Leviticus - 11:1-47



The Food of Israel

      1 Yahweh spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying to them, 2 "Speak to the children of Israel, saying, 'These are the living things which you may eat among all the animals that are on the earth. 3 Whatever parts the hoof, and is cloven-footed, and chews the cud among the animals, that you may eat. 4 "'Nevertheless these you shall not eat of those that chew the cud, or of those who part the hoof: the camel, because he chews the cud but doesn't have a parted hoof, he is unclean to you. 5 The coney, because he chews the cud but doesn't have a parted hoof, he is unclean to you. 6 The hare, because she chews the cud but doesn't part the hoof, she is unclean to you. 7 The pig, because he has a split hoof, and is cloven-footed, but doesn't chew the cud, he is unclean to you. 8 Of their flesh you shall not eat, and their carcasses you shall not touch; they are unclean to you. 9 "'These you may eat of all that are in the waters: whatever has fins and scales in the waters, in the seas, and in the rivers, that you may eat. 10 All that don't have fins and scales in the seas, and in the rivers, of all that move in the waters, and of all the living creatures that are in the waters, they are an abomination to you, 11 and you detest them. You shall not eat of their flesh, and you shall detest their carcasses. 12 Whatever has no fins nor scales in the waters, that is an abomination to you. 13 "'These you shall detest among the birds; they shall not be eaten, they are an abomination: the eagle, and the vulture, and the black vulture, 14 and the red kite, any kind of black kite, 15 any kind of raven, 16 the horned owl, the screech owl, and the gull, any kind of hawk, 17 the little owl, the cormorant, the great owl, 18 the white owl, the desert owl, the osprey, 19 the stork, any kind of heron, the hoopoe, and the bat. 20 "'All flying insects that walk on all fours are an abomination to you. 21 Yet you may eat these: of all winged creeping things that go on all fours, which have legs above their feet, with which to hop on the earth. 22 Even of these you may eat: any kind of locust, any kind of katydid, any kind of cricket, and any kind of grasshopper. 23 But all winged creeping things which have four feet, are an abomination to you. 24 "'By these you will become unclean: whoever touches the carcass of them shall be unclean until the evening. 25 Whoever carries any part of their carcass shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the evening. 26 "'Every animal which parts the hoof, and is not cloven-footed, nor chews the cud, is unclean to you. Everyone who touches them shall be unclean. 27 Whatever goes on its paws, among all animals that go on all fours, they are unclean to you. Whoever touches their carcass shall be unclean until the evening. 28 He who carries their carcass shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the evening. They are unclean to you. 29 "'These are they which are unclean to you among the creeping things that creep on the earth: the weasel, the rat, any kind of great lizard, 30 the gecko, and the monitor lizard, the wall lizard, the skink, and the chameleon. 31 These are they which are unclean to you among all that creep. Whoever touches them when they are dead, shall be unclean until the evening. 32 On whatever any of them falls when they are dead, it shall be unclean; whether it is any vessel of wood, or clothing, or skin, or sack, whatever vessel it is, with which any work is done, it must be put into water, and it shall be unclean until the evening; then it will be clean. 33 Every earthen vessel, into which any of them falls, all that is in it shall be unclean, and you shall break it. 34 All food which may be eaten, that on which water comes, shall be unclean; and all drink that may be drunk in every such vessel shall be unclean. 35 Everything whereupon part of their carcass falls shall be unclean; whether oven, or range for pots, it shall be broken in pieces: they are unclean, and shall be unclean to you. 36 Nevertheless a spring or a cistern in which water is a gathered shall be clean: but that which touches their carcass shall be unclean. 37 If part of their carcass falls on any sowing seed which is to be sown, it is clean. 38 But if water is put on the seed, and part of their carcass falls on it, it is unclean to you. 39 "'If any animal, of which you may eat, dies; he who touches its carcass shall be unclean until the evening. 40 He who eats of its carcass shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the evening. He also who carries its carcass shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the evening. 41 "'Every creeping thing that creeps on the earth is an abomination. It shall not be eaten. 42 Whatever goes on its belly, and whatever goes on all fours, or whatever has many feet, even all creeping things that creep on the earth, them you shall not eat; for they are an abomination. 43 You shall not make yourselves abominable with any creeping thing that creeps, neither shall you make yourselves unclean with them, that you should be defiled thereby. 44 For I am Yahweh your God. Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be holy; for I am holy: neither shall you defile yourselves with any kind of creeping thing that moves on the earth. 45 For I am Yahweh who brought you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God. You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy. 46 "'This is the law of the animal, and of the bird, and of every living creature that moves in the waters, and of every creature that creeps on the earth, 47 to make a distinction between the unclean and the clean, and between the living thing that may be eaten and the living thing that may not be eaten.'"


Chapter In-Depth

Explanation and meaning of Leviticus 11.

Historical Commentaries

Scholarly Analysis and Interpretation.

