Leviticus 11:1-47
1 And the LORD spake unto Moses and to Aaron, saying unto them,
2 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, These are the beasts which ye shall eat among all the beasts that are on the earth.
3 Whatsoever parteth the hoof, and is clovenfooted, and cheweth the cud, among the beasts, that shall ye eat.
4 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.
5 And the coney, because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof; he is unclean unto you.
6 And the hare, because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof; he is unclean unto you.
7 And the swine, though he divide the hoof, and be clovenfooted, yet he cheweth not the cud; he is unclean to you.
8 Of their flesh shall ye not eat, and their carcase shall ye not touch; they are unclean to you.
9 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.
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 which is in the waters, they shall be an abomination unto you:
11 They shall be even an abomination unto you; ye shall not eat of their flesh, but ye shall have their carcases in abomination.
12 Whatsoever hath no fins nor scales in the waters, that shall be an abomination unto you.
13 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,
14 And the vulture, and the kite after his kind;
15 Every raven after his kind;
16 And the owl, and the night hawk, and the cuckow, and the hawk after his kind,
17 And the little owl, and the cormorant, and the great owl,
18 And the swan, and the pelican, and the gier eagle,
19 And the stork, the heron after her kind, and the lapwing, and the bat.
20 All fowls that creep, going upon all four, shall be an abomination unto you.
21 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;
22 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.
23 But all other flying creeping things, which have four feet, shall be an abomination unto you.
24 And for these ye shall be unclean: whosoever toucheth the carcase of them shall be unclean until the even.
25 And whosoever beareth ought of the carcase of them shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even.
26 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.
27 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.
28 And he that beareth the carcase of them shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even: they are unclean unto you.
29 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,
30 And the ferret, and the chameleon, and the lizard, and the snail, and the mole.
31 These are unclean to you among all that creep: whosoever doth touch them, when they be dead, shall be unclean until the even.
32 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.
33 And every earthen vessel, whereinto any of them falleth, whatsoever is in it shall be unclean; and ye shall break it.
34 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.
35 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.
36 Nevertheless a fountain or pit, wherein there is plenty of water, shall be clean: but that which toucheth their carcase shall be unclean.
37 And if any part of their carcase 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 carcase fall thereon, it shall be unclean unto you.
39 And if any beast, of which ye may eat, die; he that toucheth the carcase thereof shall be unclean until the even.
40 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.
41 And every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth shall be an abomination; it shall not be eaten.
42 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.
43 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.
44 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.
45 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.
46 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:
47 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.
Leviticus
*Worship the *LORD in the Beauty of *Holiness
Leviticus
Gordon Churchyard
This commentary has been through Advanced Checking.Words in boxes are from the Bible, except for the words in brackets (…).
Chapter 11
Chapter 11:1 to 15:33
Rules about what is *clean and what is *unclean
The most important idea in Leviticus is *holiness. This means two things.
If you have ‘*holiness’, you are very, very good. Really, only God is holy. That is, only God is perfect; only God has no *sin. But he says that his people are holy too. They become holy because they belong to him. And he is changing their lives.
Because his people are holy, they must be separate for him. In Chapter s 11 to 15, we find rules that make God’s people separate from other people.
There are several groups of rules in these Chapter s.
Chapter 11 tells us what food is *clean or *unclean. Remember, *unclean does not mean dirty in Leviticus. God’s law did not allow the *Israelites to eat the meat from any *unclean animals.
Chapter 12 tells us about women who have a baby. They are *unclean after the baby’s birth. This does not of course mean that they were dirty. It means that they cannot go to the House of God.
Chapter s 13 and 14 tell us about various diseases of the skin. These diseases make people *unclean. Here, ‘*unclean’ means that they could not live with the other people in the *Israelites’ camp.
Chapter 15 tells us about liquids from the body that made the *Israelites *unclean.
