The
Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying to them: “Speak to the people
of Israel, saying: 'From among all the land animals, these are the
creatures that you may eat. Any animal that has divided hoofs and is
cleft-footed and chews the cud—such you may eat.1
But among those that chew the cud or have divided hoofs, you shall
not eat the following: the camel2,
for even though it chews the cud, it does not have divided hoofs; it
is unclean for you. The rock badger, for even though it chews the
cud,3
it does not have divided hoofs; it is unclean for you. The hare, for
even though it chews the cud,4
it does not have divided hoofs; it is unclean for you. The pig, for
even though it has divided hoofs and is cleft-footed, it does not
chew the cud; it is unclean for you.5
Of their flesh you shall not eat, and their carcasses you shall not
touch;6
they are unclean for you.
These you may eat, of all that are in the waters. Everything in the waters that has fins and scales, whether in the seas or in the streams—such you may eat.7 But anything in the seas or the streams that does not have fins and scales, of the swarming creatures in the waters and among all the other living creatures that are in the waters—they are detestable to you and detestable they shall remain. Of their flesh you shall not eat, and their carcasses you shall regard as detestable.8 Everything in the waters that does not have fins and scales is detestable to you.
These you shall regard as detestable among the birds. They shall not be eaten; they are an abomination:9 the eagle, the vulture, the osprey, the buzzard, the kite of any kind; every raven of any kind; the ostrich,10 the nighthawk, the sea gull, the hawk of any kind; the little owl, the cormorant, the great owl, the water hen, the desert owl, the carrion vulture, the stork, the heron of any kind, the hoopoe, and the bat.11
All winged insects that walk upon all fours12 are detestable to you. But among the winged insects that walk on all fours you may eat those that have jointed legs above their feet, with which to leap on the ground. Of them you may eat: the locust according to its kind, the bald locust according to its kind, the cricket according to its kind, and the grasshopper according to its kind.13 But all other winged insects that have four feet are detestable to you.
By these you shall become unclean; whoever touches the carcass of any of them shall be unclean until the evening, and whoever carries any part of the carcass of any of them shall wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening.14 Every animal that has divided hoofs but is not cleft-footed or does not chew the cud is unclean for you; everyone who touches one of them shall be unclean. All that walk on their paws, among the animals that walk on all fours, are unclean for you; whoever touches the carcass of any of them shall be unclean until the evening, and the one who carries the carcass shall wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening; they are unclean for you.
These are unclean for you among the creatures that swarm upon the earth: the weasel, the mouse,15 the great lizard according to its kind, the gecko, the land crocodile, the lizard, the sand lizard, and the chameleon.16 These are unclean for you among all that swarm; whoever touches one of them when they are dead shall be unclean until the evening.
And anything upon which any of them falls when they are dead shall be unclean, whether an article of wood or cloth or skin or sacking,17 any article that is used for any purpose; it shall be dipped into water, and it shall be unclean until the evening, and then it shall be clean. And if any of them falls into any earthen vessel, all that is in it shall be unclean, and you shall break the vessel.18 Any food that could be eaten shall be unclean if water from any such vessel comes upon it; and any liquid that could be drunk shall be unclean if it was in any such vessel. Everything on which any part of the carcass falls shall be unclean; whether an oven or stove, it shall be broken in pieces; they are unclean, and shall remain unclean for you. But a spring or a cistern holding water shall be clean,19 while whatever touches the carcass in it shall be unclean. If any part of their carcass falls upon any seed set aside for sowing, it is clean; but if water is put on the seed and any part of their carcass falls on it, it is unclean for you.20
If an animal of which you may eat dies, anyone who touches its carcass shall be unclean until the evening.21 Those who eat of its carcass shall wash their clothes and be unclean until the evening; and those who carry the carcass shall wash their clothes and be unclean until the evening.
All creatures that swarm upon the earth are detestable; they shall not be eaten. Whatever moves on its belly, and whatever moves on all fours, or whatever has many feet, all the creatures that swarm upon the earth, you shall not eat; for they are detestable. You shall not make yourselves detestable with any creature that swarms; you shall not defile yourselves with them, and so become unclean. For I am the Lord your God; sanctify yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy. You shall not defile yourselves with any swarming creature that moves on the earth.
For I am the Lord who brought you up from the land of Egypt, to be your God; you shall be holy, for I am holy.22 This is the law pertaining to land animal and bird and every living creature that moves through the waters and every creature that swarms upon the earth, to make a distinction between the unclean and the clean,23 and between the living creature that may be eaten and the living creature that may not be eaten.
1 These two simple definitions are a nice way of encapsulating a certain number of food animals, but still appear to be rather arbitrary.
These you may eat, of all that are in the waters. Everything in the waters that has fins and scales, whether in the seas or in the streams—such you may eat.7 But anything in the seas or the streams that does not have fins and scales, of the swarming creatures in the waters and among all the other living creatures that are in the waters—they are detestable to you and detestable they shall remain. Of their flesh you shall not eat, and their carcasses you shall regard as detestable.8 Everything in the waters that does not have fins and scales is detestable to you.
These you shall regard as detestable among the birds. They shall not be eaten; they are an abomination:9 the eagle, the vulture, the osprey, the buzzard, the kite of any kind; every raven of any kind; the ostrich,10 the nighthawk, the sea gull, the hawk of any kind; the little owl, the cormorant, the great owl, the water hen, the desert owl, the carrion vulture, the stork, the heron of any kind, the hoopoe, and the bat.11
All winged insects that walk upon all fours12 are detestable to you. But among the winged insects that walk on all fours you may eat those that have jointed legs above their feet, with which to leap on the ground. Of them you may eat: the locust according to its kind, the bald locust according to its kind, the cricket according to its kind, and the grasshopper according to its kind.13 But all other winged insects that have four feet are detestable to you.