Laws concerning clean and unclean animals, Leviticus 11:1, Leviticus 11:2. Of Quadrupeds, those are clean which divide the hoof and chew the cud, Leviticus 11:3. Those to be reputed unclean which do not divide the hoof, though they chew the cud, Leviticus 11:4-6. Those to be reputed unclean also which, though they divide the hoof, do not chew the cud, Leviticus 11:7. Whosoever eats their flesh, or touches their carcasses, shall be reputed unclean, Leviticus 11:8. Of Fish, those are clean, and may be eaten which have fins and scales, Leviticus 11:9. Those which have not fins and scales to be reputed unclean, Leviticus 11:10-12. Of Fowls, those which are unclean, Leviticus 11:13-21. Of Insects, the following may be eaten: the bald locust, beetle, and grasshopper, Leviticus 11:22. All others are unclean and abominable, their flesh not to be eaten, nor their bodies touched, Leviticus 11:23-25. Farther directions relative to unclean beasts, Leviticus 11:26-28. Of Reptiles, and some small quadrupeds, those which are unclean, Leviticus 11:29, Leviticus 11:39. All that touch them shall be unclean, Leviticus 11:31; and the things touched by their dead carcasses are unclean also, Leviticus 11:32-35. Large fountains, or pits of water, are not defiled by their carcasses, provided a part of the water be drawn out, Leviticus 11:36. Nor do they defile seed by accidentally touching it, provided the water which has touched their flesh do not touch or moisten the seed, Leviticus 11:37, Leviticus 11:38. A beast that dieth of itself is unclean, and may not be touched or eaten, Leviticus 11:39, Leviticus 11:40. All creeping things are abominable, Leviticus 11:41-44. The reason given for these laws, Leviticus 11:45-47.

INTRODUCTION TO LEVITICUS 11
This chapter treats of creatures clean and unclean, as fit or not fit to be eaten; and first of beasts, whose signs are given, Leviticus 11:1 then of fishes, which are likewise described, Leviticus 11:9 after that of fowls, and those that are not to be eaten are particularly named, Leviticus 11:13 next of creeping things, which are distinguished into two sorts, as flying creeping things, of which those that are unclean, their carcasses are not even to be touched, as neither the carcasses of unclean beasts, Leviticus 11:20 and creeping things on the earth, which defile by touching, as well as eating, and make everything unclean, upon which, being dead, they fall, Leviticus 11:29 and these laws are enforced from the holiness and goodness of God, Leviticus 11:44 and the chapter is concluded with a recapitulation of them, Leviticus 11:46.

What animals were clean and unclean.

Laws Relating to Clean and Unclean Animals - Leviticus 11
The regulation of the sacrifices and institution of the priesthood, by which Jehovah opened up to His people the way of access to His grace and the way to sanctification of life in fellowship with Him, were followed by instructions concerning the various things which hindered and disturbed this living fellowship with God the Holy One, as being manifestations and results of sin, and by certain rules for avoiding and removing these obstructions. For example, although sin has its origin and proper seat in the soul, it pervades the whole body as the organ of the soul, and shatters the life of the body, even to its complete dissolution in death and decomposition; whilst its effects have spread from man to the whole of the earthly creation, inasmuch as not only did man draw nature with him into the service of sin, in consequence of the dominion over it which was given him by God, but God Himself, according to a holy law of His wise and equitable government, made the irrational creature subject to "vanity" and "corruption" on account of the sin of man (Romans 8:20-21), so that not only did the field bring forth thorns and thistles, and the earth produce injurious and poisonous plants (see at Genesis 3:18), but the animal kingdom in many of its forms and creatures bears the image of sin and death, and is constantly reminding man of the evil fruit of his fall from God. It is in this penetration of sin into the material creation that we may find the explanation of the fact, that from the very earliest times men have neither used every kind of herb nor every kind of animal as food; but that, whilst they have, as it were, instinctively avoided certain plants as injurious to health or destructive to life, they have also had a horror naturalis, i.e., an inexplicable disgust, at many of the animals, and have avoided their flesh as unclean. A similar horror must have been produced upon man from the very first, before his heart was altogether hardened, by death as the wages of sin, or rather by the effects of death, viz., the decomposition of the body; and different diseases and states of the body, that were connected with symptoms of corruption and decomposition, may also have been regarded as rendering unclean. Hence in all the nations and all the religions of antiquity we find that contrast between clean and unclean, which was developed in a dualistic form, it is true, in many of the religious systems, but had its primary root in the corruption that had entered the world through sin. This contrast was limited in the Mosaic law to the animal food of the Israelites, to contact with dead animals and human corpses, and to certain bodily conditions and diseases that are associated with the decomposition, pointing out most minutely the unclean objects and various defilements within these spheres, and prescribing the means for avoiding or removing them.
The instructions in the chapter before us, concerning the clean and unclean animals, are introduced in the first place as laws of food (Leviticus 11:2); but they pass beyond these bounds by prohibiting at the same time all contact with animal carrion (Leviticus 11:8, Leviticus 11:11, Leviticus 11:24.), and show thereby that they are connected in principle and object with the subsequent laws of purification (ch. 12-15), to which they are to be regarded as a preparatory introduction.

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