Food that is *clean, and food that is *unclean
v1 The *LORD said (this) to Moses and to Aaron.
v2 ‘Say (this) to the *Israelites. “These are the animals that you may eat. (But you may not eat all the other animals that live on (dry) land.
v3 You may eat any animal with a completely *divided hoof that *chews the *cud.
v4 Some (animals) only *chew the *cud or they only have a *divided hoof. You must not eat these animals. The camel does *chew the *cud, but it does not have a *divided hoof. Your religion therefore says that it is *unclean.
v5 The animal called the coney does *chew the *cud, but it does not have a *divided hoof. (Your religion says that) it is *unclean.
v6 The rabbit does *chew the *cud, but it does not have a *divided hoof. (Your religion says that) it is *unclean.
v7 The pig does have a completely *divided hoof, but it does not *chew the *cud. (Your religion says that) it is *unclean.
v8 You must not eat the meat (from any of these animals). And you must not touch their dead bodies. (Your religion says that) they are *unclean.
v9 Many animals live in water. (They live in) the seas and in the rivers. You may eat any of them that have (both) *fins and *scales.
v10 But some animals in the seas and in the rivers do not have *fins and *scales. They may be animals that swim together. Or they may be other animals that are in the water. You must hate (to eat) them.
v11 And because you hate them, you must not eat their meat. You must hate their dead bodies.
v12 You must hate any (animal) that (is like this).
It lives in water.
Also, it does not have *fins and *scales.
v13-19 These are the birds that you must hate. You must not eat them because they are nasty. (These birds are called):
The eagle, the vulture and the black vulture.
The red kite and any kind of black kite. (v14)
Any kind of raven. (v15)
The owl with *horns, the owl that screams, the gull and any kind of hawk. (v16)
The little owl, the cormorant, and the great owl. (v17)
The white owl, the desert owl and the osprey. (v18)
The stork, any kind of heron, the hoopoe and the bat. (v19)
v20 You must also hate most flying insects that rush about.
v21 But you may eat some flying insects that rush about. These ones are insects whose legs have *joints. They can therefore jump on the ground.
v22 From this group, you may eat any kind of *locust, bald *locust, desert *locust or *grasshopper.
v23 But you must hate all other insects that have wings and 4 (pairs of) legs.
v24 If you touch the dead bodies (of these animals), you will be *unclean until the evening.
v25 Anyone who picks up one of their dead bodies must wash his clothes. And that person will be *unclean until the evening.
v26 Anyone who touches (the dead body of) one of these animals will be *unclean. (The animals are those) whose *hoofs are not completely *divided. Or, (the animals) do not *chew the *cud.
v27 Many animals walk on all their 4 feet. If they walk on their paws, then they will make you *unclean. Anyone who touches their dead bodies will be *unclean until the evening.
v28 Anyone who picks up their dead bodies must wash his clothes. That person will be *unclean until the evening. (These animals) will make you *unclean.
v29-30 These animals that crawl on the ground will make you *unclean. (They include the animals called):
The weasel and the rat.
Any kind of great lizard.
The gecko and the monitor lizard. (v30)
The wall lizard.
The skink and the chameleon.
v31 All these animals that crawl on the ground will make you *unclean. If you touch their dead bodies, you will be *unclean until the evening.
v32 One of these (animals) may die and fall onto something. That thing, whatever it is, will be *unclean. (Someone may have) made it out of wood, cloth, animal skin or sacks. Put it in water. It will be *unclean until the evening. Then it will be *clean.
v33 One of (the dead animals) may fall into a *clay pot. Then, everything in (the pot) will be *unclean. You must break the pot.
v34 There may be some food that you could eat. But if it has water on it from such a pot, it is *unclean. Also, anything that you could drink from the pot is *unclean.
v35 If the dead body (of an animal) falls onto anything, (that thing) becomes *unclean. If it is an oven or a pot to cook (food in), you must break it. They are *unclean and you must consider them as *unclean.
v36 However, these things remain *clean (if a dead animal falls into them).
A well (into which fresh water comes).
A large bath that collects water.
But anyone who touches the dead bodies in them is *unclean.
v37 The dead body (of an animal) may fall onto (dry) seeds that are ready to plant. (Those seeds) will remain *clean.
v38 But if the dead body (of an animal) falls onto wet seeds, they are *unclean for you.
v39 An animal that you can eat may die. Anyone who touches its dead body will be *unclean until the evening.
v40 Anyone who eats any (meat from the animal’s) dead body must wash his clothes. He will be *unclean until the evening. Anyone who picks up the dead body must wash his clothes. He will be *unclean until the evening.
v41 You must hate every animal that crawls about on the ground. You must not eat any of them.
v42 You must not eat any animal that crawls about on the ground. It is nasty, whether it moves on its stomach, on 4 feet, or on many feet.
v43 Do not make yourselves *unclean with any of these animals. Do not become *unclean by them. Do not let any of them make you *unclean.
v44 I am the *LORD (who is) your God. Make yourselves separate (from other people) and be holy. (Do this) because I (the *LORD) am holy. Do not make yourselves *unclean with any animal that moves about on the ground.
v45 I am the *LORD who brought you out of Egypt. (I did it so that) I could be your God. Therefore, be holy because I am holy.
v46 These are the rules about animals and birds. (Also these are the rules about) everything that moves in water. (And these are the rules about) everything that moves on the ground.
v47 You must distinguish between what is *clean and *unclean. You must know which animals you can eat. And (you must know) which animals you must not eat.” ’
About these rules
The rules in this chapter remain very important for the *Jews today.
In 10:10, God told Aaron, ‘You must learn the difference between what is holy and not holy. Also (you must learn) what is *clean and *unclean.’
God had separated the *Israelites from other people. And God had also separated the animals to be *clean or *unclean. The *Israelites already knew something about this difference (Genesis 7:2). But they needed God to teach them more.
Soon they would enter the *Promised Land. But the *Promised Land was not perfect. It was not like heaven. And the *Promised Land was not like the garden called Eden, where everything was perfect. In the *Promised Land, there lived both *unclean animals and *clean animals. God told the *Israelites that they must not eat the *unclean animals.
All the kinds of *clean animals provide good, healthy meat. Some of the *unclean animals seem good too, but God still told the *Israelites not to eat them. So the *Israelites had to trust that God’s decision was right.
We do not know the reasons why all these animals were *clean or *unclean. But we can understand some of the reasons:
Some *unclean animals are actually dirty.
Some *unclean animals seem to behave in a cruel manner. So they did not behave as the *Israelites should behave.
Some *unclean animals eat food that was *unclean for the *Israelites. For example, those animals eat meat that comes from *unclean animals.
Some *unclean animals do not provide healthy meat.
Some *unclean animals are especially close to the ground when they walk.
When they followed these rules, the *Israelites were learning not to please themselves. They should not eat whatever they wanted to eat. Instead, they must always try to obey God.
Usually, the words ‘*clean’ and ‘*unclean’ are about whether a person can *worship God in public. But most of this chapter is not about public *worship. It is about the decisions that people must make each day. They decide what food they should eat. They make a choice whether to obey God, or not to obey God.
Notes
Verses 1-8 The *hoof is the foot of some animals. Sometimes there is a division in the *hoof. We call this ‘a *divided hoof’. Some animals can get their food back from their stomachs. Then they can eat it again, slowly. We say that they ‘*chew the *cud’. The cow has a *divided hoof and it *chews the *cud. So, the *Israelites could eat cows. They could also eat goats and sheep for the same reason. But they could not eat camels, coneys, rabbits and pigs. A coney is probably an animal like a large rabbit that lives on rocky ground. We are not certain about this. Some people think that it was the animal now called the badger. Neither are we now certain that coneys and rabbits *chew the *cud. So maybe these verses refer to other animals.
The religion of the *Israelites said that the animals in verses 4-7 were *unclean. That made the *Israelites separate from people who belonged to other religions. Other people could eat camels, rabbits and pigs. *Unclean does not mean that those people were dirty. But they did not live in the manner that God’s people lived. And they could not go to *worship God in his house.
Verses 9-12 A fish uses *fins with which to swim. *Scales cover its body. The word ‘hate’ in verses 11 and 12 has a special meaning. It means ‘not like’. This is because these animals could make the *Israelites ‘*unclean’.
*Jewish Bible students have a different explanation for the word ‘hate’. If a person touched even the dead body of an unclean animal, that person became *unclean. But that would not happen to a person who touched an *unclean fish, bird or insect. (And they say that verse 24 is about the passage after it, not before.) If so, ‘hate’ means simply that you must not eat that thing. But you can touch it.
Verses 13-19 Most of these birds eat smaller birds or dead animals. The bat is not a bird, but an animal that flies in the night. Again, ‘hate’ means the same as in verses 11-12.
