The words "for the dead" imply
Posted by: bowrudder
on Apr-21-12 3:34 PM (EST)
mourning practices. But you'll notice that the words "for the dead" also occur BEFORE the comma, and before the word "nor".
While we can safely assume that the comma is an artifact of English, it is not so obvious whether the expression "for the dead" has scope over the following clause. Clearly it takes scope over what immediately precedes it ("make any cutting in your flesh"), but to interpret it as taking scope over the following clause is just that -- an interpretation. Can you maybe clarify the situation a bit by informing us what tats Abraham, Jacob, Moses, or David sported? Hand and feet piercing doesn't count.