Leviticus 7:27 Meaning and Explanation
“Whatsoever soul it be that eateth any manner of blood, even that soul shall be cut off from his people.”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →The prohibition against eating blood closes with a severe covenant consequence: the person who eats any kind of blood is cut off from the people. Leviticus later explains that blood bears life and is given upon the altar for atonement.
Any person within Israel who eats blood of any kind faces the stated covenant penalty of being cut off from the people.
The Context of Leviticus 7:27
Leviticus 7 gives laws for trespass, peace offerings, priestly portions, fat, and blood. Verses 22-25 prohibit eating the fat from animals offered by fire to the LORD while allowing other uses for fat from animals that die or are torn. Verse 26 prohibits eating blood from bird or beast in any dwelling. Verse 27 states the consequence for eating any blood. Leviticus 17 expands the command for Israel and resident strangers, explaining that the life of flesh is in the blood and that God gives blood on the altar for atonement. The blood of hunted animals is poured out and covered with dust rather than consumed.
What Does Leviticus 7:27 Mean?
The verse is universal within the stated act: 'whatsoever soul' and 'any manner of blood' leave no favored class exempt from the prohibition. The action named is eating. Its consequence, being cut off from the people, shows that diet and covenant belonging are connected seriously in Israel's holy life. This is not a minor preference about taste. The preceding verse extends the command to Israel's dwellings, and chapter 17 grounds it in the God-given relationship among blood, creaturely life, and altar atonement.
Leviticus does not treat blood as worthless contamination. God says He has given it upon the altar to make atonement because the life of flesh is in the blood. Refusing to eat it honors life and preserves its appointed covenant use. Readers should therefore avoid mockery of the dietary law or casual claims that ancient people merely lacked modern food knowledge. The text supplies a theological reason. It also speaks about eating animal blood; it does not directly address blood tests, donation, transfusion, or other medical procedures.
Acts records an apostolic instruction that converts from the nations abstain from blood, alongside other requirements for holy community. Hebrews proclaims that Christ entered the holy place by His own blood and purges the conscience to serve the living God. Jesus' saving blood brings atonement language to its fulfillment without making Leviticus contemptible. Christians should read these passages with reverence, seek wise counsel for conscience and community practice, and never use a dietary dispute to deny another person's dignity or urgent care.
Bible Verses Related to Leviticus 7:27
“And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, Ye shall eat no manner of fat, of ox, or of sheep, or of goat. And the fat of the beast that dieth of itself, and the fat of that which is torn with beasts, may be used in any other use: but ye shall in no wise eat of it. For whosoever eateth the fat of the beast, of which men offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD, even the soul that eateth it shall be cut off from his people. Moreover ye shall eat no manner of blood, whether it be of fowl or of beast, in any of your dwellings. Whatsoever soul it be that eateth any manner of blood, even that soul shall be cut off from his people.”
- Leviticus 7:22-27
“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. 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. 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.”
- Leviticus 17:10-14
“Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things. But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat.”
- Genesis 9:3-4
“Wherefore my sentence is, that we trouble not them, which from among the Gentiles are turned to God: But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood. For Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every sabbath day.”
- Acts 15:19-21
“But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?”
- Hebrews 9:11-14
Where Leviticus 7:27 Echoes in Scripture
Leviticus 17:10-14 explains the same serious prohibition through the creaturely life carried in blood and the blood God graciously gives upon the altar for covenant atonement. Hunted animals are carefully drained and their blood respectfully covered with dust rather than eaten.
How to Apply Leviticus 7:27 Today
Treat food preparation involving meat with truthful labeling, lawful sourcing, safe handling, and respect for guests' stated convictions. Do not pressure someone to eat what conscience or covenant understanding forbids, and do not ridicule abstention. Keep the verse tied to eating blood instead of making unsupported medical claims. Decisions about transfusion, donation, testing, or treatment require accurate medical information, qualified clinical advice, and the patient's informed participation. In teaching, honor blood as life-bearing and central to atonement while directing Christian hope toward Christ's saving self-offering.
Reflection & Prayer
Do we approach the biblical language of blood with reverence for life and atonement? We might pray: 'God of all life, teach us carefully to honor Your commands, respect another person's conscience, protect our neighbors from shame and harm, and trust the cleansing blood of Christ.'