4

I decided to go on the Hermenutics Stack Exchange today with the purpose of asking what, in particular, Genesis 9:4 prohibits, whether the consuming of blood, flesh taken from an animal while the animal is still alive, and/or anything else. I've always understood it as prohibiting blood, but I've recently come across the "flesh from living animals" interpretation, which I hadn't known about, so I was wanting to hear if there is linguistic, exegetical support for this understanding of the verse. Before posting, I came across this question:

But flesh with its breath its blood shall not be eaten

Would my question be a duplicate, then? In the event that it is, how can I find the answer(s) I seek? Would I need to start a bounty on the question above? Thanks!

Update

I've officially asked my question now! It can be read here:

Would Genesis 9:4 prohibit eating meat taken from living animals?

6
  • 2
    I cannot find your original question on Genesis 9:4. The literal interlinear appears to state 'but flesh with its life - blood not shall ye eat'. Which could be stating an equivalence (life=blood). You pose an interesting question and I would up-vote it. But I am uncertain if it would be a duplicate of the one you link to. Your question, here on meta, up-voted +1.
    – Nigel J
    Apr 1, 2022 at 13:22
  • 1
    @NigelJ I haven't officially asked my question yet since it seemed similar to the linked one above. My main question would be something to the effect of asking what Genesis 9:4 means by eating flesh with its blood, or however it should be translated. Does it ban the consumption of blood (which is how I've traditionally interpreted it)? Does it (also?) ban eating flesh taken from a live animal (as opposed to first killing the animal)? Some have even said it doesn't prohibit eating blood by itself but only blood "with" the animal's flesh. I'm curious to know everything banned in Genesis 9:4.
    – The Editor
    Apr 1, 2022 at 13:56
  • 1
    @NigelJ However, the more I think about it, I'm most interested in knowing about the "flesh from a live animal" interpretation. Perhaps the most direct question I have, one that's also the most likely to avoid a duplicate flag, would be the following: "Does Genesis 9:4 prohibit eating flesh taken from a live animal?" Would this work?
    – The Editor
    Apr 1, 2022 at 13:58
  • 1
    I have asked another question about the text. I was intrigued about the interpretation you mention, though I do not think it is valid. But I am interested in clarifying the text, whatever the interpretations that people see in it.
    – Nigel J
    Apr 1, 2022 at 16:59
  • 1
    @NigelJ Just gave it a +1. It may not necessarily answer my question, but I'm interested in seeing what answers your question may yield. :)
    – The Editor
    Apr 1, 2022 at 17:50
  • @NigelJ I just asked my question! hermeneutics.stackexchange.com/questions/75547/…
    – The Editor
    Apr 9, 2022 at 15:37

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
3

We don't close questions as duplicates just because they ask about the same verse, or even the same part of the verse. This means that it's really not very useful to ask hypothetically about a duplicate. We can only judge if two questions are the same when we see the questions in full. If you think your question is sufficiently different, then go ahead and ask it. If the community thinks it is a duplicate they'll close it later.

3
  • I see, and that makes sense. At the same time, asking beforehand if a question could be a duplicate can be a good way to avoid potential downvotes, right? Perhaps it would have been better for me to determine my exact question and then post it with the exact wording that I would use rather than paraphrase what I'd be asking. Does that make sense?
    – The Editor
    Apr 2, 2022 at 12:58
  • Even then, just post the question on the main site rather than on meta. It would only waste time to ask it first here then re-ask it on meta.
    – curiousdannii Mod
    Apr 2, 2022 at 13:12
  • Maybe I'm wrong, but I'd be surprised if people were downvoting on the basis of a duplicate question - it should really be on the quality of the content that has been posted, and then the Question Closure voting process is a separate thing.
    – Steve can help Mod
    Apr 5, 2022 at 14:35

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .