Acts 15:20

St. James mentions four prohibitions: (1) pollutions of idols, (2) fornication, (3) eating the flesh of strangled animals, (4) eating blood. The object of these prohibitions was to render social intercourse between Jews and Gentiles, and particularly common meals, less difficult. Pollutions of idols] No Christian would directly worship an idol, but Gentile Christians might easily incur pollution according to Jewish ideas, (1) by buying flesh in a heathen market, (2) by attending a feast in a heathen house. In both cases there would be a danger of eating flesh offered in sacrifice to idols. Fornication] Most interpret this of ordinary fornication, but seeing this was already forbidden to all Christians, there is much to be said for J. Lightfoot's view, that what is really meant is marriage within the degrees forbidden in the book of Leviticus. Such marriages, common among the heathen, would be most distasteful to the Jews, and would be regarded by them as fornication: cp. 1 Corinthians 5:1.

Thing's strangled] This refers to Leviticus 17:13; Deuteronomy 12:16; Deuteronomy 12:23, according to which the blood was to be drained out of all animals before they were eaten. This prohibition, however, is entirely omitted by D and other ancient authorities both here and in Acts 15:29. From blood] see Leviticus 3:17; Leviticus 7:26; Leviticus 17:10; Leviticus 19:26; Deuteronomy 12:16; Deuteronomy 12:23; Deuteronomy 15:23. D and other authorities add here this injunction: 'And that they should not do to others what they would not have done to themselves.'