But you must not eat meatThis command is part of the covenant God established with Noah after the flood, which includes dietary instructions. The permission to eat meat marks a significant shift from the pre-flood diet, which was primarily plant-based as seen in
Genesis 1:29. This change acknowledges the altered relationship between humans and animals post-flood, where animals now fear humans (
Genesis 9:2).
with its lifeblood
The term "lifeblood" emphasizes the sanctity of life, as blood is often associated with life itself (Leviticus 17:11). In ancient Near Eastern cultures, blood was considered the seat of life and had significant religious and cultural implications. This prohibition underscores the respect for life and the recognition of God's sovereignty over it.
still in it.
The command to not consume blood is reiterated in the Mosaic Law (Leviticus 17:10-14) and in the New Testament (Acts 15:20, 29), indicating its ongoing importance. This prohibition foreshadows the sacrificial system where blood is used for atonement, ultimately pointing to the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, whose blood was shed for the remission of sins (Hebrews 9:22). The respect for blood in this context highlights the sacredness of Christ's sacrifice.
Persons / Places / Events
1.
Noah- The recipient of God's covenant and instructions after the flood. He represents humanity in this new beginning.
2.
God- The divine authority giving commands and establishing covenants with Noah and his descendants.
3.
The Flood- A significant event preceding this command, symbolizing judgment and a new start for creation.
4.
Covenant- The agreement between God and Noah, which includes stipulations for human conduct and divine promises.
5.
Post-Flood Earth- The setting for this command, marking a new era for humanity and creation.
Teaching Points
Sanctity of LifeThe command underscores the sacredness of life, as represented by blood. Respect for life is foundational to our relationship with God and others.
Obedience to God's CommandsThis directive is part of a broader covenant relationship, reminding us of the importance of obedience in our walk with God.
Symbolism of BloodBlood is a powerful symbol throughout Scripture, representing life, sacrifice, and atonement. Understanding its significance helps us appreciate the depth of Christ's sacrifice.
Holiness in Daily LivingThe command to abstain from blood calls us to live distinctively, reflecting God's holiness in our everyday choices.
Continuity of God's Moral LawThis principle, carried from the Old Testament into the New, shows the unchanging nature of God's moral expectations.
Bible Study Questions and Answers
1.What is the meaning of Genesis 9:4?
2.What does Genesis 9:4 teach about respecting God's creation and life?
3.How does "you must not eat meat with its lifeblood" apply today?
4.Why is the prohibition of consuming blood significant in biblical dietary laws?
5.How does Genesis 9:4 connect to the New Testament teachings on blood?
6.How can we honor God's command in Genesis 9:4 in our daily lives?
7.Why does Genesis 9:4 prohibit consuming blood?
8.How does Genesis 9:4 relate to dietary laws in Christianity?
9.What is the theological significance of blood in Genesis 9:4?
10.What are the top 10 Lessons from Genesis 9?
11.What does the Bible say about eating meat with blood?
12.What is the Bible's stance on blood transfusions?
13.Is life sustained by the presence of blood?
14.Is blood thicker than water in covenant relationships?What Does Genesis 9:4 Mean
But- The word “But” signals a contrast with the immediately previous permission God gave: “Every creature that lives and moves will be food for you” (Genesis 9:3).
- God is widening mankind’s menu after the Flood yet balancing that freedom with a boundary.
- Similar contrasts show up later when liberty is framed by limits, such as in1 Corinthians 10:23-24 where Paul notes, “All things are lawful, but not all things are beneficial.”
you must not- This is not a suggestion; it is a direct, divine command.
- The personal pronoun makes every listener responsible. No one can claim exemption.
- Other passages underscore the mandatory nature of avoiding blood:
• “You must not eat the blood; pour it on the ground like water” (Deuteronomy 12:16).
• “No one among you may eat blood” (Leviticus 17:12).
eat meat- Meat itself is now expressly allowed, confirming the gift first noted inGenesis 9:3.
- God values nourishment and variety in His creation; nothing is unclean in itself (Mark 7:19).
- Yet liberty is never license; even the New Testament treats blood as a continuing concern for Gentile believers (Acts 15:20).
with its lifeblood- Scripture equates life with blood: “For the life of a creature is in the blood” (Leviticus 17:11).
- Because life belongs to God, blood holds sacred, symbolic weight pointing ahead to the atoning sacrifice of Christ (Hebrews 9:22).
- Handling blood reverently teaches that life is precious and that sin’s price is costly.
still in it- The meat had to be properly drained, underscoring respect for God-given life.
- When Israel later ignored this and “ate meat with the blood still in it,” Saul called it “a great sin” (1 Samuel 14:32-33).
