Translation & Sermon by Nate Wilson for Christ The Redeemer Church, Manhattan, KS 19 June 2016
· Right about a year ago, I preached on 1 Peter 1:14-16, “As children of obedience, not being shaped with [your] earlier desires during your ignorance, but rather, in accordance with the Holy One who called you, you yourselves should also start becoming holy in all [your] lifestyle, because it has been written, “Y’all shall be holy because I myself am holy.”
· Today we cover the Old Testament text that Peter’s quote came from. The timeless principle of, “Be holy because I the LORD am holy” is buried in a place you’d least expect it: in Leviticus 11, in the lists of clean and unclean animals – one of the most debated chapters of the Bible.
o Why all these instructions about what to eat and what not to eat? Leviticus 11:44 tells us. Verse 44 is the first time the Hebrew word for “for” or “because” occurs in this chapter full of exotic animals to tell us why all this rigamarole (It is most unfortunate that the NIV omitted this key Hebrew word): “Because I am the LORD your God. Consecrate yourselves and be holy because I am holy.”
o That is the main principle, and that principle is applied in the New Testament book of First Peter to us, “God’s people must be holy because God is holy.”
· We are now launching into a new topic in Leviticus; chapters 11-15 all have to do with ceremonial purity, and this will be culminated in the Day of Atonement. Leviticus 16:16 says that the Day of Atonement was ordained “because of the uncleanness of the Israelites.”
· Now, with that overarching principle in mind, I want to step through Leviticus 11 and summarize its content. This chapter is full of fascinating words describing animals. We don’t have time to consider in depth all those marvelous creatures which God made and placed together in the delicate balances of the Levantine ecosystem, but let me try to hit the highlights:
· v.2 makes it clear that this is about what to eat. What God’s people should take inside their bodies to feed themselves. Verse 8, however, extends it to not even touching what it unclean, although the penalty for touching what was unclean, as we’ll see later, was not as big a deal.
· v.3 states the general principle to look for in land animals: a Divided hoof and Chewing the cud.
· Deut. 14:4-5 lists, in a positive fashion, what they could eat: "These are the animals which you may eat: the ox, the sheep, the goat, the deer, the gazelle, the roebuck, the wild goat, the ibex, the antelope and the mountain sheep.” (NASB)
· This rules out ruminants like the horse and the camel, because they don’t have two digits on their feet, just one semicircular horn, so they don’t “divide the hoof,”
· And this rules out the lagomorph family, like the marmot and the rabbit, because, although they chew the cud in the sense that they recycle certain pellets that go through their alimentary system, they have paws, not hooves.
· Conversely, animals with divided hooves which are not ruminants, such as the pig, are also off-limits.
· But notice who it is off-limits to: “to you/y’all.” You will see that phrase over and over again throughout the chapter: “they are unclean for you.” Those animals were never off-limits to the whole world, just to the people that Moses and Aaron addressed.
o “...we tend to forget that the narrative frames the law and not the reverse. The preponderance of law [in this passage] tends to give it the appearance of timelessness, whereas the context makes it plain that these laws were given in a specific situation to a specific people.” ~Gordan Wenham, NICOT (More on this later...)
· You’ll also notice that it is not called a “perpetual statute,” like the prohibition against eating blood was. As Colossians 2:22 puts it, this law was to “perish with use.”
· Finally, notice how much the passage talks about “carcasses” or “dead bodies” of animals (starting in v.8). Death is a common denominator in what is to be avoided in order to walk in holiness.
o Death is the result of sin. Since God does not sin, death is foreign to God.
o For the same reason, animals that eat dead animals are symbolically unholy – those that walk on paws (like dogs and cats), or the raptor birds (whether predatory or carrion-feeding), and even the aquatic animals without fins and scales (like clams, crawdads, snails, and catfish) that eat dead, decaying animal and plant matter off the bottom of the waterways, all have some association with death because they eat dead animals.
o God’s people, however, are to be associated with life, not with death, and one way of symbolizing that was through eating animals associated with life.
· The ones that were o.k. to eat had Fins & Scales, ruleing out oysters, frog legs, shrimp, and catfish.
· Another key word shows up beginning with v.10: shachatz, translated “abomination/detestable/ abhorrent/contaminant.”
o Wait a minute! Didn’t God make all the animals – even the detestable ones? Why would God even put into the world animals that He didn’t want His people to touch?
o Well, in addition to the overall health of the environment created by scavengers cleaning up decaying matter,
o I am reminded of NT passages which teach that God made some things simply to destroy them and demonstrate His holiness and sovereignty. Romans 9:22-23 “What if God, wanting to show His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, and that He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, which He had prepared beforehand for glory,”
o 2 Timothy 2:20 “But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay, some for honor and some for dishonor.” (NKJV)
o If He does that with human beings, He can do it with animals too.
o It also seems to be part of the way God has worked with humans historically. Remember that God gave a command to Adam and Eve to eat one thing but not another. “He saw good thus to try and exercise the obedience of his people, not only in the solemnities of his altar, but in matters of daily occurrence at their own table, that they might remember they were under authority.” ~Matthew Henry
o Would you be willing to submit to the authority of God if He commanded you what to eat? He has, in fact already given you commandments about what to eat:
§ Isaiah 55:2-3 “Listen carefully to me and eat the good, and let your soul indulge itself in the richness. Incline your ear and step-forward to me, listen and let your soul live, and let me cut an everlasting covenant for y’all, the faithful lovingkindnesses of David.” (which is the Jesus’ way of salvation)
§ Hebrews 13:9-13 “Do not be carried about with various and strange doctrines. For it is good that the heart be established by grace, not with foods which have not profited those who have been occupied with them. We have an altar from which those who serve the tabernacle have no right to eat... Therefore let us go forth to Him” (NKJV) [that is, Jesus] Will you obey those commands?
