BLOOD -- WTS Questions and Sound Answers 11
Does the Bible indicate that blood was the object of sacrifice prior to Moses? Specifically, does the Bible say Abel used blood as an object of his sacrifice to God?
The WTS writes:
"In the "ancient world," faith in a blood sacrifice was shown by Abel, the second son of the first human pair, Adam and Eve." -- Anonymous, So Great a Cloud of Witnesses!, The Watchtower, Watchtower Bible & Tract Society, Inc. 1987 1/15: 11
With those words the WTS asserts that Abel sacrificed blood as part of his offering to God.
The WTS also writes:
"Among imperfect men, Abel could be called the very first man of godly principle. He likely gave much thought to the promise about the "seed" and perceived that redemption from sin would involve a blood sacrifice. (Genesis 3:15) He thus offered God "some firstlings of his flock."" -- Anonymous, Discerning the Principle Reflects Maturity, The Watchtower, Watchtower Bible & Tract Society, Inc. 1997 10/15: 28
With those words the WTS reiterates that Abel sacrificed blood as part of his offering to God. So it is clear that the WTS teaches that to Abel intentionally made blood part of his sacrifice and that blood was a primary part of his sacrifice.
Unfortunately for the WTS, at no time does the Bible indicate that Abel's sacrifice intentionally involved blood, let alone that blood was somehow a principal aspect of his sacrifice as though it was the main feature. The Bible record says:
". . .And Abel came to be a herder of sheep, but Cain became a cultivator of the ground. And it came about at the expiration of some time that Cain proceeded to bring some fruits of the ground as an offering to Jehovah. But as for Abel, he too brought some firstlings of his flock, even their fatty pieces. Now while Jehovah was looking with favor upon Abel and his offering, he did not look with any favor upon Cain and upon his offering. And Cain grew hot with great anger, and his countenance began to fall." -- Genesis 4:2-5 NWT
Nothing in this text indicates that Abel sacrificed blood as part of his offering to God. In fact the word blood is not even used in the text. At best we can assume Abel killed an animal as part of this sacrifice. We know for sure that Abel sacrificed fatty pieces from this animal as part of his offering. Unless Abel took unusual steps, we can assume these fatty pieces included some blood. But no where does this text indicate that Abel specifically made a sacrifice of blood, as though it was a primary issue in his mind as something to have "faith in" as the WTS writes in the quotation above from 1987.
There is no other indication of blood being the object of sacrifice until the time of Moses.
Does the Bible indicate that blood was the object of sacrifice prior to Moses? No. Specifically, does the Bible say Abel used blood as an object of his sacrifice to God? No.
Marvin Shilmer