And whatsoever man there be of the children of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn among you, which hunteth and catcheth any beast or fowl that may be eaten; he shall even pour out the blood thereof, and cover it with dust. Whatsoever man ... hunteth. It was customary with pagan sportsmen, when they killed any game or venison, to pour out the blood as a libation to the God of the chase. The Israelites, on the contrary, were enjoined, instead of leaving it exposed, to cover it with dust, and by this means were effectually debarred from all the superstitious uses to which the pagan applied it.
Verse 14. For it is the life of all flesh; the blood of it is for the life thereof. Here are two sentences; but Dr. Benisch (in the 'Jewish School and Family Bible,' newly translated under the superintendence of the chief Rabbi) renders them, by the system of accents established by the Masorah, in one sentence-`For the life of all flesh is the blood thereof.'