· If you compare translations, you’ll see that there is quite a bit of guesswork going on among translators as to what species of bird each of these Hebrew words refers to. There just isn’t enough scientific literature written about these animals in ancient Hebrew to know, so different translations will have different animal names.
· But the general principle seems to be that meat-eating birds were not allowed.
· The list contains mostly raptors that either kill and eat animals (like the eagle and the hawk) or vultures and buzzards that eat animals that are already dead.
· Chicken stays on the menu!
· As a general rule, no bugs were allowed except for a few that have “Legs jointed for hopping” (like locust, katydid, cricket)
· Now, the Bible talks about these insects walking on “all-fours,” yet everybody knows that insects have six legs, not four. Is this an error in the Bible? Not really.
o If you look closely at a good translation, you will see that the 4 legs are used for “crawling,” plus there are two more legs which rise above the other legs and are used for hopping, so that is 6 legs. I guess some Bible critics just had difficulty adding 4+2.
o Moses, who was smart enough to develop a whole writing system which was a vast improvement over the Egyptian hieroglyphics he learned as a child,
o Moses who had been a sheep-herder in the Arabian desert for 40 years,
o Moses, who compiled accurate historic accounts of thousands of years of history,
o who was a smart enough military strategist to beat every army he faced in battle,
o and who successfully started a new nation for two million people,
o Moses was not so stupid as not to know that insects have 6 legs. When he wrote of walking on “fours” it was a figure of speech – or perhaps an accurate observation of how insects actually crawl using only some of their legs at a time.
· He takes a little more time with these insects because I think it would have been much more likely to accidentally step on a bug or get hit by one or have to clean one off your floor, than a fish or a lion. I’ve never had a fish infestation in my house, but we have been infested with bugs before. What to do?
o (v.25) Wash clothes (and many scholars suggest this implied washing yourself as well), and then,
o Wait until the day is over before participating in an activity which demanded cleanness, such as offering a sacrifice at the temple.
o That’s it; just wash up and continue life tomorrow.
o V.27 paws, not hooves = unclean
o V.29 “creeping/crawling/swarming/teeming things” – vermin & reptiles
o V.31 Particularly concerned about dead bodies of these animals – touching live animals wasn’t really a problem.
o V.32 - Tools and textiles must be washed and left until evening before considered clean, but tools didn’t have to be kept as clean as cookware.
o Ceramic cookware that had been contaminated by death, could not be washed and re-used. V.34 indicates that uncleanness from a dead fly or some such animal falling into a clay pot could be passed on to any food if that pot were subsequently filled with water and used to prepare other food or drinks, so it had to be destroyed.
o Even though water washes away uncleanliness, water also can carry disease – even to seeds in v.38. However, a water source, like a spring in v.36, that constantly has clean water running through it, was considered pure. But if an animal fell into the water source and drowned, whoever fished the dead body out would be unclean until evening; the water was still considered good.
o V.35 even mentions breaking down a “stove” or “oven” that has been contaminated, but don’t think in terms of a Kenmore electric; think in terms of a large clay pot where a fire could be started in the bottom and then rolled-out dough could be slapped onto the sides (inside the rim) to cook over the fire, or clay pots fitted with holes in the top for cooking. (They still make flatbreads like that with butane gas burners in the bottom of those clay ovens today.)
o Now, in addition to the hygienic safeguard of not re-using containers made of porous material which could hide germs in them after being contaminated, I suspect that this was also intended to symbolize the human soul:
§ Clay pots are used to symbolize human beings in the Bible. Once we’re infected by sin, like the clay pot, we are not capable of coming perfectly clean ever again. It is perfectly reasonable that the soul contaminated by sin be destroyed by God.
§ For thousands of years, Jews shattered porcelain pots to picture the justice of God (incidentally leaving behind a rich ostracography for modern archaeologists to discover).
§ This underscores all the more the wonderfulness of the mercy of God, as the Apostle Paul says in 2 Cor. 4:7, “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.” It is indeed the power of God that can take clay pots like us, contaminated by our sin and make us into new creations which can actually hold the treasure of eternal life! That is good news!
o Finally, in verses 39-40, provision is made that you could eat roadkill – as long as it was one of the clean animals. But the same precautions to wash and be unclean ‘till evening were in force – as they were for touching any dead body.
· God comes back to general summary statements starting in v.41 about what animals were to be considered contaminants to God’s people and thus to be avoided.
· But why did God institute these sorts of rules in the first place?
o I think a case can be made that the meat from the animals that were considered “clean” were, in general, healthier eating and less likely to carry disease and less likely to spoil as quickly.
§ R. J. Rushdoony in his Institutes of Biblical Law pointed out a connection between holiness and health: “The laws of holiness are a “blessing’ (Deut. 12:15) to the physical life of God’s people... In this respect they are another law of separation from death. Health is thus an aspect of holiness, and the fullness of health is in the resurrection... [T]he dietary laws are not legally binding on us, but they do provide us with a principle of operation.... The apostles, as they moved into a Gentile world, did not allow diet to be a barrier between them and the Gentiles. If they were served pork or shrimp, they ate it. On their own, the maintained the kosher rules as God’s rules of health and life... With reference to our salvation , the laws of diet have no signifycance... With reference to our health, the rules of diet are still valid...” (p.87, 301)
§ However, as commentator Gordon Wenham pointed out, “Evidence is lacking that the Middle Eastern understanding of hygiene had advanced so far by the first century A.D. that the Levitical laws were unnecessary.” So Jesus’ abrogation of these food laws would argue against these laws primarily being about protecting people from food poisoning, even if that were a side-effect. There must be a bigger reason than health.
