Text: 2 Samuel 23:16
OT Text Referred to: Deuteronomy 12:23
Subject: blood symbolism
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Reference Type: Allusion
Connection Method(s): Longitudinal Theme
Significance: Deuteronomy 12:23 grounds the blood prohibition in the theological principle that "the blood is the life" (כִּי הַדָּם הוּא הַנָּפֶשׁ, ki haddam hu hannefesh), and David's refusal to drink the Bethlehem water applies this same equation. By saying "Is this not the blood of the men who went at the risk of their lives?" David treats the water as bearing the nephesh (life-force) of his warriors, making its consumption a violation of the principle Moses articulated. David's action demonstrates that the Deuteronomic identification of blood with life extends metaphorically to anything obtained at the cost of human life, and that the proper response is to pour it out before the LORD.