Biblical Parallels Index – Devarim 12
Overview
This index is meant to help the reader explore Biblical parallels, be they two accounts of the same event or law, stories with similar motifs and themes, or units of text which are linguistically similar and perhaps alluding one to the other. The page includes links to tools that aid in comparison, primary sources that touch upon the parallels, and summaries of and links to articles which analyze them in depth.Prohibition of Eating Blood
The prohibition of blood is repeated multiple times in Torah, suggesting that Torah views it as a severe offense. What, though, is problematic about the deed?
Tools
- Use Makbilot BaMikra to find various sources which prohibit the consumption of blood. The verses point to various potential explanations for the prohibition: it is home to the animal's soul ("נֶפֶשׁ הַבָּשָׂר בַּדָּם הִוא"), it is sprinkled on the altar ("וַאֲנִי נְתַתִּיו לָכֶם עַל הַמִּזְבֵּחַ"), and it atones ("כִּי הַדָּם הוּא בַּנֶּפֶשׁ יְכַפֵּר").
Articles
- See Prohibition of Blood for analysis of the reasons for this prohibition in the view of a range of commentators. Many sources focus on the fact that blood represents the animal's life force and how its consumption both demonstrates and invites cruelty. Others focus not on how eating blood impacts man's behavior and nature, but its role in the worship of Hashem. Ibn Ezra claims that blood is off limits to man because it is dedicated to the altar and forms Hashem's portion of the sacrifice. R. D"Z Hoffmann, instead, points to the role played by blood in attaining atonement, pointing out that it would be inappropriate to consume that which aids one in achieving forgiveness.
Reward and Punishment
The theme of reward and punishment appears multiple times in Tanakh. It is most evident in Vayikra 26 and Devarim 28 which each contain a full list of blessings and curses, but many other individual verses, like those in our chapter, similarly promise recompense. The various verses open many questions regarding the workings of Divine retribution: Is it aimed at the individual or the collective? Do the blessings/curses refer to this world or the next? Are they miraculous or natural? Might they be limited to a specific time and place or are they relevant always and everywhere?
Tools
- Use Makbilot BaMikra to find the many sections of the Torah that promise reward and punishment for following and disobeying the mitzvot.
- Use the advanced concordance to search for the phrase "לְמַעַן יִיטַב לָךְ". In what contexts is this blessing given?
Articles
- See Reward and Punishment for analysis of several different approaches to Divine retribution which take into account the plethora of verses and try to reconcile differences between them. Some commentators assume that individuals do not receive true retribution in this world, getting their just desserts only in the next world, while others maintain that there is both individual and collective recompense already in this world, but perhaps only for specific laws or for specific people.. A last approach suggests that Hashem's modes of providence have changed over time. Though immediate reward and punishment for both the collective and individual is manifest from the Biblical through First Temple periods, it diminished thereafter as Hashem's initial overt providence gradually became covert.