o Other people have suggested that the “unclean” animals were particularly related to pagan worship – for instance, archaeologist R. de Faux[1] found lots of pig bones at pre-Israelite levels of a dig in Palestine, indicating that ancient Caananites sacrificed pigs[2] (and that seems to be confirmed by Isa. 65:4). But is this merely a protest against Canaanite culture?
o Another theory suggested by the ancient church father Origen in his book refuting the teachings of Celsus (4:93) was that the unclean animals were connected to specific demons and therefore had negative spiritual energy from them[3]. That would seem hard to prove.
o Arestas, who wrote in the second century, pointed out symbolism between the different animals and different qualities of Godliness and ungodliness[4], for instance, he suggested that birds of prey were outlawed because they represented murder, mice were outlawed because they represented spoiling, weasels were outlawed because they somehow represented adultery, but cows were good because the way they chew the cud represents remembering God’s word. (I was surprised to see that Keil and Delitzsch, who are usually very scholarly in their commentary, went that same route with symbolism of animals.) While I think it is valid to allegorize to some extent, the danger is to become too fanciful and depart from what the text actually says.
· The best explanation[5] I have found, which seems to fit the text best, has to do with the concept of holiness, the root meaning of which is “separation.[6]”
o God separated for His use of atonement certain animals: bulls, rams, goats, and doves.
o God separated for His evangelistic use certain people, starting with Abraham.
o And God separated for priestly service a certain family from that nation.
o Was it any wonder, then that God separated certain animals to comprise the diet of His chosen people? In fact, that diet mirrored the animals God chose for consumption on the holy altar.
o It was all about God graciously choosing to save and provide for certain people. The separated diet reminded the Jews that they were a separated and holy people, mirroring the fact that God Himself is holy.
o Then when Jesus came and threw open the gates to the salvation of Gentiles, the food laws physically separating Jews from other peoples could be thrown out because there was to be no more dividing wall between Jews and Gentiles reinforced by peculiarities in diet.
o Yes, all who trust in Jesus to save them must be holy and must pattern their lives after the righteous character of God, but there is no more altar upon which to offer these certain animals, so there is no longer a divine pattern to follow with a limited diet ourselves either.
o There is no longer only one nationality with special access to God. The Apostle Paul put it this way, “Therefore remember that formerly you, the Gentiles in the flesh, who are called ‘Uncircumcision’ by the so-called ‘Circumcision,’ which is performed in the flesh by human hands-- remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall, by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances, so that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace, and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by it having put to death the enmity.” (Ephesians 2:11-16, NASB)
o This explains why Peter, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, made the connection between his vision of eating unclean animals and God’s call for him to go to a Gentile home and preach the gospel to a bunch of non-Jews. Acts 10:28 “You yourselves know how unlawful it is for a man who is a Jew to associate with a foreigner or to visit him; and yet God has shown me that I should not call any man unholy or unclean.” (NASB)
o That is also why the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15 dropped the requirement for the Gentiles to follow the Mosaic food laws and only upheld the universal law regarding the shedding of blood given much earlier to Noah. The distinctions between Jew and Gentile (called for during Moses’ time) were no longer to be enforced once the church came of age.
o So, what it is that should distinguish you and set you apart as holy from the world? Your diet? Your clothing style? Your WWJD bracelet?Your Newsboys banner? What did Jesus say? “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:34-35, NASB) Does love set you apart as different?
o Don’t be discouraged if you still struggle in this; just keep drawing upon God’s love for you and asking Him to help you grow in love, and let that love, more than anything else, make you different from the world.
· At the same time, we need to keep a careful distance from what could defile that love. V.43 indicates taking care not only not to pursue touching or eating what is unclean, but also taking precautions not to accidentally be touched or contaminated by them.
o Jesus said it’s not dogs or lizards touching you from the outside that contaminates but the ideas that come out from inside your heart. (Mark 7:18b-23)
o What can you do to stop contaminating yourself with rebellion against God or by other people’s rebellion against God? What can you do to protect your heart?
§ Don’t put unclean ideas into your heart by “walk[ing] in the counsel of the wicked... stand[ing] in the path of sinners, and... sit[ting] in the bench of the scornful. Instead... delight in the law of the LORD.” (NAW)
§ Don’t fill your mind with stories about people who live like there is no God. Every movie you watch and every song you listen to where God’s name is taken in vain, where lying is accepted, and where immorality is normal, destroys the holiness of your thinking and makes it that much harder for you to see and copy the holiness of God.
§ Your mental diet is much more important to God than your food diet! Proverbs 4:23 “Watch over your heart with all diligence, For from it flow the springs of life.” (NASB) Stop the flow of uncleanness into your brain by setting wise standards of entertainment.
o But, at the end of the day, no matter how vigilant we have been, we all allow some sin into our hearts. So, just like the Jews who washed themselves and started out clean again each evening, we too can confess our sins to God on our beds (Ps. 4:4), not letting the sun go down on our anger (Eph. 4:26), and start each night pure and clean again![7] Will you commit to going to sleep clean before God every night?
· Now, as I mentioned at the beginning of this sermon, verse 44 introduces the “Why” for these instructions about clean and unclean and abominable animals. In Hebrew, the word “ki” (translated “for” or “because”) appears three times in verses 44-45:
o Why should the Jews observe the O.T. diet laws?
