Leviticus 17:14
Ver. 14. For [it is] the life of all flesh,.... Of every animal:
the blood of it [is] for the life thereof; for the production, preservation, and continuance of life; that on which life depends, as Jarchi observes:
therefore I said unto the children of Israel, ye shall eat the blood of no manner of flesh; of beasts or birds, whose flesh was fit for food; but their blood was not to be eaten, for the reasons before given:
for the life of all flesh [is] the blood thereof; which is repeated, that it might be observed and taken notice of, as that in which the force of the reason lay for giving this law:
whosoever eateth it shall be cut off; by death, whether he be an Israelite or a proselyte of righteousness; wherefore if this law was now in force, its penalty also would be continued, whereas it is not, and which shows the abrogation of it. Also See Gill on "Le 17:4". Leviticus 17:15Ver. 15. And every soul that eateth that which died [of itself],.... Through any disease upon it, or by means of any other creature seizing upon it and worrying it, or was not lawfully killed; if a man ate ever so little of it, even but the quantity of an olive, it was a breach of this law; which is connected with the preceding, there being a similarity between them, because such creatures must have their blood in them, not being regularly let out, and so eating of them would offend against the above law. It is very probable, as Grotius thinks, that Pythagoras took his notion from hence, and strictly enjoined his followers to abstain from all animals that died of themselves, as Laertius {n} and Aelianus {o} relate, and which Porphyry {p} suggests, was what universally obtained among men:or that which was torn [with beasts]; though not dead, yet ready to die, and so unfit for food; See Gill on "Ex 22:31";[whether it be] one of your own country, or a stranger; a native of Israel, or a proselyte of righteousness; for as for any other stranger he might eat of it, De 14:22;he shall both wash his clothes, and bathe [himself] in water; in forty seahs of water, as the Targum of Jonathan, dip himself all over:and be unclean until the even; and so have no conversation with men in civil or religious things:then shall he be clean; when he has washed his garments, and bathed himself, and the evening is come, and then shall be admitted to society as before: this is to be understood of one who ignorantly eats of the above things, not knowing them to be such; otherwise, if he did it presumptuously, he was to be punished.{n} In Vit. Pythagor. l. 8. p. 588. {o} Var. Hist. l. 4. c. 17. {p} De Abstiuentia, l. 3. sect. 18. Leviticus 17:16Ver. 16. But if he wash [them] not,.... Neither wash his clothes: nor bathe his flesh; if he is negligent, and does not take care to make use of these ablutions:then he shall bear his iniquity; his guilt shall remain on him, and he shall suffer the punishment the law exposes him to, either by the hand of God, or the civil magistrate, which is due to persons that enter into the sanctuary in their uncleanness, or eat of holy things. For not washing his body the punishment was cutting off, and for not washing his garments, beating, as Jarchi says.
John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.