- The wording also guards against violent, careless consumption—an image of brutality God will not endorse (Proverbs 12:10).
summaryGenesis 9:4 lays down a timeless principle: while God graciously permits people to enjoy meat, He forbids treating life as cheap. Draining the blood honors the Creator who gives life and foreshadows the redemptive blood of Christ. Respect for life remains woven into every meal, reminding us that even in everyday choices we are called to live within God’s wise, loving boundaries.
(4)
But flesh. . . . --The words are remarkable. "Only flesh in its soul, its blood, ye shall not eat." The Authorised Version is probably right in taking
bloodas in apposition to
soul,which word means here the principle of animation, or that which causes an animal to live. This is God's especial gift; for He alone can bestow upon that aggregation of solids and fluids which we call a body the secret principle of life. Of this hidden life the blood is the representative, and while man is permitted to have the body for his food, as being the mere vessel which contains this life, the gift itself must go back to God, and the blood as its symbol be treated with reverence.
Verse 4. -
But -
אַך, an adverb of limitation or exception, as in
Leviticus 11:4, introducing a restriction on the foregoing precept -
flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof. Literally,
with its soul, its blood; the blood being regarded as the seat of the soul, or life principle (
Leviticus 17:11), and even as the soul itself (
Leviticus 17:14). The idea of the unity of the soul and the blood, on which the prohibition of blood is based, comes to light everywhere in Scripture. In the blood of one mortally wounded his soul flows forth (
Lamentations 2:12), and he who voluntarily sacrifices himself pours out his soul unto death (
Isaiah 53:12). The murderer of the innocent slays the soul of the blood of the innocent (
ψυχὴν αἵματος ἀθώου,
Deuteronomy 27:25), which also cleaves to his (the murderer's) skirts (
Jeremiah 2:34; cf.
Proverbs 28:17, blood of a soul; cf.
Genesis 4:10 with
Hebrews 12:24;
Job 24:12 with
Revelation 6:9;
vide also
Psalm 94:21;
Matthew 23:35). Nor can it be said to be exclusively peculiar to Holy Scripture. In ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics the hawk, which feeds on bloods, represents the soul. Virgil says of a dying person, "purpuream vomit ille animam" ('AEneid,' 9:349). The Greek philosophers taught that the blood was either the soul (Critias), or the soul s food (Pythagoras), or the soul's seat (Empedocles), or the soul's producing cause (the Stoics); but only Scripture reveals the true relation between them both when it declares the blood to be not the soul absolutely, but the means of its self-attestation (vide Delitzsch s ' Bib. Psychology,' div. 4. sec. 11.).
Shall ye not eat. Not referring to, although certainly forbidding, the eating of flesh taken from a living animal (Raschi, Cajetan, Delitzsch, Luther, Peele, Jamieson) - a fiendish custom which may have been practiced among the antediluvians, as, according to travelers, it is, or was, among modern Abyssinians; rather interdicting the flesh of slaughtered animals from which the blood has not been properly drained (Calvin, Keil, Kalisch, Murphy, Wordsworth). The same prohibition (commonly regarded by the Hebrew doctors as the seventh of the Noachic precepts which were enjoined upon all nations;
vide infra, ver. 6) was afterwards incorporated in the Mosaic legislation (cf.
Leviticus 3:17;
Leviticus 7:26, 27;
Leviticus 17:10-14;
Leviticus 19:26;
Deuteronomy 12:16, 23, 24;
Deuteronomy 15:23), and subsequently imposed upon the Gentile converts in the Christian Church by the authority of the Holy Ghost and the apostles (
Acts 15:28, 29). Among other reasons, doubtless, for the original promulgation of this law were these: -
1. A desire to guard against the practice of cruelty to animals (Chrysostom, Calvin, 'Speaker's Commentary').
2. A design to hedge about human life by showing the inviolability which in God s eye attached to even the lives of the lower creatures (Calvin, Willet, Peele, Kalisch, Murphy).
3. The intimate connection which even in the animal creation subsisted between the blood and the life (Kurtz, 'Sacr. Worship,' I. A.V.). . . .
Parallel Commentaries ...
Hebrew
Butאַךְ־(’aḵ-)Adverb
Strong's 389:A particle of affirmation, surelyyou must notלֹ֥א(lō)Adverb - Negative particle
Strong's 3808:Not, noeatתֹאכֵֽלוּ׃(ṯō·ḵê·lū)Verb - Qal - Imperfect - second person masculine plural
Strong's 398:To eatmeatבָּשָׂ֕ר(bā·śār)Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 1320:Flesh, body, person, the pudenda of a, manwith its lifebloodבְּנַפְשׁ֥וֹ(bə·nap̄·šōw)Preposition-b | Noun - feminine singular construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 5315:A soul, living being, life, self, person, desire, passion, appetite, emotion[still] in it.דָמ֖וֹ(ḏā·mōw)Noun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 1818:Blood, of man, an animal, the juice of the grape, bloodshed
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OT Law: Genesis 9:4 But flesh with its life its blood (Gen. Ge Gn) 