§ Because I am the Lord your God,
§ Because I am holy,
§ Because I am the one who effected your escape from the land of Egypt.
o Applying that in the New Testament context:
§ Because Jesus has called you to be His children by faith,
§ and because He has saved you from sin and hell,
§ and because Jesus is holy, therefore we should choose holiness.
o God gives us instruction that we may understand how to distinguish holiness from unholiness – how to distinguish what matches the character of God from what is alien to the character of God. As we recognize these distinctions, we enter into the holiness of God!
When a translation adds words not in the Hebrew text, but does not
indicate it has done so by the use of italics (or greyed-out text), I put the
added words in [square brackets]. When one version chooses a wording which is
different from all the other translations, I underline it. When a
version chooses a translation which, in my opinion, either departs too far from
the root meaning of the Hebrew word or departs too far from the grammar form of
the original Hebrew, I use strikeout. And when a version omits a word
which is in the Hebrew text, I insert an X. (Sometimes I will place the X at
the end of a word if the original word is plural but the English translation is
singular.) I have also tried to use colors to help the reader see correlations
between the various editions and versions when there are more than two different
translations of a given word. Hebrew text that is colored purple matches the
Dead Sea Scrolls, and variants between the DSS and the MT are noted in endnotes
with the following exceptions: When a holem
pointing in the MT is represented in the DSS by a vav or a hireq
pointing in the MT is represented in the DSS by a yod (the corresponding consonantal representation of the
same vowel) or when the tetragrammaton is spelled with paleo Hebrew letters, I
did not record it a variant.
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1 Καὶ ἐλάλησεν κύριος πρὸς Μωυσῆν καὶ Ααρων λέγων |
1 And the LORD spake unto Moses and to Aaron, saying unto them, |
1 The Yahweh spoke to Moses - and to Aaron - saying to them, |
1 וַיְדַבֵּר יְהוָה אֶל-מֹשֶׁה וְאֶל-אַהֲרֹן לֵאמֹר אֲלֵהֶם[a]: |
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2 Λαλήσατε τοῖς υἱοῖς Ισραηλ λέγοντες Ταῦτα τὰ κτήνη, ἃ φάγεσθε ἀπὸ πάντων τῶν κτηνῶν τῶν ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς· |
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. |
2 “Speak to the children of Israel, saying, ‘These are the living things which y’all shall eat from all the beasts which are upon the earth: |
2 דַּבְּרוּ אֶל-בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל לֵאמֹר זֹאת הַחַיָּה אֲשֶׁר תֹּאכְלוּ[b] מִכָּל-הַבְּהֵמָה אֲשֶׁר עַל-הָאָרֶץ: |
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3 πᾶν κτῆνος διχηλοῦν ὁπλὴν καὶ ὀνυχιστῆρας ὀνυχίζον δύο χηλῶν [καὶ] ἀνάγον μηρυκισμὸν ἐν τοῖς κτήνεσιν, ταῦτα φάγεσθε. |
3 Whatsoever parteth the hoof, and is clovenfooted, and cheweth the cud, among the beasts, that shall ye eat. |
3 All that has a divided hoof – a hoof split in two – and that chews the cud, y’all may eat of that beast. |
3 כֹּל מַפְרֶסֶתHiPTfs פַּרְסָה וְשֹׁסַעַת שֶׁסַע[c] פְּרָסֹת מַעֲלַת גֵּרָה בַּבְּהֵמָה אֹתָהּ תֹּאכֵלוּ: |
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4 πλὴν ἀπὸ τούτων οὐ φάγεσθε· ἀπὸ τῶν ἀναγόντων μηρυκισμὸν καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν διχηλούντων τὰς ὁπλὰς [καὶ ὀνυχιζόντων ὀνυχιστῆρας·] τὸν κάμηλον, ὅτι ἀνάγει μηρυκισμὸν τοῦτο, ὁπλὴν δὲ οὐ διχηλεῖ, ἀκάθαρτον τοῦτο ὑμῖν· |
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. |
4 However, y’all may not eat those which are either chewers of the cud or split hooved: the camel (because it chews the cud yet does not have split hooves, it is unclean for y’all), |
4 אַךְ אֶת-זֶה לֹא תֹאכְלוּ מִמַּעֲלֵי הַגֵּרָה וּמִמַּפְרִיסֵי הַפַּרְסָה[d] אֶת-הַגָּמָל כִּי-מַעֲלֵה גֵרָה הוּא וּפַרְסָה אֵינֶנּוּ מַפְרִיס טָמֵא הוּא לָכֶם: |
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5 καὶ τὸν δασύποδα, ὅτι ἀνάγει μηρυκισμὸν τοῦτο καὶ ὁπλὴν οὐ διχηλεῖ, ἀκάθαρτον τοῦτο ὑμῖν· |
