Deuteronomy 12:15

“Notwithstanding, thou mayest kill and eat flesh in all thy gates, etc.] They might kill such cattle that were allowed for food, and eat the flesh of them in theie own cities and houses in which they dwelt; they were not obliged to bring these to the place God should choose, and kill them there, as they had been wont to bring them to the tabernacle while in the wilderness: whatsoever thy soul lusteth after; whatever they had a mind to, or their appetite craved, and were desirous of, provided it was not any thing forbidden, but was allowed to be eaten: according to the blessing of the Lord thy God which he hath given thee; which it was in the power of their hands to procure for themselves;…”

“Notwithstanding thou mayest kill and eat flesh in all thy gates--Every animal designed for food, whether ox, goat, or lamb, was during the abode in the wilderness ordered to be slain as a peace offering at the door of the tabernacle; its blood to be sprinkled, and its fat burnt upon the altar by the priest. The encampment, being then round about the altar, made this practice, appointed to prevent idolatry, easy and practicable. But on the settlement in the promised land, the obligation to slay at the tabernacle was dispensed with. The people were left at liberty to prepare their meat in their cities or homes. according to the blessing of the Lord thy God which he hath given thee--The style…”

“While a stringent injunction is laid down that the old rule (compare Leviticus 17:3, etc.) must be adhered to as regards animals slain in sacrifice, yet permission is now given to slaughter at home what was necessary for the table. The ceremonial distinctions did not apply in such cases, anymore than to “the roebuck” (or gazelle) “and hart,” animals allowed for food but not for sacrifice. return to 'Top of Page'”

“12:15 butcher your animals . . . whenever you want: This instruction refers to animals for eating, not for a ritual sacrifice. • ceremonially clean or unclean: The slaughter of animals for food could take place without the slayer undergoing the purification rituals necessary when sacrificial animals were slain.”

“whatsoever: Deu 14:26 the unclean: Deu 12:21, Deu 12:22, Deu 14:5, Deu 15:22, Deu 15:23; Lev 17:3-5; Of the propriety of eating clean animals there could be no question, but the blood must be poured out. yet there were cases when they might kill and eat in all their gates such as the roebuck and the hart, or all clean wild beasts; for these being taken in hunting, and frequently shot by arrows, their blood could not be poured out at the altar Deuteronomy 12:16”

“But if these instructions were really to be observed by the people in Canaan, it was necessary that the law which had been given with reference to the journey through the wilderness, viz., that no animal should be slain anywhere else than at the tabernacle in the same manner as a slain-offering ( Lev 17:3-6), should be abolished. This is done in Deu 12:15, where Moses, in direct connection with what goes before, allows the people, as an exception (רק, only) to the rules laid down in Deu 12:4-14, to kill and eat flesh for their own food according to all their soul's desire. Flesh that was slaughtered for food could be eaten by both clean and unclean, such for example as the roebuck and the…”