But if “blood” is referring to blood relations, then what the hell is the “water” supposed to refer to? Well, we can trace this back to an earlier proverb, which was that “The blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb.” Which means we’ve actually got it backward — the “water of the womb,” or our family relationships, is not as strong as the “blood of the covenant.”
Rather than “blood” shared by family, the original interpretation of the term was literal blood. In other words, the blood that is shed by soldiers on the battlefield makes for stronger bonds than those of the family you happened by chance to be born into. It was also used in reference to “blood covenants” that people used to make, which involved cutting each other and mixing their blood together in a more hardcore version of the modern pinkie swear.
Rather than “blood” shared by family, the original interpretation of the term was literal blood. In other words, the blood that is shed by soldiers on the battlefield makes for stronger bonds than those of the family you happened by chance to be born into. It was also used in reference to “blood covenants” that people used to make, which involved cutting each other and mixing their blood together in a more hardcore version of the modern pinkie swear.
