one central altar, God fenced His people from idolatry and kept their worship pure and undivided. There was one God, one altar, one place where sacrifice belonged, and it was His.
Gospel Focus
God calls idolatry what it is: sacrificing "unto devils." Paul says exactly the same of pagan worship: "the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God" (1 Corinthians 10:20). Idolatry is never neutral or empty; there are real spiritual powers behind every false object of worship. That is why God drew His people to one altar, one place, one Lord. The lesson holds for us. We are called to a whole-hearted, undivided worship, offered to the one true God and to no rival. The modern "open field," the private altars we build to money, self, pleasure, or power, is still the ground where the enemy would draw our devotion away. God will not share His people with demons. He calls us to bring everything to the one altar, the cross of Jesus Christ, and to worship God alone. Whole-hearted devotion to the Lord is not narrowness; it is safety, for it keeps us from the powers that hide behind every idol.
The Life of the Flesh Is in the Blood (Leviticus 17:10-12)
God forbids the eating of blood and gives the reason that stands at the heart of the whole Bible: the life is in the blood, and He has given it to make atonement.
Blood Given for Atonement
"For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul. 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."
Hebrew Study
"life" and "soul," nephesh (נֶפֶשׁ). The same Hebrew word means life, soul, and the whole living being. Notice the verse joins them: the nephesh (life) is in the blood, and the blood makes atonement for the nephesh (soul). Life pays for life. Because the very life of the creature is in its blood, the shed blood can stand in the place of a life that was forfeit.
Explanation
God sets His face against anyone who eats blood, and then explains why in one of the most important sentences in Scripture: "For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul." Here is the reason blood is sacred and must never be eaten. Blood is not common food; it carries life itself, and God has claimed it for a holy purpose, to make atonement. Atonement is by life given for life: because a life was forfeit through sin, a substitute life, poured out in blood, is offered in its place. This single verse unlocks the whole sacrificial system. The reason blood was sprinkled on the altar, the reason the offerings could cover sin, is all here: God gave the blood to make atonement, because the life is in it.
Gospel Focus
No verse in the Old Testament explains the cross more directly. "It is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul," and so "without shedding of blood is no remission" (Hebrews 9:22). Sin brought death, and only a life given in its place could answer it; the blood was that life, poured out. Every drop sprinkled on Israel's altar pointed forward to the blood of Jesus, given upon the true altar of the cross. On the night He was betrayed He took the cup and said, "this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins" (Matthew 26:28). And here the Apostolic wonder deepens, for whose blood was it? Scripture calls it "the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood" (Acts 20:28), the blood of God Himself, come in flesh to give His life for us. The life that atones is His own life, laid down and taken up again. This is why we are not redeemed with silver or gold but with "the precious blood of Christ." The oldest, deepest truth of Leviticus is the newest, sweetest truth of the gospel: the life is in the blood, and by His blood we live.
Poured Out and Covered (Leviticus 17:13-16)
Even the blood of a hunted animal was to be poured out and covered with dust, for the life of all flesh is in its blood.
Handled with Holy Care
"And whatsoever man there be of the children of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn among you, which hunteth and catcheth any beast or fowl that may be eaten; he shall even pour out the blood thereof, and cover it with dust. For it is the life of all flesh; the blood of it is for 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. And every soul that eateth that which died of itself, or that which was torn with beasts, whether it be one of your own country, or a stranger, he shall both wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even: then shall he be clean. But if he wash them not, nor bathe his flesh; then he shall bear his iniquity."
Hebrew Study
"the life... is the blood," nephesh (נֶפֶשׁ). Three times the passage grounds its command in one truth: "the life of all flesh is the blood thereof." Blood must not be eaten but poured out, because it is the life, and life belongs to God. This is the beating heart of the whole sacrificial system, stated plainly two verses earlier — "it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul" (17:11). Atonement costs a life, and that is why our redemption required not silver or gold but "the precious blood of Christ" (1 Peter 1:19).