5 And the coney, because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof; he is unclean unto you. |
5 also the marmot (because it chews cud yet doesn’t have divided hooves; it is unclean for y’all), |
5 וְאֶת-הַשָּׁפָן כִּי-מַעֲלֵה גֵרָה הוּא וּפַרְסָה לֹא יַפְרִיס טָמֵא הוּא לָכֶם: |
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6 καὶ τὸν χοιρογρύλλιον, ὅτι ἀνάγει μηρυκισμὸν τοῦτο καὶ ὁπλὴν οὐ διχηλεῖ, ἀκάθαρτον τοῦτο ὑμῖν· |
6 And the hare, because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof; he is unclean unto you. |
6 and the rabbit (because it chews cud yet does not have a divided hoof; it is unclean for y’all), |
6 וְאֶת-הָאַרְנֶבֶת כִּי-מַעֲלַת גֵּרָה הִוא וּפַרְסָה לֹא הִפְרִיסָה טְמֵאָה הִוא לָכֶם: |
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7 καὶ τὸν ὗν, ὅτι διχηλεῖ ὁπλὴν τοῦτο καὶ ὀνυχίζει ὄνυχας ὁπλῆς, καὶ τοῦτο οὐκ ἀνάγει μηρυκισμόν, ἀκάθαρτον τοῦτο ὑμῖν· |
7 And the swine, though he divide the hoof, and be clovenfooted, yet he cheweth not the cud; he is unclean to you. |
7 and the pig (because it has a divided hoof – a hoof completely split, yet it definitely does not ruminate; it is unclean for y’all). |
7 וְאֶת-הַחֲזִיר כִּי-מַפְרִיס פַּרְסָה הוּא וְשֹׁסַע שֶׁסַע פַּרְסָה וְהוּא גֵּרָה לֹא-יִגָּר טָמֵא הוּא לָכֶם: |
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8 ἀπὸ τῶν κρεῶν αὐτῶν οὐ φάγεσθε καὶ τῶν θνησιμαίων αὐτῶν οὐχ ἅψεσθε, ἀκάθαρτα ταῦτα ὑμῖν. |
8 Of their flesh shall ye not eat, and their carcase shall ye not touch; they are unclean to you. |
8 Y’all shall not eat from their meat, and y’all shall not come into contact with their carcassses[e]; they are unclean for y’all. |
8 מִבְּשָׂרָם לֹא תֹאכֵלוּ וּבְנִבְלָתָם לֹא תִגָּעוּ טְמֵאִים הֵם לָכֶם: |
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9 [Καὶ] ταῦτα, ἃ φάγεσθε ἀπὸ πάντων τῶν ἐν τοῖς ὕδασιν· πάντα, ὅσα ἐστὶν αὐτοῖς πτερύγια καὶ λεπίδες ἐν τοῖς ὕδασιν καὶ ἐν ταῖς θαλάσσαις καὶ ἐν τοῖς χειμάρροις, ταῦτα φάγεσθε. |
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. |
9 Now this is what y’all may eat from among all that is in the waters: anything in the water that has fins and scales – in the seas and in the streams; y’all can eat them. |
9 אֶת[f]-זֶה תֹּאכְלוּ מִכֹּל אֲשֶׁר בַּמָּיִם כֹּל אֲשֶׁר-לוֹ סְנַפִּיר וְקַשְׂקֶשֶׂת בַּמַּיִם בַּיַּמִּים וּבַנְּחָלִים אֹתָם תֹּאכֵלוּ: |
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10 καὶ πάντα, ὅσα οὐκ ἔστιν αὐτοῖς πτερύγια οὐδὲ λεπίδες [ἐν τῷ ὕδατι ἢ] ἐν ταῖς θαλάσσαις καὶ ἐν τοῖς χειμάρροις, ἀπὸ πάντων, ὧν ἐρεύγεται τὰ ὕδατα, καὶ ἀπὸ πάσης ψυχῆς ζώσης τῆς ἐν τῷ ὕδατι βδέλυγμά ἐστιν· |
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: |
10 And anything in the seas and in the streams that does not have fins and scales – from every crawling thing of the seas and from every living animal which is in the waters, they are to be a contamination[g] to y’all. |
10 וְכֹל אֲשֶׁר אֵין-לוֹ סְנַפִּיר וְקַשְׂקֶשֶׂת[h] בַּיַּמִּים וּבַנְּחָלִים מִכֹּל שֶׁרֶץ הַמַּיִם וּמִכֹּל נֶפֶשׁ הַחַיָּה אֲשֶׁר בַּמָּיִם שֶׁקֶץ הֵם לָכֶם: |
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11 καὶ βδελύγματα ἔσονται ὑμῖν, ἀπὸ τῶν κρεῶν αὐτῶν οὐκ ἔδεσθε καὶ τὰ θνησιμαῖα αὐτῶν βδελύξεσθε· |
11 They shall be even an abomination unto you; ye shall not eat of their flesh, but ye shall have their carcases in abomination. |
11 And since they are a contamination to y’all, don’t eat from their meat, and consider their carcasses to be contaminants. |
11 וְשֶׁקֶץ יִהְיוּ לָכֶם מִבְּשָׂרָם לֹא תֹאכֵלוּ וְאֶת-נִבְלָתָם תְּשַׁקֵּצוּ: |
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12 καὶ πάντα, ὅσα οὐκ ἔστιν αὐτοῖς πτερύγια καὶ λεπίδες, τῶν ἐν τῷ ὕδατι, βδέλυγμα τοῦτό ἐστιν ὑμῖν. |
12 Whatsoever hath no fins nor scales in the waters, that shall be an abomination unto you. |
12 Anything that doesn’t have fins and scales in the waters, it is a contaminant to y’all. |
12 כֹּל אֲשֶׁר אֵין-לוֹ סְנַפִּיר וְקַשְׂקֶשֶׂת בַּמָּיִם שֶׁקֶץ הוּא לָכֶם: |
