In 2.16-17 the man was permitted to eat of every tree in the garden except the fruit of the tree of knowledge. In a similar manner a restriction is now placed on the freedom to eat animals.
Only you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood: Only translates a restrictive particle that may be rendered “But,” “Nevertheless,” “On the other hand.” Flesh refers here to the meat of the animals. With its life is literally “in its nefesh,” which is followed by its blood in apposition with nefesh, and so Revised Standard Version translates that is, its blood.
The thought expressed here is that the life (nefesh) has its existence or center in the blood. (See Lev 7.26-27; 17.11, 14.) When the blood is removed the life flows out of the animal. Therefore to eat meat with the blood still in it is just the same as eating the animal alive. The meaning is well expressed in Good News Translation: “The one thing you must not eat is meat with blood still in it; I forbid this because the life is in the blood.” In a number of languages the natural way to say this is “… because the blood is the source of life” or “is the same as life.”
Although it is not stated, the command that God gives in these words has a positive meaning as well as a negative meaning: that the blood is to be drained out of an animal that has been killed, and then it may be eaten. In some languages this will need to be included in the translation, otherwise this verse will be understood as a prohibition against eating all meat, contradicting the previous verse. For example, one translation expresses the verse “But you are not to eat meat with blood still in it. I forbid this because the life is in the blood. You must let the blood run out first, then you can eat it.”
There are two other major problems in translating Gen 9.4. In the first place the idea that the life is in the blood may appear very strange, since in many languages the center of life may be thought to be located in another part of the body such as the head, chest, liver, kidneys, intestines, or spleen. In such cases it may be necessary to explain in a note that the Hebrew belief was that the life of the person or animal was in the blood. In some cases it may be added that this is similar to the local belief that the life is located in … (and then name the body organ).
The second problem is that some languages do not have a noun-like word for life. Therefore it may be necessary in such languages to make some adjustments by saying, for example, “Nevertheless you must not eat meat with blood still in it, because it is the blood that makes the animal live” or “… that keeps the animal alive.” The same thought may be expressed through an opposite; for example, “This is because the animal dies when the blood is removed.”
Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Genesis. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1997. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .