(26) You shall not eat anything with its blood. You shall not practice divination or soothsaying.

(1) לא תאכלו על הדם, according to the plain meaning of the text this is something we can derive by merely reading the context in which it has been written, i.e. while the blood of the slaughtered animal has not yet been removed.

(1) Do not eat on blood This commandment (which prohibits eating meat from any of the permitted species of animals until its blood is dashed upon the Altar of God) logically follows the previous one (which prohibits eating fruit from a domesticated tree until the fifth year). It applies only in the vicinity of the Sanctuary, and this is borne out by Sha ul’s words [I Samuel 14:34], for he had the Ark with him [I Samuel 14:18]. By saying [I Samuel 14:33] that they were “eating on blood”, it is as if Scripture accused them of eating sacrifices to the satyrs. As I have explained, it was an Egyptian custom to offer sacrifices to demons; and if one has not dashed the blood against the Altar in the name of God, it is apparent that one is eating in the name of demons. For this reason the commandment is juxtaposed to Do not believe in omens: The Egyptians used to eat on blood, and stray after the demons; the Canaanites used to believe in omens, and in propitious times (as it is written [Deuteronomy 18:14]). Once again Scripture associates Egyptian and Canaanite practices, as expressed earlier by “the deeds of the land of Egypt…the deeds of the land of Canaan” [18:3]. People look for omens to test things about which they are uncertain, as in “I have tested you by divination, and have established that God has blessed me…” [Genesis 30:27]. Shapes, special rods, unusual events, and arbitrary movements have all been used as omens, as well as days of the year or hours of the day.

(2) Do not believe in auspicious times [Hebrew: lo t‘onenu] Some people say that this word comes from “answer” [Hebrew: ‘ana]: one concentrates on some particular question, and listens carefully to something to hear how he will be answered. This etymology is grammatically unacceptable. Other people relate the word to “her scheduled times” [Hebrew: ‘onatah] [Exodus 21:10]. In my opinion the word derives from “cloud” [Hebrew: ‘anan]. It is well known that people perform divination on clouds, by observing their shapes and their movements. The word is most likely an ‘ayin- ‘ayin verb (as in “to turn” [Hebrew: s-b-b]). Here the verb is in the polel form. It appears in the qal form in “soothsayers like the Philistines” [Isaiah 2:6]. A clearer example is found in “a diviner of auspicious times, or a diviner of omens” [Deuteronomy 18:10].