Leviticus 17 declares that the life is in the blood, so blood belongs to God alone and makes atonement because it represents life poured out. Isaiah 66 reminds us that God seeks humble, trusting hearts rather than empty ritual. Yeshua (Jesus) brings to fullness both truths by pouring out His own life unto death. Those who receive Him, as John 6 teaches, share in His life through His once-for-all sacrifice and being the Firstfruit of the resurrection.
Starting after Sukkot 2024, Hallel Fellowship switched to a three-year cycle of Torah and parallel Bible readings (2024–2027), outlined by TorahResource. While there’s ancient evidence for a triennial cycle, a major benefit is to provide more time to mine more of Scripture for lessons.
The three passages unfold one continuous biblical story. First, Leviticus 17 establishes that life belongs to God because “the life is in the blood.” Next, Isaiah 66 reminds Israel that sacrifices without humble hearts are empty, since the Creator cannot be confined to a building. Finally, John 6 reveals Yeshua as the fulfillment of both truths: He offers His own life — His blood poured out — to give eternal life to those who trust Him. Rather than abolishing Torah, Yeshua fulfills its deepest purpose by becoming the true atoning sacrifice anticipated from the beginning.
Bottom line: Why is blood so important in the Bible? God’s answer is that blood represents life itself. Since sin brings death, only a life given by God’s provision can restore life. Yeshua voluntarily pours out His own life so that believers may receive His.
Life is in the blood
Leviticus 17 centers on the Hebrew word נֶפֶשׁ nephesh, meaning “life,” “living being,” or “soul.”
“For the life (nephesh) of the flesh is in the blood.”
The Septuagint (LXX) translates nephesh with ψυχή psychē, “life” or “soul.”
This same Greek word appears throughout the New Testament:
Matthew 16:25–26
Mark 8:35–37
Luke 9:24
John 10:11, 15
Acts 20:10
Revelation 12:11
John 10 is especially significant because Yeshua declares:
“The good shepherd lays down His psychē (life) for the sheep.”
Thus the same Greek word translating nephesh in Leviticus becomes the word John uses for Messiah voluntarily giving His life.
Likewise, Leviticus uses דָּם dam, “blood.”
The Septuagint translates it as αἷμα haima, the identical word used throughout John 6:
“Unless you drink His blood…”
The LXX uses haima hundreds of times for Hebrew dam, including:
Genesis 4:10
Exodus 12
Leviticus 16–17
Deuteronomy 12
The New Testament continues this same vocabulary:
Matthew 26:28
John 6:53–56
Acts 20:28
Romans 5:9
Hebrews 9:12–22
1Peter 1:18–19
Revelation 1:5
The vocabulary never changes. Instead, the New Testament explains the ultimate purpose of the blood spoken of throughout Torah.
Bottom line: The Bible never treats blood as magical. Rather, blood symbolizes life given. Animal sacrifices represent that truth, while Yeshua’s sacrifice actually accomplishes it.
Atonement through a given life
Leviticus 17:11 says God “has given” the blood upon the altar to make atonement. The Hebrew verb is נָתַן natan, “to give.”
The Septuagint renders it δίδωμι didōmi. The same Greek verb dominates John 6: “The bread that I will give….”
John 3:16; 10:28; 17:2
Romans 8:32
Likewise, the Hebrew כָּפַר kaphar, “to make atonement,” becomes the Greek ἐξιλάσκομαι hezilaskomai / ἱλάσκομαι hilaskomai family in the Septuagint:
Leviticus 16–17
Numbers 16
These Greek terms appear in the New Testament:
Luke 18:13
Hebrews 2:17
Romans 3:25 (ἱλαστήριον hilasterion)
1John 2:2
1John 4:10
This movement is beautiful. God gives blood because He gives life. Ultimately, God gives His own Son, whose life becomes the perfect atonement.
Bottom line: Salvation begins with God’s generosity rather than human achievement. We do not climb to God; He gives what we could never provide ourselves.