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13 Καὶ ταῦτα βδελύξεσθε ἀπὸ τῶν πετεινῶν, καὶ οὐ βρωθήσεται, βδέλυγμά ἐστιν· τὸν ἀετὸν καὶ τὸν γρύπα καὶ τὸν ἁλιαίετον |
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, |
13 And y’all must consider these to be contaminants among the birds: the eagle and the vulture and the buzzard[i]. They must not be eaten; they are contaminants[j]. |
13 וְאֶת-אֵלֶּה תְּשַׁקְּצוּ מִן-הָעוֹף לֹא יֵאָכְלוּ[k] שֶׁקֶץ הֵם אֶת-הַנֶּשֶׁר וְאֶת-הַפֶּרֶס וְאֵת הָעָזְנִיָּה: |
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14 καὶ τὸν γύπα καὶ ἰκτῖνα καὶ τὰ ὅμοια αὐτῷ |
14 And the vulture, and the kite after his kind; |
14 Also the kite and the falcon for its species, |
14 וְאֶת-הַדָּאָה וְאֶת-הָאַיָּה לְמִינָהּ: |
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15 καὶ X κόρακα καὶ τὰ ὅμοια αὐτῷ |
15 Every raven after his kind; |
15 every raven for its species, |
15 אֵת כָּל-עֹרֵב לְמִינוֹ: |
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16 καὶ στρουθὸν καὶ γλαῦκα καὶ λάρον καὶ τὰ ὅμοια αὐτῷ καὶ ἱέρακα καὶ τὰ ὅμοια αὐτῷ |
16 And the owl, and the night hawk, and the cuckow, and the hawk after his kind, |
16 and the owl[l], and the night-owl, and the gull, and the hawk for its species, |
16 וְאֵת בַּת הַיַּעֲנָה וְאֶת-הַתַּחְמָס וְאֶת-הַשָּׁחַף וְאֶת-הַנֵּץ לְמִינֵהוּ[m]: |
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17 καὶ νυκτικόρακα καὶ καταρράκτην καὶ ἶβιν |
17 And the little owl, and the cormorant, and the great owl, |
17 and the little-owl, and the cormorant, and the great-owl, |
17 וְאֶת-הַכּוֹס וְאֶת-הַשָּׁלָךְ וְאֶת-הַיַּנְשׁוּף: |
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LXX |
KJV |
NAW |
MT |
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18 καὶ πορφυρίωνα καὶ πελεκᾶνα καὶ κύκνον |
18 And the swan, and the pelican, and the gier eagle, |
18 and the ibis, and the pelican, and the swan, |
18 וְאֶת-הַתִּנְשֶׁמֶת וְאֶת-הַקָּאָת וְאֶת-הָרָחָם: |
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19 καὶ γλαῦκα [καὶ] ἐρωδιὸν καὶ χαραδριὸν καὶ τὰ ὅμοια αὐτῷ καὶ ἔποπα καὶ νυκτερίδα. -- |
19 And the stork, the heron after her kind, and the lapwing, and the bat. |
19 and the stork, and the heron for its species, and the hoopoe and the bat. |
19 וְאֵת הַחֲסִידָה הָאֲנָפָה לְמִינָהּ וְאֶת-הַדּוּכִיפַת[n] וְאֶת-הָעֲטַלֵּף: |
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20 καὶ πάντα τὰ ἑρπετὰ τῶν πετεινῶν, ἃ πορεύεται ἐπὶ τέσσαρα, βδελύγματά ἐστιν ὑμῖν. |
20 All fowls that creep, going upon all four, shall be an abomination unto you. |
20 Every winged creepy-crawly that walks by crawling on all-fours, it is a contaminant for y’all. |
20 כֹּל שֶׁרֶץ הָעוֹף הַהֹלֵךְ עַל-אַרְבַּע שֶׁקֶץ הוּא לָכֶם: ס |
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21 ἀλλὰ ταῦτα φάγεσθε ἀπὸ τῶν ἑρπετῶν τῶν πετεινῶν, ἃ πορεύεται ἐπὶ τέσσαρα· ἃ ἔχει σκέλη ἀνώτερον τῶν ποδῶν αὐτοῦ πηδᾶν ἐν αὐτοῖς ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς. |
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; |
21 However y’all may eat from any of the following: winged creepy-crawlies that walk on all-fours which, in addition to their feet, [have] jointed-legs with which to hop on the ground. |
21 אַךְ אֶת-זֶה תֹּאכְלוּ מִכֹּל שֶׁרֶץ הָעוֹף הַהֹלֵךְ עַל-אַרְבַּע אֲשֶׁר-לֹא[o] כְרָעַיִם מִמַּעַל לְרַגְלָיו לְנַתֵּר בָּהֵן[p] עַל-הָאָרֶץ: |
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22 καὶ ταῦτα φάγεσθε ἀπ᾿ αὐτῶν· τὸν βροῦχον καὶ τὰ ὅμοια αὐτῷ καὶ τὸν ἀττάκην καὶ τὰ ὅμοια αὐτῷ καὶ τὴν ἀκρίδα καὶ τὰ ὅμοια αὐτῇ καὶ τὸν ὀφιομάχην καὶ τὰ ὅμοια αὐτῷ. |
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. |
22 These, y’all may eat from them: the locust for its species and the katydid for its species, and the cricket for its species and the grasshopper for its species. |
22 אֶת-אֵלֶּה מֵהֶם תֹּאכֵלוּ אֶת-הָאַרְבֶּה לְמִינוֹ וְאֶת-הַסָּלְעָם לְמִינֵהוּ וְאֶת-הַחַרְגֹּל לְמִינֵהוּ וְאֶת-הֶחָגָב לְמִינֵהוּ: |
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23 X πᾶν ἑρπετὸν ἀπὸ τῶν πετεινῶν, οἷς ἐστιν τέσσαρες πόδες, βδέλυγμά ἐστιν ὑμῖν. |
23 But all other flying creeping things, which have four feet, shall be an abomination unto you. |