‘Nasty’ means that they will make people *unclean. Here is a description of each of these birds. We cannot be sure what all these birds actually are.
| Name of bird | Description |
| vultures, ravens | birds that eat dead animals |
| eagles, kites, hawks | birds that catch and eat smaller birds |
| osprey | an eagle that catches and eats fish |
| owls | birds that catch and eat small animals at night |
| cormorant, heron, stork | birds that live near water; they catch and eat fish and small animals |
| hoopoe | a bird that made its nest in dirty places |
| gull | a bird that lives near the sea |
Verses 20-23 Again, ‘hate’ means the same as in verse 11. Leg *joints in insects are like knees in animals. *Locusts are important in several places in the Bible, including:
Exodus 10:12-19. They started the 8th *plague. The 10 *plagues were the bad things that happened to the King of Egypt and to his people.
Matthew 3:4 and Mark 1:6. They were part of the food that John (called the Baptist) ate.
Bible students are not sure what these 4 insects were. There are details in a *commentary on Leviticus by John E Harvey. Grasshoppers are like small *locusts. Insects have 3 pairs of legs. The 4th pair probably meant the antennae. Two antennae stand up from an insect’s head.
Verses 24-25 If someone merely touched the dead body of an *unclean animal, that person would be *unclean. Here, ‘*unclean’ means that the person could not go to God’s house. ‘Until the evening’ reminds us that the next day started each evening at sunset for the *Israelites.
Verses 26-28 These animals eat meat. This is probably why they made people ‘*unclean’. They are animals like cats and dogs, lions and bears. They ate meat that the *Israelites could not eat.
Verses 29-40 You can read something below about each animal. Bible students are not sure what each animal actually is.
| Name of animal | Description |
| weasel | like a very big and long rat |
| rat | like a very big mouse |
| great lizard | an animal that can live in water or on the land; lizards have skins that shine |
| gecko | a lizard that makes a low sound |
| monitor lizard | a lizard up to 4 feet long |
| wall lizard | a type of lizard |
| skink | another type of lizard |
| chameleon | a lizard that can change its colour |
The *Israelites made their ovens and pots with *clay. *Clay is a type of soil, so they could easily make new ovens and pots. The water in the well or bath often changes so it is *clean. Some Bible students think that the wet seeds were for food. The animals in verses 39-40 still had their blood in them. This made them *unclean.
Verses 41-47 Again, ‘hate’ means the same as in verse 11. The animals here are probably small animals like insects and snakes. ‘Nasty’ means that the animal will make people *unclean.
Verses 44-45 contain the most important message in the Book of Leviticus:
| God’s people must be holy. |
The word ‘holy’ is in Leviticus over 50 times. That is why we called this Commentary: ‘*Worship the *LORD in the beauty of *holiness.’ It is *holiness (or ‘the quality that a holy person has’) that makes God’s people different from other people.
Something to do
1. Read about Peter and the animals in the sheet, in Acts 10:9-16. Christians do not have to obey many of the rules for *Israelites – see Acts 15:28-29 and 1 Corinthians chapter 8.
2. Read Genesis 3:14. Of which verse in Leviticus chapter 11 does it remind you?
3. Learn to say 1 Peter 1:15-16 from memory. (‘From memory’ means that you do not look at the words.)
worship ~ to praise someone (usually God). You tell him that you believe him to be very, very great. Also, you love him and you will obey him.
LORD ~ a special name for God. In the Hebrew Bible it translates YHWH. YHWH probably means ‘he is always alive’. So the word LORD (which means ‘master’) is not a proper translation.
Hebrew ~ the language that the Jews spoke.
Jews ~ another word for the Israelites.
Israelites ~ the LORD’s people whom Moses led out of Egypt. Afterwards, they lived in the countries called Judah and Israel.
Judah ~ the name of the southern part of the country where the Jews went to live.
Israel ~ the name of the country where the Jews went to live, especially the northern part of that country.
holiness ~ the quality of somebody who is holy, or very, very good.
holy ~ very, very good; only God is really holy. Or, a description of something that belongs to God.
clean ~ suitable for God or for God’s people. A clean person could go to God’s house to worship him.
worship ~ to praise someone (usually God). You tell him that you believe him to be very, very great. Also, you love him and you will obey him.
unclean ~ unsuitable for God or for God’s people. When someone was unclean, that person was unable to worship at God’s house.
worship ~ to praise someone (usually God). You tell him that you believe him to be very, very great. Also, you love him and you will obey him.
holiness ~ the quality of somebody who is holy, or very, very good.
holy ~ very, very good; only God is really holy. Or, a description of something that belongs to God.
sin ~ to do wrong things; not to obey God’s rules. Or, the things we do when we sin. Evil thoughts, words and deeds are all sin, whether we do them on purpose or not.
