Then Aaron’s sons presented the blood to him and he dipped his finger in the blood and put it on the horns of the altar, and the rest of the blood he poured out at the base of the altar.

Moses took half of the blood and put it in bowls, and half of the blood he splashed on the altar. ¹ 

They slaughtered the bulls, and the priests took the blood and splashed it on the altar. Then they slaughtered the rams and splashed the blood on the altar; next they slaughtered the lambs and splashed the blood on the altar.

They shed innocent blood – the blood of their sons and daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan. The land was polluted by bloodshed. ¹ 

“Their feet are swift to shed blood,

“‘I passed by you and saw you kicking around helplessly in your blood. I said to you as you lay there in your blood, “Live!” I said to you as you lay there in your blood, “Live!” ¹ 

Then the high priest ¹  must bring some of the blood of the bull to the Meeting Tent,

Do I eat the flesh of bulls? Do I drink the blood of goats? ¹ 

He turned their rivers into blood, and they could not drink from their streams.

He turned their water into blood, and killed their fish.

I will produce portents both in the sky ¹  and on the earth – blood, fire, and columns of smoke.

For my flesh is true ¹  food, and my blood is true ²  drink.

For the blood of bulls and goats cannot take away sins. ¹ 

for the life of every living thing ¹  is in the blood. ²  So I myself have assigned it to you ³  on the altar to make atonement for your lives, for the blood makes atonement by means of the life. ⁴ 

However, by no means eat the blood, for the blood is life itself ¹  – you must not eat the life with the meat!

and he entered once for all into the most holy place not by the blood of goats and calves but by his own blood, and so he himself secured ¹  eternal redemption.

“He must then slaughter the sin offering goat which is for the people. He is to bring its blood inside the veil-canopy, ¹  and he is to do with its blood just as he did to the blood of the bull: He is to sprinkle it on the atonement plate and in front of the atonement plate.

so that on you will come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Barachiah, ¹  whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.

For this reason that field has been called the “Field of Blood” to this day.

So even the first covenant was inaugurated with blood. ¹