EOB: Official Site of the Eastern / Greek Orthodox Bible (Old and New Testament)

Genesis 9:5

EOB (Eastern / Greek Orthodox Bible):

I will hold you accountable for your lives. I will ask for an explanation for every animal, and for each person, I will ask for an explanation for the life of another person.

EOB Footnote:

The MT includes the phrase “from the hand of every beast” before “from the hand of man,” which is absent in the LXX. The MT also reads “from the hand of a man’s brother” where the LXX has simply “from the hand of his brother,” making the familial relationship slightly more explicit in the Greek. The Hebrew word translated “require” carries the sense of seeking or demanding an account, which the Greek renders with a term meaning “seek out” or “require back.”

Other Translations:

KJV (King James Version):

And surely your blood of your lives will I require; at the hand of every beast will I require it, and at the hand of man; at the hand of every man’s brother will I require the life of man.

WEB (World English Bible):

“I will surely require the blood of your lives. At the hand of every animal I will require it. At the hand of man, even at the hand of every man’s brother, I will require the life of man.”

Benton LXX (Vaticanus):

And surely your blood of your lives will I require; at the hand of every beast will I require it, and at the hand of man.

Douai-Rheims (Vulgate):

“And surely your blood of your lives will I require, at the hand of every beast will I require it, and at the hand of man, at the hand of every man and of his brother will I require the life of man.”

Apostoliki Diakonia (LXX):

I will certainly require your blood for your lives; from every beast I will require it, and from man, from every man’s brother I will require the life of man.

YLT (Young Literal Translation )(MT):

“And surely your lifeblood I will require; at the hand of every beast I will require it, and at the hand of man; from every person’s brother I will require the life of man.”

BBE (Bible in Basic English):

And for your blood, which is your life, will I make a search; from every beast and from every man will I make a search for it; from every man’s brother will I make a search for the life of man.

EOB COMMENTARY:

EOB Commentary:

Commentary on Genesis 9:5

The Divine Accounting for Blood

This verse establishes a foundational principle in Orthodox theology: human life possesses sacred inviolability because it bears the divine image. God declares that He Himself will require an accounting (ekzeteo in the Septuagint) for the shedding of human blood, whether by beast or by man. This divine reckoning reveals that murder is not merely a crime against society but primarily an offense against the Creator whose image the victim bears.

Christological Significance: The language of God requiring blood finds its ultimate fulfillment in the voluntary self-offering of Christ. While this verse speaks of God demanding justice for innocent blood shed, the New Testament reveals the mystery that God Himself provides the blood that satisfies divine justice. Christ, the innocent Lamb, willingly offers His blood not as a victim of divine vengeance but as the source of reconciliation. Saint John Chrysostom notes that whereas Abel’s blood cried out for vengeance, the blood of Christ speaks a better word, crying out for mercy and forgiveness (Hebrews 12:24).

Patristic Interpretation: The Fathers understood this passage as establishing both the dignity of human nature and the gravity of its violation. Saint Basil the Great, in his homilies, connects this divine protection of life to the broader commandment against murder, seeing in it the foundation for the Church’s consistent teaching on the sanctity of life from conception to natural death. The phrase “at the hand of every man’s brother” emphasizes the fraternal bond uniting all humanity, recalling Cain’s denial of responsibility for Abel.

Liturgical Connections: The Orthodox funeral service echoes this theology when it proclaims that humans are fashioned in the image and likeness of God. The Paschal troparion celebrates Christ’s trampling down of death, which entered the world through the violence that this verse addresses. In the prayers for the departed, the Church implores God to forgive sins committed “whether by word, deed, or thought,” acknowledging that violence against the divine image extends beyond physical murder to spiritual harm.

Spiritual Application: Orthodox ascetical tradition extends this principle inward. The desert fathers taught that anger harbored in the heart constitutes a form of murder, anticipating Christ’s teaching in the Sermon on the Mount. Saint John Cassian warns that the passion of anger, left unchecked, leads to the spiritual death of both the one who harbors it and potentially the one against whom it is directed. Thus, the divine requirement for blood becomes a call to guard the heart against all movements contrary to love for the brother who bears God’s image.

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