By these you shall become unclean; whoever touches the carcass of any of them shall be unclean until the evening, and whoever carries any part of the carcass of any of them shall wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening.14 Every animal that has divided hoofs but is not cleft-footed or does not chew the cud is unclean for you; everyone who touches one of them shall be unclean. All that walk on their paws, among the animals that walk on all fours, are unclean for you; whoever touches the carcass of any of them shall be unclean until the evening, and the one who carries the carcass shall wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening; they are unclean for you.
These are unclean for you among the creatures that swarm upon the earth: the weasel, the mouse,15 the great lizard according to its kind, the gecko, the land crocodile, the lizard, the sand lizard, and the chameleon.16 These are unclean for you among all that swarm; whoever touches one of them when they are dead shall be unclean until the evening.
And anything upon which any of them falls when they are dead shall be unclean, whether an article of wood or cloth or skin or sacking,17 any article that is used for any purpose; it shall be dipped into water, and it shall be unclean until the evening, and then it shall be clean. And if any of them falls into any earthen vessel, all that is in it shall be unclean, and you shall break the vessel.18 Any food that could be eaten shall be unclean if water from any such vessel comes upon it; and any liquid that could be drunk shall be unclean if it was in any such vessel. Everything on which any part of the carcass falls shall be unclean; whether an oven or stove, it shall be broken in pieces; they are unclean, and shall remain unclean for you. But a spring or a cistern holding water shall be clean,19 while whatever touches the carcass in it shall be unclean. If any part of their carcass falls upon any seed set aside for sowing, it is clean; but if water is put on the seed and any part of their carcass falls on it, it is unclean for you.20
If an animal of which you may eat dies, anyone who touches its carcass shall be unclean until the evening.21 Those who eat of its carcass shall wash their clothes and be unclean until the evening; and those who carry the carcass shall wash their clothes and be unclean until the evening.
All creatures that swarm upon the earth are detestable; they shall not be eaten. Whatever moves on its belly, and whatever moves on all fours, or whatever has many feet, all the creatures that swarm upon the earth, you shall not eat; for they are detestable. You shall not make yourselves detestable with any creature that swarms; you shall not defile yourselves with them, and so become unclean. For I am the Lord your God; sanctify yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy. You shall not defile yourselves with any swarming creature that moves on the earth.
For I am the Lord who brought you up from the land of Egypt, to be your God; you shall be holy, for I am holy.22 This is the law pertaining to land animal and bird and every living creature that moves through the waters and every creature that swarms upon the earth, to make a distinction between the unclean and the clean,23 and between the living creature that may be eaten and the living creature that may not be eaten.
1 These two simple definitions are a nice way of encapsulating a certain number of food animals, but still appear to be rather arbitrary.
2
Off the top of my head, I can't think of a significant reason to ban
camels from being eaten, unless they were so valuable to
transportation that to eat one was a waste. Or they just fell on
the wrong side of the system.
3
Rock hyraxes, in fact, do not chew their cud, though some people
might view them and be confused and think they do. I am unaware of
any reason not to eat them outside this passage.
4
Rabbits also do not chew their cud, but appear to do so. Again, I
am unaware of why they are designated unclean.
5
The pig, the most famous of the unclean animals, may have been
considered unclean due to its rather disgusting habits or because of
its transmission of disease (trichinosis).
This may be the most significant and understandable inclusion in
the “unclean” list.
6
“unclean” is not limited to not eating, but not even touching
the carcass.
7
This basically keeps “true fish” in the picture while
eliminating everything else – including eels, sharks, shellfish,
crustaceans, and frogs. Some shellfish carry disease, and
crustaceans are scavengers...not clear why the others are included
as unclean.
8
“Detestable” is a new adjective in addition to “unclean”.
9
“Abomination” adds another adjective. The trend between nearly
all of these birds is that they are carnivores or scavengers.
10
I am not clear why the ostrich would be included, especially not its
eggs.
11
Bats are not a bird, though they were considered so then.
12
“fours”? Insects have six legs, of course, so this is just a
colloquialism.
13
This makes an easy dividing line between the insects that are most
easily palatable and all others. Obviously, though, there are many
other species of insects that could be good for food.
14
Uncleanliness is taken as more than just a dietary thing.
15
Mice can be vectors of several human diseases.
16
It is unclear why all these lizards were be unclean – perhaps they
are simply repulsed by appearance.
17
Even objects that touch the carcass are unclean. This does promote
washing.
18
Earthen vessels, harder to wash, are simply broken.
19
I am unclear on this meaning.
20
This makes no issue of the common occurrence of mice dying in grain
storage bins. I'm unclear of why it would be unclean in the field
though.
21
Even clean animals are unclean if they die of natural causes –
this is another important rule for health.
22
The uncleanliness is connected to a defying of holiness. Whatever
the reason behind the cleanliness distinctions, God is holy, and He
is giving the rules, and He asks for obedience.
23
By making a distinction between the clean and unclean, Israelites will also have a way to distinguish between the obedient and the
disobedient, and between followers of the law and non-followers.
Take-home: A large number of animals are designated clean and unclean by God. There may be practical reasons behind many of these designations – however, the overall intent is to lay down a rule which Israel was to follow in obedience. By including the dinner table in that rule, it makes a clear distinction within one of the most important communal human activities between those who are following God's law and those who are not.
Take-home: A large number of animals are designated clean and unclean by God. There may be practical reasons behind many of these designations – however, the overall intent is to lay down a rule which Israel was to follow in obedience. By including the dinner table in that rule, it makes a clear distinction within one of the most important communal human activities between those who are following God's law and those who are not.
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