Leviticus 11

Leviticus 11:1-23

Leviticus 11:1-23. First Prohibition.—Animals, etc., not allowed for food. The test is, Is it cloven-footed, and does it chew the cud? For fishes, Has it fins and scales? No test of this nature can be given for birds; leaping insects are clean, insects which only fly, unclean. The tests, especially the first, are clearly artificial and not original; e.g. in the case of swine. Undoubtedly, in primitive thought, each species, allowed or banned, is classed “on its merits”; but later legislators would naturally be puzzled by the apparent caprice, and desire to find some principle.Leviticus 11:5. “Coney,” as RVm (Proverbs 30:26*).Leviticus 11:13. “Eagle” denotes the majestic and abundant carrion vulture, though probably it is also a generic word for eagle or vulture.

Leviticus 11:24-42

Leviticus 11:24-42. Second Prohibition.—The dead bodies of unclean animals are not to be touched; scrupulous dread could hardly go further. The distinction is repeated from Leviticus 11:1-23, but a special list of unclean insects is given, corresponding to the list of clean insects in Leviticus 11:22. If the dead body, or any part of one, is carried or touched, the clothes must be washed, and the person remains unclean himself for the rest of the day. Utensils which touch the dead body are to be washed, and then they remain unclean the rest of the day; earthenware is to be broken. Water which may be used for drinking is not to be regarded as affected, nor seeds, unless the seeds have been moistened, and so spoilt.

These regulations are plainly ruled by considerations of convenience, though the existence of the taboo is preserved. The touch of the dead body of a clean animal will cause uncleanness for the rest of the day, as the blood will be in it, and the blood is untouchable. The section closes with a prohibition of insects that creep (cf. Leviticus 11:29 f.).

Leviticus 11:43-45

Leviticus 11:43-45. Brief Summing up of the general Principle, in the manner of H. Leviticus 11:46 f. Conclusion of the section.