אַךְ־בָּשָׂ֕ר בְּנַפְשֹׁ֥ו דָמֹ֖ו לֹ֥א תֹאכֵֽלוּ׃
(Genesis 9:4)
But flesh with its life, its blood, you shall not eat.
This short but powerful prohibition in the covenant with Noah establishes one of the foundational food laws in the Bible: the ban on consuming blood. The grammar is deceptively compact. Through a careful interplay of emphatic particles, construct chains, and negated imperfects, the verse sets a theological and ethical boundary between human beings and the lifeblood of animals. For students of Biblical Hebrew, Genesis 9:4 provides an excellent case study in how Hebrew grammar conveys legal weight through brevity.
The Particle אַךְ: Restrictive Emphasis
The verse begins with אַךְ, a particle that restricts or emphasizes. Depending on context, it may mean “surely,” “only,” or “but.” Here it introduces an exception to the preceding permission in Genesis 9:3, where humanity was granted freedom to eat all moving creatures. The syntax creates a contrast: although meat is permitted, one restriction remains. Grammatically, אַךְ narrows the scope, signaling a limitation of the previous broad statement.
Construct Phrase: בָּשָׂר בְּנַפְשֹׁו דָמֹו
The core prohibition centers on the phrase: בָּשָׂר בְּנַפְשֹׁו דָמֹו — “flesh with its life, its blood.”
- בָּשָׂר: “flesh, meat.”
- בְּנַפְשֹׁו: preposition + noun + 3ms suffix, “with its life.”
- דָמֹו: noun with 3ms suffix, “its blood.”
The syntax compresses multiple ideas. Hebrew does not insert conjunctions but places terms in apposition: “flesh… its life… its blood.” The appositive construction equates life with blood. Grammar thus encodes theology: blood is not a mere fluid but the essence of life itself.
The Prohibition Formula: לֹא תֹאכֵלוּ
The command ends with לֹא תֹאכֵלוּ — “you shall not eat.”
- לֹא: the standard particle of absolute negation, often used with imperfect verbs to prohibit permanent or categorical actions.
- תֹאכֵלוּ: Qal imperfect 2mp of אָכַל, “to eat.”
The imperfect tense with לֹא gives a timeless, absolute force: “you are never to eat.” This differs from אַל + jussive, which expresses immediate prohibitions. Here, the form legislates a permanent ban.
Parsing Table of Key Forms
| Form | Parsing | Literal Sense | Grammatical Insight |
|---|---|---|---|
| אַךְ | Particle of emphasis/restriction | “But / only” | Narrows the scope of permission |
| בְּנַפְשֹׁו | Preposition + noun “life” + suffix 3ms | “with its life” | Life-force concept attached to flesh |
| דָמֹו | Noun “blood” + suffix 3ms | “its blood” | Equated with life itself |
| לֹא תֹאכֵלוּ | Qal imperfect 2mp of אָכַל with negation | “you shall not eat” | Absolute, enduring prohibition |
Syntax and Theology: Blood as Life
The syntax does more than legislate dietary practice; it establishes a theological anthropology. By equating נֶפֶשׁ (life) and דָּם (blood), the verse articulates a worldview in which life belongs to God. The prohibition is thus not arbitrary but rooted in reverence for the life-force. Grammar and theology are intertwined: apposition, suffixes, and negation combine to encode the sacredness of life.
Masoretic Cadence
The accents pace the verse in three beats: (1) emphatic restriction (אַךְ־בָּשָׂר), (2) appositive elaboration (בְּנַפְשֹׁו דָמֹו), and (3) categorical prohibition (לֹא תֹאכֵלוּ). The rhythm mirrors the logical flow: permission limited, life defined, prohibition enacted.
The Echo of Sacred Boundaries
Genesis 9:4 demonstrates how even the shortest verses in Biblical Hebrew can carry immense weight. Through one emphatic particle, a compressed construct phrase, and a negated imperfect, the text lays down a universal prohibition with enduring theological force. The grammar does not merely regulate diet—it encodes reverence for life, embedding ethics within syntax itself. For the student of Biblical Hebrew, this verse is a reminder that brevity in form often conceals vast depth in meaning.