Text: 2 Samuel 23:16-17
OT Text Referred to: Deuteronomy 12:23-25
Subject: Blood as life poured out before God
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Reference Type: Allusion
Connection Method(s): Longitudinal Theme
Significance: Deuteronomy 12:23-25 repeatedly commands that blood must not be eaten because "the blood is the life" (הַדָּם הוּא הַנָּפֶשׁ, haddam hu hannefesh) and must be poured on the ground like water. David applies this principle when his three mighty men break through the Philistine garrison at Bethlehem to bring him water: he pours it out before the LORD, equating it with the blood (lives) of the men who risked death to obtain it. The Deuteronomic regulation envisions animal slaughter, but David extends the logic to human life-risk, showing that the Torah's theology of blood-as-life generates ethical reflection beyond the law's original scope. David's libation-pouring (וַיַּסֵּךְ, vayyassekh) before the LORD transforms a dietary law into an act of worship and self-denial.