E J1 11:1-47. Food and defilement. J2 12:1-8. Child-bearing. J3 13:1-14:57. Leprosy. J4 15:1-33. Issues.
J1 K1 1-23. Food.
K2 24-47. Defilement.
K1 i1 1-8. Beasts.
i2 9-12. Water animals.
i3 13-19. Flying animals.
i4 20-23. Creeping or swarming animals.1490 B.C.
Leviticus 11)
1: And the Lord spoke to Moses and to Aaron (see 5:14), saying to them,
2: "Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, 'These are
the beasts (= living creatures) which you all shall eat among all the animals that are on the earth. (Heb. behêmåh. The Heb. division of the animal kingdom was: A - Land animals, B - Water animals, C - Birds of the air, D - Swarming animals. Deut. 14:4,5 enumerates 10 clean animals.)
3: Whatsoever parts the hoof (cp. Deut. 14:6), and is cloven-footed, and chews the cud, among the beasts, that shall you all eat.
4: Nevertheless these shall you all not eat (These laws are not arbitrary. Food plays a chief part in health and sickness. It is our wisdom to obey these laws now, as far as possible. All are based on the preservation and health of the race. Some for sanitary reasons. Some from peculiarities of climate. Some for separating from other peoples. The basic rule of thumb is: do not eat anything that is a scavenger, or anything that eats meat.) of them that chew the cud, or of them that divide the hoof: as the camel, because he chews the cud, but divides not the hoof; he is unclean to you.
5: And the coney (= the hare, old English word for rabbit), because he chews the cud, but divides not the hoof; he is unclean to you.
6: And the hare (only here and Deut. 14:7. Heb. ‘arnebeth, not yet identified), because he chews the cud, but divides not the hoof; he is unclean to you.
7: And the swine, though he divide the hoof, and be
cloven-footed, yet he chews not the cud; he is unclean to you. (Also, they have no sweat glands, therefore the poison remains in the flesh.)
8: Of their flesh shall you all not eat, and their carcass shall you all not touch; they are unclean to you.
9: These shall you all eat of all that are in the waters: whatsoever has fins and scales in the waters, in the seas, and in the rivers, them shall you all eat.
10: And all that have not fins and scales in the seas, and in the rivers, of all that move in the waters, and of any living thing (= soul, Heb. nephesh) which is in the waters, they shall be an abomination to you:
11: They shall be even an abomination to you; you all shall not eat of their flesh, but you all shall have their carcasses in abomination.
12: Whatsoever has no fins nor scales in the waters, that shall be an abomination to you.
13: And these are they which you all shall have in
abomination among the fowls (= flying things; very difficult to identify the English names); they shall not be eaten, they are an abomination: the eagle (or vulture), and the ossifrage (a rendering of the Heb. "bone-breaker", from taking their prey up in the air and dropping it on a rock to break it), and the osprey (or sea eagle),
14: And the vulture (or kite), and the kite (= falcon) after his kind;
15: Every raven (or blackbirds of all kinds) after his kind;
16: And the owl, and the night hawk, and the cuckow, (or seagull) and the hawk after his kind,
17: And the little owl (or simply "owl". Only here, Deut. 14:16, Ps. 102:6), and the cormorant (or the "darter"), and the great owl (Heb. "night-owl"),
18: And the swan (not our swan: it is variously rendered "ibis", "bat", "heron", and "pelican"), and the pelican (or vomiting pelican), and the gier eagle, (or little vulture. Heb. "the merciful.")
19: And the stork (Heb. chasîdah, "the pious", rendered "stork" in Job 39:13. Ps. 104:17. Jer. 8:7. Zech. 5:9), the heron (Heb. ’anåphåh, "the cruel") after her kind, and the lapwing (or better, the hoopee, a dirty bird), and the bat. (A vile creature and symbol of evil Isa.2:20; comes last as a link between two classes, quadrupeds and birds.)
20: All flying things that creep, going upon all four, shall be an abomination to you.
21: Yet these may you all eat of every flying creeping thing that goes upon all four, which have legs above their feet, to leap withal upon the earth;
22: Even these of them you all may eat; the swarming
locust after his kind, and the devouring locust after his kind, and the wingless locust after his kind, and the locust after his kind. (Cp. Num. 13:33. 2 Chron. 7:13. Ecc. 12:5. Isa. 40:22)
23: But all other flying creeping things, which have four feet, shall be an abomination to you.
