Text: 2 Samuel 23:16
OT Text Referred to: Deuteronomy 12:16
Subject: blood symbolism
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Reference Type: Allusion
Connection Method(s): Longitudinal Theme
Significance: The command to pour blood "on the ground like water" (עַל הָאָרֶץ תִּשְׁפְּכֶנּוּ כַּמָּיִם, 'al ha'aretz tishpekhennu kamayim) in Deuteronomy 12:16 provides the theological rationale for David's refusal to drink the water his mighty men brought from Bethlehem's well. David equates the water with the men's blood—their life risked in battle—and pours it out before the LORD rather than consuming it. David's action shows a king so shaped by Torah that he extends the blood-prohibition beyond its original dietary context to encompass any substance that represents human life, demonstrating the principle that life (דָּם, dam, "blood") belongs to God alone.