1 Samuel 14:34 kjv
And Saul said, Disperse yourselves among the people, and say unto them, Bring me hither every man his ox, and every man his sheep, and slay them here, and eat; and sin not against the LORD in eating with the blood. And all the people brought every man his ox with him that night, and slew them there.
1 Samuel 14:34 nkjv
Then Saul said, "Disperse yourselves among the people, and say to them, 'Bring me here every man's ox and every man's sheep, slaughter them here, and eat; and do not sin against the LORD by eating with the blood.' " So every one of the people brought his ox with him that night, and slaughtered it there.
1 Samuel 14:34 niv
Then he said, "Go out among the men and tell them, 'Each of you bring me your cattle and sheep, and slaughter them here and eat them. Do not sin against the LORD by eating meat with blood still in it.'?" So everyone brought his ox that night and slaughtered it there.
1 Samuel 14:34 esv
And Saul said, "Disperse yourselves among the people and say to them, 'Let every man bring his ox or his sheep and slaughter them here and eat, and do not sin against the LORD by eating with the blood.'" So every one of the people brought his ox with him that night and they slaughtered them there.
1 Samuel 14:34 nlt
Then go out among the troops and tell them, 'Bring the cattle, sheep, and goats here to me. Kill them here, and drain the blood before you eat them. Do not sin against the LORD by eating meat with the blood still in it.'" So that night all the troops brought their animals and slaughtered them there.
1 Samuel 14 34 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Lev 3:17 | "It shall be a lasting ordinance through your generations...you must not eat fat or blood." | Prohibition of fat and blood. |
| Lev 7:26-27 | "Wherever you live, you must not eat the blood of any bird or animal. If anyone eats blood..." | Emphasizes universal prohibition of blood. |
| Lev 17:10 | "I will set my face against any Israelite or any foreigner residing among them who eats blood..." | God's severe judgment on eating blood. |
| Lev 17:11 | "For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement..." | Life is in the blood; blood for atonement. |
| Lev 17:12 | "Therefore I have said to the Israelites, 'You must not eat blood, and no foreigner..." | Reiterates the blood prohibition. |
| Lev 17:13-14 | "Any Israelite or foreigner residing among them who hunts any animal or bird...must drain out the blood and cover it..." | Proper drainage of blood. |
| Deut 12:16 | "But you must not eat the blood; pour it out on the ground like water." | Emphasizes pouring out blood. |
| Deut 12:23-25 | "But be sure not to eat the blood, because the blood is the life, and you must not eat the life with the meat..." | Life in blood, ethical eating. |
| Gen 9:4 | "But you must not eat meat with its lifeblood still in it." | Post-Flood command against consuming blood. |
| Acts 15:20 | "Instead, we should write to them, telling them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals and from blood." | New Testament church upholds blood prohibition. |
| Acts 15:29 | "You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals..." | Apostolic decree against blood consumption. |
| Deut 23:14 | "For the Lord your God moves about in your camp to protect you and to deliver your enemies to you. Your camp must be holy, so that he will not see among you anything indecent and turn away from you." | Maintaining camp purity. |
| Gen 6:11-12 | "Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight and was full of violence...All people on earth had corrupted their ways." | Context of corruption requiring rectification. |
| Num 11:33 | "But while the meat was still between their teeth...the Lord struck them with a severe plague." | Consequences of hasty and unlawful eating. |
| Exod 23:25 | "Worship the Lord your God, and his blessing will be on your food and water..." | Blessing comes from worshipping God and obedience. |
| Josh 7:1-5 | "But the Israelites acted unfaithfully in regard to the devoted things; Achan son of Carmi...took some of them. So the Lord’s anger burned against Israel." | Corporate sin affecting the community. |
| 1 Sam 2:12-17 | "Eli’s sons were scoundrels; they did not acknowledge the Lord...They had no regard for the Lord’s offering." | Disregard for proper sacrificial/dietary laws. |
| Neh 13:17-18 | "I rebuked the nobles of Judah and said to them, 'What is this wicked thing you are doing – desecrating the Sabbath day?'" | Leaders enforcing God's law. |
| Ezra 10:3 | "So now let us make a covenant before our God to send away all these women and their children, in accordance with the counsel of my lord and of those who revere the commands of our God." | Leaders enforcing God's commands. |
| Matt 5:17-18 | "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them." | Continuity of God's moral and dietary principles. |
| Mark 7:18-19 | "Are you so dull?...Don’t you see that whatever goes into your a person from the outside cannot defile them? For it doesn’t go into their heart but into their stomach..." | While about internal vs external defilement, it shows that ceremonial laws had purpose for external compliance. (Draining blood wasn't about inside purity but obedience to specific command). |
| 1 Cor 10:31 | "So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God." | Principle of doing all for God's glory, including eating. |
1 Samuel 14 verses
1 Samuel 14 34 Meaning
King Saul commanded the people, who were exhausted and eating raw meat with blood, to bring their livestock (oxen and sheep) to a designated location. There, they were to properly slaughter these animals before eating them. This command was issued to prevent the people from sinning against the Lord by consuming blood, a strict prohibition under Mosaic Law, thus re-establishing proper ritual observance and obedience.
1 Samuel 14 34 Context
Chapter 14 of 1 Samuel depicts a significant battle against the Philistines. Jonathan, Saul's son, initiates a bold, independent attack that, with divine aid, results in a rout of the Philistines. Saul, initially unaware, later issues a rash oath, forbidding his army from eating anything until evening to ensure complete victory and vengeance. This oath proves detrimental, exhausting the soldiers to the point of collapse and extreme hunger. Consequently, when they finally came upon the Philistine plunder and animals, they were so famished that they slaughtered animals improperly, eating them "with the blood" (1 Sam 14:32-33). This act constituted a grave sin against the Lord under Mosaic Law. Verse 34 is Saul's immediate, pragmatic response to this sin. Recognizing the people's transgression and the impurity it incurred, he commanded them to rectify their behavior by centralizing the slaughter of animals to ensure the blood was properly drained, thus preventing further sin and attempting to maintain ritual purity in the camp.
