Leviticus 11

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Leviticus 11 outlines the dietary laws given by the LORD to Moses and Aaron, establishing what animals the children of Israel may eat and what they must avoid. It specifies clean land animals as those with cloven hooves that chew the cud, and clean aquatic creatures as those with fins and scales. The chapter also lists numerous unclean birds and creeping things, and details the rules for ritual defilement incurred by touching the carcasses of forbidden animals, emphasizing Israel's call to be holy as the LORD is holy.

Introduction to the Laws of Clean and Unclean 1–2

¶ And the LORD spake unto Moses and to Aaron, saying unto them,

Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, These are the beasts which ye shall eat among all the beasts that are on the earth.

Clean and Unclean Land Animals 3–8

Whatsoever parteth the hoof, and is clovenfooted, and cheweth the cud, among the beasts, that shall ye eat.

Nevertheless these shall ye not eat of them that chew the cud, or of them that divide the hoof: as the camel, because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof; he is unclean unto you.

And the coney, because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof; he is unclean unto you.

And the hare, because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof; he is unclean unto you.

And the swine, though he divide the hoof, and be clovenfooted, yet he cheweth not the cud; he is unclean to you.

Of their flesh shall ye not eat, and their carcase shall ye not touch; they are unclean to you.

Clean and Unclean Water Creatures 9–12

¶ These shall ye eat of all that are in the waters: whatsoever hath fins and scales in the waters, in the seas, and in the rivers, them shall ye eat.

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 which is in the waters, they shall be an abomination unto you:

They shall be even an abomination unto you; ye shall not eat of their flesh, but ye shall have their carcases in abomination.

Whatsoever hath no fins nor scales in the waters, that shall be an abomination unto you.

Clean and Unclean Birds 13–19

And these are they which ye shall have in abomination among the fowls; they shall not be eaten, they are an abomination: the eagle, and the ossifrage, and the ospray,

And the vulture, and the kite after his kind;

Every raven after his kind;

And the owl, and the night hawk, and the cuckow, and the hawk after his kind,

And the little owl, and the cormorant, and the great owl,

And the swan, and the pelican, and the gier eagle,

And the stork, the heron after her kind, and the lapwing, and the bat.

Clean and Unclean Winged Insects 20–23

¶ All fowls that creep, going upon all four, shall be an abomination unto you.

Yet these may ye eat of every flying creeping thing that goeth upon all four, which have legs above their feet, to leap withal upon the earth;

Even these of them ye may eat; the locust after his kind, and the bald locust after his kind, and the beetle after his kind, and the grasshopper after his kind.

But all other flying creeping things, which have four feet, shall be an abomination unto you.

Uncleanness from Carcasses 24–28

And for these ye shall be unclean: whosoever toucheth the carcase of them shall be unclean until the even.

And whosoever beareth ought of the carcase of them shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even.

The carcases of every beast which divideth the hoof, and is not clovenfooted, nor cheweth the cud, are unclean unto you: every one that toucheth them shall be unclean.

And whatsoever goeth upon his paws, among all manner of beasts that go on all four, those are unclean unto you: whoso toucheth their carcase shall be unclean until the even.

And he that beareth the carcase of them shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even: they are unclean unto you.

Unclean Creeping Things (Vermin) 29–40

These also shall be unclean unto you among the creeping things that creep upon the earth; the weasel, and the mouse, and the tortoise after his kind,

And the ferret, and the chameleon, and the lizard, and the snail, and the mole.

These are unclean to you among all that creep: whosoever doth touch them, when they be dead, shall be unclean until the even.

And upon whatsoever any of them, when they are dead, doth fall, it shall be unclean; whether it be any vessel of wood, or raiment, 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 even; so it shall be cleansed.

And every earthen vessel, whereinto any of them falleth, whatsoever is in it shall be unclean; and ye shall break it.

Of all meat which may be eaten, that on which such water cometh shall be unclean: and all drink that may be drunk in every such vessel shall be unclean.

And every thing whereupon any part of their carcase falleth shall be unclean; whether it be oven, or ranges for pots, they shall be broken down: for they are unclean, and shall be unclean unto you.

Nevertheless a fountain or pit, wherein there is plenty of water, shall be clean: but that which toucheth their carcase shall be unclean.

And if any part of their carcase fall upon any sowing seed which is to be sown, it shall be clean.

But if any water be put upon the seed, and any part of their carcase fall thereon, it shall be unclean unto you.

And if any beast, of which ye may eat, die; he that toucheth the carcase thereof shall be unclean until the even.

And he that eateth of the carcase of it shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even: he also that beareth the carcase of it shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even.

Prohibition of Creeping Things 41–42

And every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth shall be an abomination; it shall not be eaten.

Whatsoever goeth upon the belly, and whatsoever goeth upon all four, or whatsoever hath more feet among all creeping things that creep upon the earth, them ye shall not eat; for they are an abomination.

The Call to Holiness 43–47

¶ Ye shall not make yourselves abominable with any creeping thing that creepeth, neither shall ye make yourselves unclean with them, that ye should be defiled thereby.

For I am the LORD your God: ye shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and ye shall be holy; for I am holy: neither shall ye defile yourselves with any manner of creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

For I am the LORD that bringeth you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: ye shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.

This is the law of the beasts, and of the fowl, and of every living creature that moveth in the waters, and of every creature that creepeth upon the earth:

To make a difference between the unclean and the clean, and between the beast that may be eaten and the beast that may not be eaten.

Bible text: King James Version (1769 Blayney text) · Public domain

Study Notes for Leviticus 11

Verse 1

unto Moses and to Aaron — Both are addressed together here and in the other laws of clean and unclean: 13:1, 14:33 and 15:1. Aaron is included because the priests were charged to 'put difference between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean' (Lev 10:10), the charge this chapter closes on in v.47.