23 Yet as for the general [category of] flying creepy-crawly which has four feet, it is a contaminant to y’all, |
23 וְכֹל שֶׁרֶץ הָעוֹף אֲשֶׁר-לוֹ אַרְבַּע רַגְלָיִם שֶׁקֶץ הוּא לָכֶם: |
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24 καὶ ἐν τούτοις μιανθήσεσθε, πᾶς ὁ ἁπτόμενος τῶν θνησιμαίων αὐτῶν ἀκάθαρτος ἔσται ἕως ἑσπέρας, |
24 And for these ye shall be unclean: whosoever toucheth the carcase of them shall be unclean until the even. |
24 and by these you will become unclean. Anyone who comes into contact with their carcass will be unclean until the evening. |
24 וּלְאֵלֶּה תִּטַּמָּאוּ כָּל-הַנֹּגֵעַ בְּנִבְלָתָם יִטְמָא עַד-הָעָרֶב: |
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25
καὶ πᾶς ὁ αἴρων τ |
25 And whosoever beareth ought of the carcase of them shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even. |
25 And anyone who picks up some of their carcass should wash his clothes and will be unclean until the evening. |
25 וְכָל-הַנֹּשֵׂא מִנִּבְלָתָם[q] יְכַבֵּס בְּגָדָיו[r] וְטָמֵא עַד-הָעָרֶב: |
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26 ἐν πᾶσιν τοῖς κτήνεσιν ὅ ἐστιν διχηλοῦν ὁπλὴν καὶ ὀνυχιστῆρας X ὀνυχίζει καὶ μηρυκισμὸν οὐ μαρυκᾶται, ἀκάθαρτα ἔσονται ὑμῖν· πᾶς ὁ ἁπτόμενος [τῶν θνησιμαίων] αὐτῶν ἀκάθαρτος ἔσται ἕως ἑσπέρας. |
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. |
26 And every beast of which the hoof divides yet is not completely split and [which] does not chew the cud, they are unclean for y’all. Anyone who comes into contact with them will become unclean. |
26 לְכָל-הַבְּהֵמָה אֲשֶׁר הִוא מַפְרֶ[s]סֶת פַּרְסָה וְשֶׁסַע אֵינֶנָּה שֹׁסַעַת וְגֵרָה אֵינֶנָּה מַעֲלָה טְמֵאִים הֵם לָכֶם כָּל-הַנֹּגֵעַ בָּהֶם יִטְמָא: |
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LXX |
KJV |
NAW |
MT |
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27 καὶ πᾶς, ὃς πορεύεται ἐπὶ χειρῶν ἐν πᾶσι τοῖς θηρίοις, ἃ πορεύεται ἐπὶ τέσσαρα, ἀκάθαρτα ἔσται ὑμῖν· πᾶς ὁ ἁπτόμενος τῶν θνησιμαίων αὐτῶν ἀκάθαρτος ἔσται ἕως ἑσπέρας· |
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. |
27 And each that walk on its paws among the animal-life that walks on all fours, they are unclean to y’all. Anyone who comes into contact with their carcass will be unclean until the evening. |
27 וְכֹל הוֹלֵךְ עַל-כַּפָּיו[t] בְּכָל-הַחַיָּה הַהֹלֶכֶת עַל-אַרְבַּע טְמֵאִים הֵם לָכֶם כָּל-הַנֹּגֵעַ בְּנִבְלָתָם יִטְמָא עַד-הָעָרֶב: |
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28 καὶ ὁ αἴρων τῶν θνησιμαίων αὐτῶν πλυνεῖ τὰ ἱμάτια καὶ ἀκάθαρτος ἔσται ἕως ἑσπέρας· ἀκάθαρτα ταῦτα ὑμῖν ἐστιν. |
28 And he that beareth the carcase of them shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even: they are unclean unto you. |
28 And the one who picks up their carcass must wash his clothes, and he will be unclean until the evening. They are unclean things to y’all. |
28 וְהַנֹּשֵׂא אֶת[u]-נִבְלָתָם יְכַבֵּס בְּגָדָיו וְטָמֵא עַד-הָעָרֶב טְמֵאִים הֵמָּה לָכֶם: ס |
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29 Καὶ ταῦτα ὑμῖν ἀκάθαρτα ἀπὸ τῶν ἑρπετῶν τῶν ἑρπόντων ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς· ἡ γαλῆ καὶ ὁ μῦς καὶ ὁ κροκόδειλος ὁ χερσαῖος X X X, |
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, |
29 This also is what is unclean to y’all in the [category of] creepy-crawly that crawls upon the earth: the mole[v] and the mouse and the iguana for its species, |
29 וְזֶה לָכֶם הַטָּמֵא בַּשֶּׁרֶץ הַשֹּׁרֵץ עַל-הָאָרֶץ הַחֹלֶד וְהָעַכְבָּר וְהַצָּב לְמִינֵהוּ: |
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30 μυγαλῆ καὶ χαμαιλέων καὶ καλαβώτης καὶ σαύρα καὶ ἀσπάλαξ. |
30 And the ferret, and the chameleon, and the lizard, and the snail, and the mole. |
30 and the gecko[w] and the monitor lizard[x] and the lizard and the skink[y] and the chameleon[z]. |
30 וְהָאֲנָקָה וְהַכֹּחַ וְהַלְּטָאָה וְהַחֹמֶט וְהַתִּנְשָׁמֶת: |
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31 ταῦτα
ἀκάθαρτα ὑμῖν
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31 These are unclean to you among all that creep: whosoever doth touch them, when they be dead, shall be unclean until the even. |