Home is where the heart is
Isaiah 66 opens with: “Heaven is My throne…what house will you build for Me?” The key Hebrew word is בַּיִת bayit, “house.”
The Septuagint translates it οἶκος oikos. This Greek word appears repeatedly throughout the New Testament:
Matthew 21:13
John 2:16
Acts 7:47–50
Hebrews 3:6
1Peter 2:5
Stephen quotes Isaiah 66 directly in Acts 7, showing that God has never been limited to earthly temples.
Isaiah also praises the one who is:
עָנִי ani — humble
נְכֵה־רוּחַ nekeh-ruach — contrite in spirit
The Septuagint translates these ideas with words including ταπεινός tapeinos (humble). The New Testament uses the same language:
Matthew 5:3; 11:29
James 4:6
1Peter 5:5
Bottom line: Isaiah reminds us that worship is never merely about a location or ritual. God looks first at the heart. Therefore, the sacrifice Yeshua provides calls forth humble faith rather than religious performance.
Eating and drinking Messiah
John 6 repeatedly uses:
σάρξ sarx — flesh
αἷμα haima — blood
τρώγω trōgō — to eat
μένω menō — remain or abide
ζωή zōē — life
The word zōē often translates Hebrew חַיִּים ḥayyim, “life,” in the Septuagint. Examples include:
Deuteronomy 30:19–20
Proverbs 3:18
Psalm 36:9
Isaiah 38:16
The New Testament develops this same vocabulary:
John 1:4; 3:16; 5:24; 10:10; 14:6
1John 5:11–12
Likewise, menō (“abide”) frequently translates Hebrew verbs such as יָשַׁב yashav, “to dwell,” and עָמַד amad, “to stand/remain.”
Examples include:
Psalm 15; 91
Isaiah 40:8
John especially emphasizes menō:
John 6:56; 15:4–10
1John 2:24; 3:24
Bottom line: Rather than speaking about ordinary eating, Yeshua describes continual dependence upon Him. Just as food becomes part of us, faith receives His sacrificial life and remains in constant fellowship with Him.
Big picture
Taken together, these passages form a remarkable progression.
First, Leviticus teaches that life belongs to God and that blood represents life poured out for atonement.
Next, Isaiah teaches that sacrifices without humble faith never fulfilled God’s ultimate desire.
Finally, John reveals that Yeshua fills to fullness both realities. His blood is precious because it is His life willingly poured out. He is simultaneously the sacrifice, the giver of life, and the true Temple where God meets humanity.
This also explains why Isaiah 53 describes the Servant:
“He poured out (הֶעֱרָה he’erah) His נֶפֶשׁ nephesh unto death.”
The Septuagint renders this with παραδίδωμιparadidomi (“gave over”) together with ψυχή pseuche, anticipating the New Testament’s repeated declaration that Messiah “gave Himself” (Galatians 2:20; Ephesians 5:2, 25; Titus 2:14).
So, John 6 is not introducing a new religious idea. Instead, Yeshua gathers together the Torah, the Prophets, and His own mission into one profound invitation: the life symbolized in the blood throughout Leviticus has now been fully revealed in the Messiah Who pours out His own life so that all who trust Him may receive eternal life and abide/live in Him forever.
Discover how Messiah Yeshua (Christ Jesus) brings to fullness Leviticus 16 and is detailed description of the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur). We connect Titus 3; Hebrews 9–10; and Luke 18 to show how Yeshua, our merciful High Priest, provides Heaven’s ultimate covering, removing and purposefully forgetting our sin, transgression and iniquity. Trace the journey from each of our “house of bondage” to the Promised Land of freedom and the meaning of Yom Kippur’s two goats. And we learn what it means to humbly trust (have faith) in His finished work.
This study explores יוֹם הַכִּפֻּרִים Yom Kippurim, the Day of Atonement in the Bible, which stands as a pivotal moment in the redemptive story, bridging the gulf between Heaven and Earth. Rooted in Leviticus 16 and echoed in Hebrews 3–10, this sacred day reveals the Messiah’s eternal work of covering sins, transgressions and iniquities.
