Unlawful Sacrifices and the Consumption of Blood

(Leviticus 17:1 - 17:16)
Jehovah told Moses to tell Aaron, his sons, and all the Israelites this: "It is the commandment of Jehovah that any Israelite who sacrifices a bull or a cow, a lamb, or a goat in the camp -- or outside it, instead of bringing it to entrance to the Sanctum and offering it as a sacrifice on Jehovah's altar before the Sanctum, shall be guilty of a crime; he has shed blood and must be banished from the community.  The purpose of this order is so that the Israelites who are now making sacrifices in open fields, will bring their sacrifices to the priest at the entrance to the Sanctum, where he can present them as peace offerings to Jehovah.  It is there the priest can sprinkle the blood against the Sacrificial Altar before the Sanctum and burn the fat so that it may create an aroma pleasing to Jehovah.  The people must stop prostituting themselves by making sacrifices to goat gods!  This is a permanent order that will stand for the people throughout the generations.

"Also stress to the people that anyone, Israelite or a foreign resident, who makes a burnt offering or peace offering -- but does not bring it to the Sacrificial Altar before the entrance to the Sanctum so that it may be presented to Jehovah -- should be banished.

"And if a native Israelite or foreign resident consumes any blood, I will be opposed to that person and reject him as a member of the congregation.  The essence of the life force resides in the blood.  I have demanded that blood be shed upon the altar for the sake of atonement.  Indeed it is the blood, in place of a life, that achieves atonement.  Therefore, I demand of the people of Israel that no Israelite or foreign resident consume blood.  And any Israelite or foreign resident who hunts and kills an animal or bird (one approved for eating) must drain out the blood and cover it with dirt.  The life force of every creature resides in the blood.  That is why I tell the people of Israel, 'You must never consume blood, for it is the life force of every creature," and that is why whoever consumes blood must be banished from the community.

"And if a native Israelite or foreign resident eats the meat of an animal that has died naturally or has beenkilled by animal predators, he must bath and wash his clothes.  He will remain ritually impure until evening, but will thereafter be pure.  However, if he does not bathe or wash his clothes, he will be subject to divine punishment."

Notes
1.  The prohibition against individual, unsupervised sacrifices is, like many laws here, supposedly set down by Jehovah, a means to enforce uniformity in worship and to ensure for the priesthood a monopoly in the control of religious practice.  Exclusivity in dealing with the divine is a prerogative the religious establishment has always jealously defended, whether it be of ancient Israel, Egypt, or medieval Europe.  Priests of the church, synagogue, or temple function as intermediaries, middle men between human worshipers and the deity.  They do not appreciate and often do not tolerate competition; free-lance practitioners are made unwelcome, so much so that they have often been put to death.  The notion that a layman may seek or find divine communion without the intercession of the priesthood has always been rejected by religious authorities for reasons that are patently self serving.  Priests always make it very clear that the god recognizes them as his only agents on earth.  Thus the lone Israelite devoutly making a sacrifice to Jehovah in a field is viewed the same as would be a heretic during the time of the Inquisition.

2.  A complaint is voiced about the Israelites making sacrifices to what seems best translated as "goat gods."  There is obviously a back story here the authors vouchsafe no information about.  All along, though, we find the Israelites seeking to worship gods other than Jehovah.  Considering all the things that Jehovah has done for them, one wonders why.

3.  The prohibition against the consumption of blood is explained here in a rare recourse to the metaphysical.  Blood is believed to possess the life force.  (Almost all translations use simply "life," but I contend "life force" is what is meant.)  Perhaps they thought it housed the soul.  (The function of the blood was not understood by ancient man, but everyone would know that a person bleeds when wounded and dies if he loses too much blood.)  It is, therefore, the mystical qualities of blood that make it essential for sacrifices and for atonement.  It is likely that other ancient and primitive peoples who practiced blood sacrifices believed similarly.

4.  It is unclear if it is morally objectionable to eat a rare steak or not.  How it is possible to eat meat without some blood being present in it?

5.  It is mandatory to bathe and wash your clothes after eating an animal that dies on its own or was killed by another animal.   (We apparently aren't done with ritual purity.) This might be difficult for the priests to enforce, though some dire, but unspecified punishment is inflicted upon those who do not obey the edict.  One might conclude that those who violate the laws of ritual purification would be much more cleanly than the average Israelite, having to bathe and wash their clothes so frequently.