Leviticus 17.1-18.30

Carnival: Perhaps from the Latin carne vale, or "farewell to flesh." The original connotation of flesh, according to the Oxford English Dictionary,  was meat. A carnival, which precedes Lent in the Catholic tradition, was originally for the eating of meat and other rich foods that were refrained from during Lent. Over time, the understanding of flesh was broadened to accommodate a sexual connotation. See also Mardi Gras ("Fat Tuesday").

In any case, the linking of animal and sensual human flesh has a long tradition. And while it might not have been the author's intention to put a passage concerning sexual relations directly after food preparation and dietary regulations, that is how it ended up. Actually, the section following sexual relations is ritual and moral holiness. It's like Freud wrote this section himself.

The Slaughtering of Animals: Leviticus 17.1-9

All oxen, lambs, and goats, whether slaughtered in the camp or outside, should be brought to the tent of meeting so that an offering can be made to the Lord. Anyone residing with the Israelites, whether Hebrew or alien, who fails to make an offering of a slaughtered animal, will be guilty of murder and cut off from Israel. There are two reasons for this. One is to prevent sacrifices to "goat-demons" or "satyrs," which was apparently a problem in the biblical authors' time. The other reason is explained in the next section.

Eating Blood Prohibited: Leviticus 17.10-16

God will cut off from the house of Israel (or the aliens residing with the Israelites) anyone who eats blood. The reason given is that "life of the flesh is in the blood," and that life must be atoned for on the altar with the dashing of blood (Lev. 17.11). In this way the animal is redeemed, and the "soul" or "life" (Hebrew: nefesh) of the animal that the Lord has given can be literally returned to the Lord. Hence the connotation of murder for slaughtering that is not atoned for.

Animals that may be hunted but do not require sacrifice, such as birds, should have their blood poured out and covered with earth. This is also an act of returning life to the Lord.

A person will not be cut of for consuming the flesh of an animal that dies on its own or is killed by wild animals (assuming there is no blood mingling with the flesh). However, this does incur guilt. the person must wash himself and his clothes and remain unclean until evening, at which time the person will again be clean.

The bible does not specify that the blood of these animals must be returned to the creator. Perhaps this is because the animal dies under "natural causes" (in the sense that these deaths occur in nature, outside of civilization). Because a person does not incur any guilt from killing the animal, it is okay to eat its blood-free flesh.

Sexual Relations: Leviticus 18.1-30

The Lord warns Moses that the people should not follow the statutes of the Egyptians whom they left or the residents of Canaan whom they are to settle near. The Israelites are only to follow the commandments and prohibitions of the Lord their God.

Here is a list of people that you - assuming you are the male Israelite this command is addressed towards - may not "uncover the nakedness of":

• Your mother (your father's possession)
• Your father's wife (your father's possession)
• Your sister (even a half-sister with whom you share no blood relation, as she is your father's and mother's daughter and therefore their possession)
• Your son's or daughter's daughter ("for their nakedness is your own nakedness")
• Your aunt by blood (for she is "of your father's/mothers flesh")
• Your aunt by marriage (who is the possession of your father's brother; nothing is said of the mother's brother's wife)
• Your daughter-in-law (your son's wife and possession)
• Your sister-in-law (your brother's wife and possession)
• The daughter of a woman you have already uncovered the nakedness of (including your own daughter, who is of your flesh)
• Your granddaughter (who is of your flesh)

Other prohibitions:

• No sex with a menstruating woman
• No sex with a neighbor's wife (corollary to commandment 10)
• No sacrificing your children to Molech, thereby profaning the name of your God (No child sacrifice: commandment 6 forbids murder. To Molech: commandment 1 requires keeping the Lord before all other gods.)
• No sleeping with another man, which is an abomination
• No bestiality. This goes for women as well. It is a peversion

God states that these prohibitions were made to prevent the Israelites from acting like the nations that God is to cast out of Canaan. The land, defiled by those living there, "vomited out its inhabitants" (Lev. 18.25). But the land will not vomit out the Israelites if they do as God commands.