Post History
Why did worshippers believe that blood "make 'sacred' or 'holy'"? Why did religionists believe that consecrating something with blood "render a thing inviolable from profane use of men and...
Question
linguistic
#3: Post edited
Why did worshippers believe that blood "make 'sacred' or 'holy'"? Why did religionists believe that consecreating something with blood "render a thing inviolable from profane use of men and evil influence of men or demons"? Is this related at all to the blood of Christ?- [The streaking of the lintel and doorposts with blood, Exodus xii. 23, to mark them as holy to the Lord and inviolable by the destroying angel, was apparently the kind of idea expressed by blóedsian in pre-christian times.](https://althouse.blogspot.com/2013/03/the-original-meaning-of-word-bless-is.html).
- >1. In its earliest attestations in the OED, bless and blood continued to coincide with each other. Once an entity was consecrated with blood, it was thought to rid off evil influences of men and demons. When used in this context the entity know \[sic. I think this is a typo for "now"\] is controlled by God’s prospering care, which can be linked to the present day use of bless before dinner, when praying over food. The OED dates this documented history back to the eleventh century.
- >
- >2. This usage of bless, which is “to sanctify or hollow by crossing yourself,” can be linked back to the first entry. The cross is put up in the defense of evil, and the usage started to circulate in circa 1225. Using the cross as protection can visually imitate the power of God to rid of evil, and is similar to the act of consecrating an entity with blood to gain God’s favor over it.
- Smith, Ranesha, "The Etymology of bless" (2014). _2014 IPFW Student Research and Creative Endeavor Symposium_. Book 14. [https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/47232289.pdf](https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/47232289.pdf)
- [Anatoly Liberman wrote about the etymology of "bless" on October 12th 2016](https://blog.oup.com/2016/10/bless-word-etymology/). See also [Etymonline](https://www.etymonline.com/word/bless).
- 1. Why did worshippers believe that blood "make 'sacred' or 'holy'"?
- 2. Why did religionists believe that consecrating something with blood "render a thing inviolable from profane use of men and evil influence of men or demons"?
- 3. How's any of this related, at all, to the blood of Christ?
- [The streaking of the lintel and doorposts with blood, Exodus xii. 23, to mark them as holy to the Lord and inviolable by the destroying angel, was apparently the kind of idea expressed by blóedsian in pre-christian times.](https://althouse.blogspot.com/2013/03/the-original-meaning-of-word-bless-is.html).
- >1. In its earliest attestations in the OED, bless and blood continued to coincide with each other. Once an entity was consecrated with blood, it was thought to rid off evil influences of men and demons. When used in this context the entity know \[sic. I think this is a typo for "now"\] is controlled by God’s prospering care, which can be linked to the present day use of bless before dinner, when praying over food. The OED dates this documented history back to the eleventh century.
- >
- >2. This usage of bless, which is “to sanctify or hollow by crossing yourself,” can be linked back to the first entry. The cross is put up in the defense of evil, and the usage started to circulate in circa 1225. Using the cross as protection can visually imitate the power of God to rid of evil, and is similar to the act of consecrating an entity with blood to gain God’s favor over it.
- Smith, Ranesha, "The Etymology of bless" (2014). _2014 IPFW Student Research and Creative Endeavor Symposium_. Book 14. [https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/47232289.pdf](https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/47232289.pdf)
- [Anatoly Liberman wrote about the etymology of "bless" on October 12th 2016](https://blog.oup.com/2016/10/bless-word-etymology/). See also [Etymonline](https://www.etymonline.com/word/bless).
#2: Post edited
Why was blood used or believed to consecrate entities?
- Why was blood used, or believed, to consecrate entities?
#1: Initial revision
Why was blood used or believed to consecrate entities?
Why did worshippers believe that blood "make 'sacred' or 'holy'"? Why did religionists believe that consecreating something with blood "render a thing inviolable from profane use of men and evil influence of men or demons"? Is this related at all to the blood of Christ? [The streaking of the lintel and doorposts with blood, Exodus xii. 23, to mark them as holy to the Lord and inviolable by the destroying angel, was apparently the kind of idea expressed by blóedsian in pre-christian times.](https://althouse.blogspot.com/2013/03/the-original-meaning-of-word-bless-is.html). >1. In its earliest attestations in the OED, bless and blood continued to coincide with each other. Once an entity was consecrated with blood, it was thought to rid off evil influences of men and demons. When used in this context the entity know \[sic. I think this is a typo for "now"\] is controlled by God’s prospering care, which can be linked to the present day use of bless before dinner, when praying over food. The OED dates this documented history back to the eleventh century. > >2. This usage of bless, which is “to sanctify or hollow by crossing yourself,” can be linked back to the first entry. The cross is put up in the defense of evil, and the usage started to circulate in circa 1225. Using the cross as protection can visually imitate the power of God to rid of evil, and is similar to the act of consecrating an entity with blood to gain God’s favor over it. Smith, Ranesha, "The Etymology of bless" (2014). _2014 IPFW Student Research and Creative Endeavor Symposium_. Book 14. [https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/47232289.pdf](https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/47232289.pdf) [Anatoly Liberman wrote about the etymology of "bless" on October 12th 2016](https://blog.oup.com/2016/10/bless-word-etymology/). See also [Etymonline](https://www.etymonline.com/word/bless).