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Deuteronomy14

Deuteronomy 14 establishes Israel's identity as God's holy and peculiar people, forbidding pagan mourning rites. It then details extensive dietary laws, distinguishing between clean and unclean animals, birds, and aquatic life based on specific physical characteristics. The chapter concludes with instructions on tithing, mandating an annual tithe to be consumed before the Lord and a triennial tithe for the support of Levites, strangers, the fatherless, and widows. These laws aim to reinforce Israel's distinctiveness and foster their reverence for God.

Israel, A Holy People

1
You are the children of the LORD your God. You shall not cut yourselves, nor make any baldness between your eyes for the dead. ​
2
For you are a holy people to the LORD your God, and the LORD has chosen you to be a people for his own possession, above all peoples who are on the face of the earth. ​

Laws of Clean and Unclean Foods

3
You shall not eat any abominable thing. ​
4
These are the animals which you may eat: the ox, the sheep, the goat,
5
the deer, the gazelle, the roebuck, the wild goat, the ibex, the antelope, and the chamois.
6
Every animal that parts the hoof, and has the hoof cloven in two and chews the cud, among the animals, that may you eat. ​
7
Nevertheless these you shall not eat of them that chew the cud, or of those who have the hoof cloven: the camel, the hare, and the rabbit. Because they chew the cud but don’t part the hoof, they are unclean to you.
8
The pig, because it has a split hoof but doesn’t chew the cud, is unclean to you. You shall not eat their flesh, and you shall not touch their carcasses. ​
9
These you may eat of all that are in the waters: whatever has fins and scales may you eat.
10
You shall not eat whatever doesn’t have fins and scales. It is unclean to you.
11
Of all clean birds you may eat.
12
But these are they of which you shall not eat: the eagle, the vulture, the osprey,
13
the red kite, the falcon, the kite after its kind,
14
every raven after its kind,
15
the ostrich, the owl, the seagull, the hawk after its kind,
16
the little owl, the great owl, the horned owl,
17
the pelican, the vulture, the cormorant,
18
the stork, the heron after its kind, the hoopoe, and the bat.
19
All winged creeping things are unclean to you. They shall not be eaten.
20
Of all clean birds you may eat.
21
You shall not eat of anything that dies of itself. You may give it to the foreigner living among you who is within your gates, that he may eat it; or you may sell it to a foreigner; for you are a holy people to the LORD your God. You shall not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk. ​

The Annual (Second) Tithe

22
You shall surely tithe all the increase of your seed, that which comes out of the field year by year. ​
23
You shall eat before the LORD your God, in the place which he chooses, to cause his name to dwell there, the tithe of your grain, of your new wine, and of your oil, and the firstborn of your herd and of your flock; that you may learn to fear the LORD your God always. ​
24
If the way is too long for you, so that you are not able to carry it, because the place is too far from you, which the LORD your God shall choose, to set his name there, when the LORD your God shall bless you;
25
then you shall turn it into money, and bind up the money in your hand, and shall go to the place which the LORD your God shall choose.
26
You shall trade the money for whatever your soul desires, for cattle, or for sheep, or for wine, or for strong drink, or for whatever your soul asks of you; and you shall eat there before the LORD your God, and you shall rejoice, you and your household. ​
27
You shall not forsake the Levite who is within your gates, for he has no portion nor inheritance with you. ​

The Triennial (Poor) Tithe

28
At the end of every three years you shall bring all the tithe of your increase in the same year, and shall store it within your gates. ​
29
The Levite, because he has no portion nor inheritance with you, and the foreigner living among you, and the fatherless, and the widow, who are within your gates, shall come, and shall eat and be satisfied; that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hand which you do. ​

Study Notes for Deuteronomy 14

Verse 1

The prohibition against self-mutilation and specific baldness (making 'baldness between your eyes') targets established pagan mourning rites common in Canaan, emphasizing Israel’s distinct identity as God’s children who trust in divine sovereignty over death.

Verse 2

This verse establishes the theological basis for all subsequent commands in the chapter: Israel’s status as a 'holy people' and a 'peculiar treasure' chosen by God requires maintaining ritual and moral separation from the surrounding nations.

Verse 3

The term 'abominable thing' (Heb. *to’evah*) refers to anything ritually or morally repulsive to God. The dietary laws that follow are primary methods by which Israel maintains its holiness and distinctiveness.

Verse 6

The criteria for clean land animals are dual: they must both chew the cud (ruminate) and have a completely split hoof. This requirement emphasizes the principle of wholeness and clear distinction in creation.

Verse 8

The swine (pig) is singled out because it meets only one of the two criteria (split hoof but does not chew the cud), thus serving as a clear example of an animal that falls outside the boundaries of God's prescribed categories.

Verse 21

This verse contains two distinct laws: first, a provision for the resident alien (stranger) to eat carrion, emphasizing communal care; second, the famous prohibition against boiling a kid in its mother’s milk, likely outlawing a known Canaanite fertility ritual and establishing a principle of not mixing life and death or violating the natural order.

Verse 22

This section introduces the 'Second Tithe,' distinct from the Levite’s tithe (Num. 18). This tithe was meant to be consumed by the worshipper and his household in a celebratory feast at the central sanctuary (Jerusalem) annually.

Verse 23

The primary goal of eating the tithe before the Lord at the sanctuary was pedagogical: 'that thou mayest learn to fear the LORD thy God always,' linking material blessing directly to covenant loyalty and worship.

Verse 26

This verse provides flexibility, allowing the tithe to be monetized for long journeys. Crucially, the money is to be used to purchase food and drink, including 'strong drink,' demonstrating God’s approval of joyful, communal feasting as part of worship.

Verse 27

The Levite, lacking land inheritance, must be included in the annual feast. This ensured that those devoted to religious service were maintained by the community’s bounty, reinforcing the covenantal obligation to support ministry.

Verse 28

Every third year, the tithe was not taken to the central sanctuary but stored locally within the town gates. This 'Poor Tithe' served as a welfare fund for the most vulnerable members of society.

Verse 29

The recipients—the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow—represent the four classes most dependent on community charity. This system emphasizes God’s mandate for social justice and compassion as the key to receiving divine blessing.

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