Explanation
The reverence for blood extended even outside worship. When a hunter killed a wild animal or bird for food, he was to "pour out the blood thereof, and cover it with dust," not consume it, not leave it exposed, but return it to the ground with care. The reason is repeated: "it is the life of all flesh; the blood of it is for the life thereof." And anyone who ate an animal that "died of itself" or was "torn with beasts," with its blood undrained, became unclean and had to wash. Whether at the altar or in the wilderness, in sacrifice or in the hunt, the same principle governed: blood is life, and life belongs to God. It was never to be treated as an ordinary thing, but always with a holy care that acknowledged the God who gives life.
Gospel Focus
That even a hunter had to pour out and cover the blood teaches a reverence for life, and for the blood in which it dwells, that ran through Israel's whole existence. "The blood is the life" (Deuteronomy 12:23), and life is God's gift and God's possession. This trains the heart to hold life sacred, and it deepens our reverence for the blood of Christ above all. If the blood of a hunted bird was not to be treated as common, how much less the precious blood of the Son of God. The New Testament warns of those who count "the blood of the covenant... an unholy thing," and calls it a fearful sin. We are to handle the blood of Jesus with holy care in our hearts, never presuming on it, never treating our redemption lightly, but forever standing in awe that God gave His own life's blood to save us. The care Israel showed for the blood of animals is the smallest shadow of the reverence the blood of Christ deserves, the blood by which we are cleansed, redeemed, and brought to God.
Chapter 17 in Review
Leviticus 17 guards the sanctity of blood. It gathers all sacrifice to the one altar at the tabernacle, so that Israel would "no more offer their sacrifices unto devils" in the open field, keeping their worship pure and undivided. It forbids the eating of blood, and gives the reason at the heart of the whole Bible: "the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls." And it extends that reverence even to the hunter's kill, whose blood was to be poured out and covered with dust, for blood is life and life belongs to God.
For the Apostolic reader, this chapter opens the meaning of the cross. Idolatry is sacrifice to devils, and God calls His people to one altar and one Lord, fulfilled in the cross of Christ, where alone true worship is offered. The great verse, "it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul," explains why "without shedding of blood is no remission," and points straight to Jesus, whose blood, shed for the remission of sins, is called nothing less than the blood of God, by which He purchased the church. And the holy care commanded for all blood teaches us to hold in deepest reverence the precious blood of Christ. Life for life, blood for the soul: the oldest law of the altar is the gospel itself, and by His blood we live.
- All sacrifice belonged at the one altar; idolatry is sacrifice "unto devils," and God calls us to undivided worship (17:7; 1 Corinthians 10:20).
- "The life of the flesh is in the blood": atonement is life given for life, the key to the whole sacrificial system (17:11).
- Because the blood makes atonement, "without shedding of blood is no remission," fulfilled in the blood of Christ (Hebrews 9:22).
- The blood that saves is called "his own blood," the blood of God come in flesh (Acts 20:28).
- Blood was handled with holy care, teaching us deep reverence for the precious blood of Jesus.
Questions for Reflection
- Is your worship undivided, brought to the one altar of Christ, or are there private altars competing for your heart?
- Do you rest in the truth that the blood of Jesus, life given for your life, has fully atoned for your soul?
- Do you treasure the blood of Christ with holy reverence, never presuming on so great a price?
References & Sources
Scripture is quoted from the King James Version (KJV). The Hebrew terms are standard and can be checked in any Hebrew lexicon. Supporting passages are listed so every claim can be verified in its own setting. If anything here does not look right, a verse, a reference, or a wording, please tell us at info@FruitBearers.net. Thank you for helping us keep Bible Learning error free.
- One altar, and idolatry as sacrifice to devils: Leviticus 17:1-9; 1 Corinthians 10:20.
- The life in the blood and atonement, fulfilled in Christ: Leviticus 17:10-12; Hebrews 9:22; Matthew 26:28; Acts 20:28.
- Blood is life, to be handled with reverence: Leviticus 17:13-16; Deuteronomy 12:23.