From the Passover lamb’s blood on the doorpost to block the LORD’s destroyer to the high priest’s incense-shrouded entrance into the Holy of Holies, the themes of Yom Kippur point to the ultimate sacrifice of Yeshua haMashiakh (Jesus the Christ), the Melchizedek priest who cleanses our…
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Some are concerned about making the Bible more relevant to modern society, by playing down or sidestepping the “icky” or seemingly backward depictions and instructions in it. However, among the key lessons from the dual Torah reading אחרי מות Acharei Mot (“after the deaths”) and קדושים Kedoshim (“holies/holy”) (Leviticus 16–20) is that the what seems obsolete is anything but that — especially for how they undergird the gospel of Messiah Yeshua (Christ Jesus).
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Some may read the Letter to the Hebrews in the Apostolic writings and think that because Yeshua (Jesus) was offered once for all sins, transgressions and iniquities then Yom Kippur is a relic of the “old covenant” between Heaven and Israel.
Instead, we learn throughout the Bible that this annual memorial is really an essential lived-out reminder of Yeshua’s “new covenant,” through which Heaven transforms the whole world into a land of peace. Let’s explore four reasons…
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Learn more through this study of the Bible passage Acharei Mot-Kedoshim (Leviticus 16-20) and its close connection to Hebrews 3-10.
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This study of the combined Torah reading אחרי מות Acharei Mot (“after the death”) and קדושים Kedoshim (“holinesses”), covering Leviticus 16–20, will be focusing on Hebrews 4:14–10:39. This which dives deep into the role of Yeshua (Jesus) as our High Priest, so we can learn Heaven’s lessons in the parables of the Tabernacle and Yom haKippurim.
Leviticus 17 is one of the most difficult chapters in that book to understand. One of the main phrases that people question in this chapter is the phrase “that man [person] shall be cut off from among his people.” This chapter is not about how people were to slaughter animals for their daily meal. It is about God’s instructions about sacrifices and how sacrifices were not to be made by the people themselves, but they were to be brought to the priests so the different sacrifices were performed properly under priestly supervision.
Leviticus 16, describing Yom haKippurim (Day of Atonement), is a beautiful picture of God’s making us clean and the multifaceted role of the Messiah in that cleansing.
All of the Torah speaks about Yeshua. In remembering Yom haKippurim through Leviticus 16 and 23, Isaiah 58 and Hebrews 8-10, we see Yeshua as the High Priest, the goat that was slain and the goat that was cast away. We fast because this is a little token, it’s the least we can do in response to the immeasurable sufferings of the Messiah Yeshua. It’s not a day of darkness, but of hope, not just for me but for all mankind.
The wording in this series of chapters differs from prior chapters. At this point, HaShem (the LORD) is addressing all the people, not just the priesthood. There is an intriguing link between the elaborations on not eating blood in Leviticus 17 and then those on not having sexual relations with blood relatives in Leviticus 18.
Leviticus 16 provides us an “insider’s view” of the Day of Atonement. We can know what the High Priest is doing on that day, even though the common person was not allowed to witness most of of the tasks required of the High Priest on that day. Most of the priests activities are “covered” away from the general public. The people of Israel had to believe by faith that the High Priest was doing his job on their behalf properly and that God would accept the High Priest’s offerings on their behalf.
Yom haKippurim (the Day of Coverings/Atonement) is seen as a time of self-reflection. Yes, in Leviticus 16 God teaches that one is to “afflict your souls,” which is taken to be a call for a fast, as seen in Isaiah 58. However, the apostolic letter to the Hebrews shows that the day is about reflection on the High Priest Who atoned God’s people once and for all time with His own blood.
Question: What is the relationship between law and grace? Some say verse such as the following suggest grace abolishes the Law, “For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace” (Rom. 6:14).
Does the author of Hebrews replace the Levitical service in the temple with the New Covenant? Did the writer make a mistake about articles in the Holy of Holies, or the Most Holy Place? Does Hebrews change or cancel our obligations to Torah? This study explores Hebrews 9 and Leviticus 16.