Verse 2

the beasts which ye shall eat — The chapter opens with what may be eaten before it lists what may not. The distinction is older than Israel: Noah took 'Of every clean beast… by sevens' (Gen 7:2). Deut 14:4–8 gives the parallel list. Peter's vision concerns the same division: 'What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common' (Acts 10:15).

Verse 3

parteth the hoof… cheweth the cud — Two signs must be found together. 'Parteth' (paras) and 'clovenfooted' (shasa) both describe the divided hoof; 'cheweth the cud' is literally 'bringeth up the cud' (alah gerah). The ox, sheep, goat and the deer named in Deut 14:4–5 have both.

Verse 4

the camel — One sign without the other makes an animal unclean. The camel 'cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof'; so do the coney (v.5) and the hare (v.6), while the swine in v.7 is the reverse. 'Nevertheless' (ak) marks the exceptions to v.3, and 'unclean' is tame, defiled in a religious sense.

Verse 7

the swine — Chazir divides the hoof but 'cheweth not the cud' (garar, to bring it up); Deut 14:8 repeats the verdict. Isaiah names swine's flesh, 'the abomination, and the mouse' among the practices of those who 'sanctify themselves' in gardens, and says they 'shall be consumed together' (Isa 66:17).

Verse 8

their carcase shall ye not touch — The prohibition passes from the table to touch. Nebelah, a carcase, defiles the one who touches it until the even (v.24). Lev 5:2 counts touching 'a carcase of an unclean beast' as an offence needing atonement even when it was 'hidden' from the person.

Verse 9

fins and scales — Again two signs together: snappir, a fin, and qasqeseth, a scale, from a root meaning to shale off like bark. They are required alike of 'in the seas, and in the rivers' (yam; nachal, a torrent-bed). V.10 states the other side: 'all that have not fins and scales' are an abomination. Deut 14:9–10 repeats it.

Verse 13

in abomination among the fowls — Birds have no sign like the hoof or the fins; the unclean ones are named in vv.13–19, and Deut 14:12–18 repeats the list. 'Abomination' is sheqets, from the verb shaqats, to loathe. The eagle (nesher) heads the list; the same word is the bird of 'I bare you on eagles' wings' (Ex 19:4).

Verse 19

the stork… and the bat — Chasidah, the stork, is 'the kind (maternal) bird' in Strong's; Ps 104:17 says, 'as for the stork, the fir trees are her house'. The bat (atalleph) is listed with the fowls (oph), the creatures that fly, as in Gen 1:20, 'fowl that may fly above the earth': the grouping follows how a creature moves.

Verse 20

fowls that creep — Sherets is a swarm, small teeming creatures; joined here to oph, the flier, it means winged swarmers. 'Going upon all four' repeats in v.23, 'all other flying creeping things, which have four feet, shall be an abomination unto you'. The exception follows in v.21.

Verse 21

legs above their feet — Kara is the lower leg (always in the dual, as of the sacrificial animal in Lev 1:9), here the jointed legs of the locust, by which it can 'leap' (nathar). V.22 names the four kinds that may be eaten: the locust, the bald locust, the beetle and the grasshopper. John the Baptist's 'meat was locusts and wild honey' (Matt 3:4).

Verse 24

unclean until the even — Touching a carcase brings uncleanness that ends at 'the even' (ereb); one who carries any of it must also 'wash his clothes' (v.25). Lev 22:6–7 shows the term: the person 'shall be unclean until even… And when the sun is down, he shall be clean'.

Verse 29

the weasel, and the mouse, and the tortoise — These are the small ground swarmers (sherets): choled, the weasel, found only here; akbar, the mouse, which the Philistines copied in 'images of your mice that mar the land' (1 Sam 6:5); and tsab, the tortoise. 'After his kind' is min, the species-word of Gen 1:21.

Verse 33

ye shall break it — Vessels of wood, cloth, skin or sack are 'put into water' and are unclean until the even (v.32); an earthen vessel (cheres, a potsherd) into whose midst a carcase falls is broken, as are ovens and ranges (v.35). The same rule is given in Lev 6:28 and 15:12.

Verse 36

plenty of water — Miqveh, a gathering of water, is the word of Gen 1:10, 'the gathering together of the waters called he Seas'. A spring (maʻyan) or cistern (bor) holding such a gathering stays clean; only 'that which toucheth their carcase' is unclean. The vessels of v.33 and ovens of v.35 have no such exemption.

Verse 41

every creeping thing — Sherets is the swarming word of Gen 1:20, the 'moving creature' that the waters 'bring forth abundantly' (sharats). V.42 says which are meant: whatever 'goeth upon the belly', upon 'all four', or 'hath more feet'. 'Eaten' is akal, the verb the chapter began with in v.2.

Verse 44

ye shall be holy; for I am holy — Qadash is to set apart and qadosh holy; Peter quotes the words to believers: 'Be ye holy; for I am holy' (1 Pet 1:16). 'Yourselves' is nephesh, 'souls', as in Lev 20:25, 'ye shall not make your souls abominable by beast, or by fowl'. The ground is 'I am the LORD your God'.

Verse 45

that bringeth you up out of the land of Egypt — The holiness asked of Israel rests on the deliverance: Ex 20:2 opens the commandments with 'I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt'. 'To be your God' is the promise of Ex 6:7. Paul writes, 'God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness' (1 Thess 4:7).

Verse 47

a difference between the unclean and the clean — 'Make a difference' is badal, to divide or separate, the verb of Lev 10:10 and of Lev 20:25, 'ye shall therefore put difference between clean beasts and unclean'. There it follows the LORD's words, 'I… have separated you from other people' (20:24): the law of the table is a mark of the people set apart.