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The Reasons of the Law of Moses, From the 'more Nevochim', With Notes, Dissertations and a Life of the Author by J. Townley
The Reasons of the Law of Moses From the 'more Nevochim' With Notes Dissertations and a Life of the Author by J Townley Author:Maimonides General Books publication date: 2009 Original publication date: 1827 Notes: This is a black and white OCR reprint of the original. It has no illustrations and there may be typos or missing text. When you buy the General Books edition of this book you get free trial access to Million-Books.com where you can select from more than a million book... more »s for free. Excerpt: DISSERTATION V. THE PROHIBITION OF BLOOD. Reasons for the Prohibition of eating Blood were various, and may be distinguished as Moral, Physical, and Typical. I -- MORAL. 1. One very principal reason for prohibiting blood to be eaten was, beyond all doubt, to prevent idolatrous practices. For blood was regarded as the food of demons, not only by the nations immediately bordering upon the dwellings of the Israelites, but by other idolaters in different parts of the world. Maimonides has stated at large the superstitions of the Zabii, in offering blood as a sacrifice to the infernal objects of their worship. R. Moses Bar Nachman (on Deut. xii. 23,) says, " They gathered together blood for the devils, their idol gods, and then came themselves and ate of that blood with them as being the devil's guests, and invited to eat at the table of devils, and so were joined in federal society with them; and by this kind of communion with devils, they were able to prophesy and fore- tel things to come."-j- Similar practices obtained also among the Romans, since Horace thus satyrizes the superstitious rites of his countrymen : Sec More Ncvochim, Lib. iii. Young on Idolatrous Corruptions in Religion, vol. i. p. '235. Canidia with dishevell'd hair, (Black was her robe, her feet were bare,) With Sagana, infernal dame! Her elder sister, hither came. With yellings dire, they fill'd the place, And hideous pale was cither's face. Soon with their nails they scrap'd the ground, And fill'd a magic trench profound, With a black lamb's thick streaming gore, Whose members with their teeth they tore, That they may c...« less