Historically, this event occurs during a crucial phase of Israel's transition to monarchy, highlighting challenges in leadership, obedience to divine law, and the ongoing struggle against foreign powers. The rapid advancement of the battle left no time for proper sacrificial procedures, leading to a breakdown in law. Saul's intervention, though driven by a practical need to enforce law and order, stands in contrast to his previous impulsive actions.
1 Samuel 14 34 Word analysis
- Then Saul said: (Hebrew: וַיֹּאמֶר שָׁאוּל, wayyōʾmer Shaʾul) – Signifies an authoritative command from the reigning king, demonstrating his role in upholding God's law. Saul acts decisively, aiming to correct a serious communal sin.
- 'Disperse yourselves': (Hebrew: פֻּצוּ, putzu) – An imperative verb meaning "scatter" or "spread out." This indicates urgency and directs the message quickly to a large number of people across the military camp.
- 'among the people': (Hebrew: בָעָם, baʿam) – Refers specifically to the common soldiers and the rest of the Israelite assembly involved in the battle and its aftermath.
- 'and tell them': (Hebrew: וַאֲמַרְתֶּם, waʾamarəttem) – Further emphasizing the direct nature of the command; a clear order to relay the king's directive.
- '"Every man bring his ox or his sheep here to me"': (Hebrew: "הַגִּישׁוּ אֵלַי אִישׁ שׁוֹרוֹ וְאִישׁ שֵׂהוֹ הֵנָּה", hagīshu ʾelay ʾish shoro wəʾish seho hēnnah) – This establishes a centralized location for the slaughter (likely implying an altar or a stone designated as such, as built in 1 Sam 14:35). The focus on "ox" and "sheep" limits the permissible animals to those clean and acceptable for consumption under Mosaic Law. Bringing them "to me" means under the king's direct supervision, ensuring compliance.
- 'and slaughter them here and eat;': (Hebrew: וּשְׁחַטְתֶּם כֹה וַאֲכַלְתֶּם, u'shəḥaṭtem koh waʾakalttem) – "Slaughter" (shaḥaṭ) refers to the prescribed, lawful method of killing an animal for food, which includes draining the blood. The directive to "eat" provides the solution to their extreme hunger, but only after the proper ritual is observed.
- 'do not sin against the Lord': (Hebrew: אַל־תֶּחֱטְאוּ לַֽיהוָה, ʾal-teḥeṭʾu l Yahweh) – A direct command and warning. This underscores the theological gravity of their prior actions. "Sin" (ḥāṭāʾ) denotes an act of rebellion or transgression against God's commands, implying a violation of the covenant relationship. This is not merely a hygienic issue but a spiritual offense.
- 'by eating with the blood.': (Hebrew: בְּהַדָּם, bədamm) – The specific and immediate sin identified. The word dam (דם) means "blood." This phrase refers to the practice of consuming meat from which the blood had not been properly drained, a fundamental violation of Mosaic Law (Lev 17:11-14; Deut 12:23). The prohibition against eating blood is linked to the sanctity of life (which resides in the blood) and the atoning power of blood (set apart for sacrifice). This reflects the core belief that blood symbolizes life and, as such, belongs exclusively to God. Any direct consumption was an appropriation of what was holy and set apart. The people's transgression was due to hunger, but their action directly broke a divine covenant command, demanding Saul's intervention. This also indirectly stood in polemic against pagan practices which might involve consuming blood or improperly sacrificed animals as part of idol worship, by reinforcing the pure worship commanded by YHWH.
1 Samuel 14 34 Bonus section
The construction of the first altar by Saul immediately after this (1 Sam 14:35) underscores the theological significance of his command in verse 34. The "great stone" on which the animals were slaughtered effectively served as a temporary altar, allowing for the blood to be properly drained onto the ground as commanded by the Law (Deut 12:16, 24) and facilitating an act of at least external repentance and re-consecration after the people's sin. This also reflects a direct implementation of the instruction in Deut 12:20-22 regarding eating meat when one is far from the central sanctuary, needing to kill and eat in one's own towns "as the gazelle or the deer is eaten," emphasizing the need to still pour out the blood on the ground. This quick, improvised altar ensured that even in the chaotic circumstances of war and hunger, the holiness of the Lord was acknowledged, and a pathway for ceremonial cleanliness was provided for the army.
1 Samuel 14 34 Commentary
1 Samuel 14:34 presents a critical moment in Saul's reign, where he swiftly addresses a serious communal sin. Following the people's severe exhaustion and their subsequent consumption of animals with blood—a grave transgression against God's explicit commands (Lev 17; Deut 12)—Saul acts decisively to prevent further spiritual impurity. His command to bring the animals to a central location for proper slaughter before eating reflects his understanding of the sanctity of Mosaic Law regarding blood. This was not merely a matter of hygiene but of upholding the covenant: the life (symbolized by blood) belongs to God, and blood was consecrated for atonement, not for human consumption. By requiring them to "slaughter them here," Saul facilitated proper drainage of the blood, mitigating the offense. This immediate and correct intervention on Saul's part shows his outward commitment to maintaining ritual purity among the people and adherence to divine law, even as his earlier impulsive oath had inadvertently led to their transgression. It highlights a recurring theme in Samuel: the tension between human leadership, divine law, and the people's obedience.