K² j 24,25. Command.
k 26-43. Clean and unclean.
j 44,45. Command.
k 46,47. Clean and unclean.
24: And for these you all shall be unclean: whosoever touches the carcass of them shall be unclean until the evening.
25: And whosoever bears anything of the carcass of them shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the evening.
26: The carcasses of every animal which divides the hoof, and is not cloven-footed, nor chews the cud, are unclean to you: every one that touches them shall be unclean.
27: And whatsoever goes upon his paws, among all manner of living creatures that go on all four, those are unclean to you: whoso touches their carcass shall be unclean until the evening.
28: And he that bears the carcass of them shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the evening: they are unclean to you.
29: These also shall be unclean to you among the creeping things that creep upon the earth; the weasel (Heb. choled = glider or slipper, occ. only here), and the mouse (Heb. ‘akbâr = the corn destroyer. 1 Sam. 6:4,5,11,18. Isa. 66:17), and the tortoise (Heb. zåb = the inflated, Num.5:27; probably = toad) after his kind,
30: And the ferret (= hedgehog, Heb. ’anâkâh, only here), and the chameleon, and the lizard (or wall-lizard), and the snail (Heb. chomet, Ps. 58:8 =
shabbel), and the mole.
31: These are most unclean (so also in v.29) to you among all that creep: whosoever does touch them, when they be dead (see and cp. v.24), shall be unclean until the evening.
32: And upon whatsoever any of them, when they are dead, does fall, it shall be unclean; whether it be any vessel of wood, or clothing, or skin, or sack, whatsoever vessel it be, wherein any work is done, it must be put into water, and it shall be unclean until the evening; so it shall be cleansed.
33: And every earthen vessel, where-into any of them falls, whatsoever is in it shall be unclean; and you all shall break it.
34: Of all meat (= food of all kinds) which may be eaten, that on which such water comes shall be unclean: and all drink that may be drunk in every such vessel shall be unclean.
35: And every thing whereupon any part of their carcass falls shall be unclean; whether it be oven, or ranges for pots, they shall be broken down: for they are unclean, and shall be unclean to you.
36: Nevertheless a fountain or pit, wherein there is plenty (Heb. "a gathering together") of water, shall be clean: but he who touches their carcass shall be unclean.
37: And if any part of their carcass fall upon any sowing seed which is to be sown, it shall be clean.
38: But if any water be put upon the seed, and any part of their carcass fall thereon, it shall be unclean to you.
39: And if any living creature, of which you all may eat, die; he that touches the carcass thereof shall be unclean until the evening.
40: And he that eats (ignorantly, otherwise willfully, it was the death penalty. Num. 15:30. Deut. 14:21) of the carcass of it shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the evening: he also that bears the carcass of it shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the evening.
41: And every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth shall be an abomination; it shall not be eaten.
42: Whatsoever goes upon the belly, and whatsoever goes upon all four, or whatsoever has many feet among all creeping things that creep upon the earth, them you all shall not eat; for they are an abomination.
43: You all shall not make your souls abominable
(only here and 7:21; 11:10-13,20,23,41,42, and Isa.66:17. Ezek. 8:10. The phrase occurs only once more, in 20:25, where it is used of souls) with any creeping thing that creeps, neither shall you all make yourselves unclean with them, that you all should be defiled thereby.
44: For I am the Lord your God: you all shall therefore
sanctify your souls, and you all shall be holy; for I am holy (cp. 1 Pet. 1:15,15; and see 20:7,8. Also see Ex. 3:5): neither shall you all defile yourselves with any manner of creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.
45: For I am the Lord that brings you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God) (this wondrous redemption is repeatedly appealed to, to magnify Yehovah's grace and Israel's ingratitude. Cp. Deut. 8:14; 13:10; 20:1. Josh. 24:17. Judg. 2:12 &c.): you all shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.
46: This is the law of the living creatures (a recapitulation of the 4 classes. Cp, the summary of the sacrificial law 7:37,38), and of the flying animals, and of every living creature (soul) that moves in the waters, and of every creature (soul) that creeps upon the earth:
47: To make a difference between the unclean and the clean, and between the living creatures that may be eaten
and the living creatures that may not be eaten.' " (See 20:25, and cp. Acts 10:11-16.)