Winstein--18
symbolic life to God so God will forgive the sin in the follower's life). So
Israelites and resident aliens
shouldn't eat any blood or they will be cut off
from among their people.
The verses about blood are in a context about animal sacrifices. The JWs
leaders' view, the death
penalty for eating any sort of blood, is imaginable but
not required here by context.
The JWs leaders' NWT uses "any sort of blood" in verse 10, probably to have
the imaginable interpretation of
"any" that suits their blood doctrine be the
translation, combined with their choice of interpretation for "cut off," to
make
it a death penalty if a follower eats even a little human blood. "Any of
the blood" is an imaginable interpretation
to take from the word "any," too;
most translations just leave it as "any" and let context decide what blood is
referred
to. We don't know that "cut off" meant the death penalty beyond verses
for which it's stipulated, though. (See p.42)
("Insight on the Scriptures," Vol.1, 1988, "BLOOD," p. 344.)
Lev.19:1,2,26
The pour and bury verses
on the ground.
The JWs leaders give "the pour and bury verses" as indicating a follower was
to bury any blood they
cause to come out of a human or animal. The JWs leaders
give this as a reason to consider the blood donated by a
person for medical use
as being blood God wanted the remover to dispose of and blood that a follower
shouldn't use for
anything.
The JWs leaders add to what's written in these verses. Mosaic "pour and bury"
verses indicate a follower
was to pour the blood of the types of animals
listed, when used as listed, on the ground, symbolically returning the life
they
took from the animal to the God who created and provided all life.
Humans aren't in any of the killed animal categories listed above. It wasn't
okay to kill a human as
long as you buried the blood. Human blood donors aren't
killed. The JWs leaders add to what's written to apply
the "pour and bury"
verses to blood donated for medical use.
Animals found dead
"Unclean" here means physically and ritually impure for religious and food
uses--even to touch. Such
animals couldn't be used at Lev.6:24-29, for exam-
ple. Already dead, their lives couldn't be sacrificed by pouring
the blood
from them, they wouldn't be properly bled if bled at all, and might be un-
healthy to eat.
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=leviticus%206;&version=49;
If Israelites touch them, they are unclean till evening. If they eat them,