Israelites ~ the LORD’s people whom Moses led out of Egypt. Afterwards, they lived in the countries called Judah and Israel.
LORD ~ a special name for God. In the Hebrew Bible it translates YHWH. YHWH probably means ‘he is always alive’. So the word LORD (which means ‘master’) is not a proper translation.
Judah ~ the name of the southern part of the country where the Jews went to live.
Israel ~ the name of the country where the Jews went to live, especially the northern part of that country.
Hebrew ~ the language that the Jews spoke.
Jews ~ another word for the Israelites.
'divided hoof ~ the hoof is the foot of some animals. Sometimes there is a division in the hoof. We say that such an animal has a ‘divided hoof’.hoof ~ the foot of some animals.
chew ~ to break food with teeth.
cud ~ food that some animals get back from their stomachs to chew. (For example, sheep and cows do this.)
chew ~ to break food with teeth.
fins ~ the parts of a fish’s body that it uses in order to swim.
scales ~ these cover the bodies of fish.
horn ~ hard material that grows on the heads of some animals like cows and goats. Or, the points that were on the corners of the altars.
altar ~ a special table where the priests burned incense, grain and animals.
incense ~ a material that gives a good smell when people burn it.
joint ~ a part of the body where bones join together, for example, the knee.
locust ~ a type of insect that eats any green plant.
grasshopper ~ an insect that is like a small locust.
locust ~ a type of insect that eats any green plant.
hoof ~ the foot of some animals.
clay ~ a type of earth that people use to make pots.
Jews ~ another word for the Israelites.
Israelites ~ the LORD’s people whom Moses led out of Egypt. Afterwards, they lived in the countries called Judah and Israel.
LORD ~ a special name for God. In the Hebrew Bible it translates YHWH. YHWH probably means ‘he is always alive’. So the word LORD (which means ‘master’) is not a proper translation.
Judah ~ the name of the southern part of the country where the Jews went to live.
Israel ~ the name of the country where the Jews went to live, especially the northern part of that country.
Hebrew ~ the language that the Jews spoke.
'Promised Land ~ Canaan, that is, the country that God promised to the Israelites. It was the land that he promised to Abraham.Canaan ~ the old name for the countries afterwards called Israel and Judah.
Israelites ~ the LORD’s people whom Moses led out of Egypt. Afterwards, they lived in the countries called Judah and Israel.
Israel ~ the name of the country where the Jews went to live, especially the northern part of that country.
Judah ~ the name of the southern part of the country where the Jews went to live.
LORD ~ a special name for God. In the Hebrew Bible it translates YHWH. YHWH probably means ‘he is always alive’. So the word LORD (which means ‘master’) is not a proper translation.
Jews ~ another word for the Israelites.
Hebrew ~ the language that the Jews spoke.
worship ~ to praise someone (usually God). You tell him that you believe him to be very, very great. Also, you love him and you will obey him.
unclean ~ unsuitable for God or for God’s people. When someone was unclean, that person was unable to worship at God’s house.
worship ~ to praise someone (usually God). You tell him that you believe him to be very, very great. Also, you love him and you will obey him.
scales ~ these cover the bodies of fish.
Jewish ~ a word that describes Jews and what they do.
Jews ~ another word for the Israelites.
Israelites ~ the LORD’s people whom Moses led out of Egypt. Afterwards, they lived in the countries called Judah and Israel.
LORD ~ a special name for God. In the Hebrew Bible it translates YHWH. YHWH probably means ‘he is always alive’. So the word LORD (which means ‘master’) is not a proper translation.
Judah ~ the name of the southern part of the country where the Jews went to live.
Israel ~ the name of the country where the Jews went to live, especially the northern part of that country.
Hebrew ~ the language that the Jews spoke.
locust ~ a type of insect that eats any green plant.
plagues ~ bad things that happen to people. The ‘10 Plagues’ were 10 punishments that the inhabitants of Egypt suffered. This happened at the time of Moses.
commentary ~ notes about a book in the Bible.
clay ~ a type of earth that people use to make pots.