31 Those are the unclean things for y’all among all that is a creepy-crawly. Anyone who comes into contact with them in their dead [state] will be unclean until the evening. |
31 אֵלֶּה הַטְּמֵאִים לָכֶם [aa]בְּכָל-הַשָּׁרֶץ כָּל-הַנֹּגֵעַ בָּהֶם בְּמֹתָם יִטְמָא עַד-הָעָרֶב: |
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32 καὶ πᾶν, ἐφ᾿
ὃ ἂν ἐπιπέσῃ
ἀπ᾿ αὐτῶν
τεθνηκότων
αὐτῶν,
ἀκάθαρτον
ἔσται ἀπὸ
παντὸς
σκεύους ξυλίνου
ἢ ἱματίου ἢ
δέρματος ἢ σάκκου· πᾶν
σκεῦος, ὃ ἐὰν
ποιηθῇ
ἔργον ἐν αὐτῷ,
εἰς ὕδωρ |
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. |
32 And anything – from any utensil of wood or cloth or skin or sackcloth – that falls upon one of them in their dead [state] will be unclean. Any utensil with which work is done, it should be immersed in the water, and it will be unclean until the evening; then it will be purified. |
32 וְכֹל אֲשֶׁר-יִפֹּל-עָלָיו מֵהֶם בְּמֹתָם יִטְמָא מִכָּל-כְּלִי-עֵץ אוֹ בֶגֶד אוֹ-עוֹר אוֹ שָׂק כָּל-כְּלִי אֲשֶׁר-יֵעָשֶׂה מְלָאכָה בָּהֶם בַּמַּיִם יוּבָא[bb] וְטָמֵא עַד-הָעֶרֶב וְטָהֵר: |
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33 καὶ πᾶν σκεῦος ὀστράκινον, εἰς ὃ ἐὰν πέσῃ ἀπὸ τούτων ἔνδον, ὅσα ἐὰν ἔνδον ᾖ, ἀκάθαρτα ἔσται, καὶ αὐτὸ συντριβήσεται. |
33 And every earthen vessel, whereinto any of them falleth, whatsoever is in it shall be unclean; and ye shall break it. |
33 But any ceramic utensil into which one of them falls, you shall shatter it, and anything which is inside it will be unclean[cc]. |
33 וְכָל-כְּלִי-חֶרֶשׂ אֲשֶׁר-יִפֹּל מֵהֶם אֶל-תּוֹכוֹ כֹּל אֲשֶׁר בְּתוֹכוֹ יִטְמָא וְאֹתוֹ תִשְׁבֹּרוּ: |
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34 καὶ πᾶν βρῶμα, ὃ ἔσθεται, εἰς ὃ ἐὰν ἐπέλθῃ ἐπ᾿ αὐτὸ ὕδωρ, ἀκάθαρτον ἔσται· καὶ πᾶν ποτόν, ὃ πίνεται ἐν παντὶ ἀγγείῳ, ἀκάθαρτον ἔσται. |
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. |
34 Of any of the food which might be eaten which has had water flow[dd] over it is unclean, and any drink which is drunk in any [such] vessel will be unclean. |
34 מִכָּל-הָאֹכֶל אֲשֶׁר יֵאָכֵל אֲשֶׁר יָבוֹא עָלָיו מַיִם יִטְמָא וְכָל-מַשְׁקֶה אֲשֶׁר יִשָּׁתֶה בְּכָל-כְּלִי יִטְמָא: |
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LXX |
KJV |
NAW |
MT |
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35 καὶ πᾶν, ὃ ἐὰν πέσῃ ἀπὸ τῶν θνησιμαίων αὐτῶν ἐπ᾿ αὐτό, ἀκάθαρτον ἔσται· κλίβανοι καὶ κυθρόποδες καθαιρεθήσονται· ἀκάθαρτα ταῦτά ἐστιν καὶ ἀκάθαρτα ταῦτα ὑμῖν ἔσονται· |
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. |
35 And anything which falls from their carcass upon it will be unclean: a clay-oven (or ceramic pots) should be broken down. They are unclean things, so they are unclean to y’all. |
35 וְכֹל אֲשֶׁר-יִפֹּל מִנִּבְלָתָם עָלָיו יִטְמָא תַּנּוּר וְכִירַיִם יֻתָּץ[ee] טְמֵאִים הֵם וּטְמֵאִים יִהְיוּ לָכֶם: |
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36 πλὴν πηγῶν [ὑδάτων] καὶ λάκκου καὶ συναγωγῆς ὕδατος, ἔσται καθαρόν· ὁ δὲ ἁπτόμενος τῶν θνησιμαίων αὐτῶν ἀκάθαρτος ἔσται. |
36 Nevertheless a fountain or pit, wherein there is plenty of water, shall be clean: but that which toucheth their carcase shall be unclean. |
36 However, a spring or pool for collecting water will continue to be pure, despite [the fact that] someone who comes into contact with a carcass from them will be unclean. |
36 אַךְ מַעְיָן[ff] וּבוֹר מִקְוֵה-מַיִם יִהְיֶה טָהוֹר וְנֹגֵעַ בְּנִבְלָתָם יִטְמָא: |
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37 ἐὰν δὲ ἐπιπέσῃ τῶν θνησιμαίων αὐτῶν ἐπὶ πᾶν σπέρμα σπόριμον, ὃ σπαρήσεται, καθαρὸν ἔσται· |
37 And if any part of their carcase fall upon any sowing seed which is to be sown, it shall be clean. |
37 Also, if some of their carcass falls upon any planted seed which is sown, it is pure, |
37 וְכִי יִפֹּל מִנִּבְלָתָם עַל-כָּל-זֶרַע זֵרוּעַ אֲשֶׁר יִזָּרֵעַ טָהוֹר הוּא: |
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38 ἐὰν δὲ ἐπιχυθῇ ὕδωρ ἐπὶ [πᾶν] σπέρμα καὶ ἐπιπέσῃ τῶν θνησιμαίων αὐτῶν ἐπ᾿ αὐτό, ἀκάθαρτόν ἐστιν ὑμῖν. |
38 But if any water be put upon the seed, and any part of their carcase fall thereon, it shall be unclean unto you. |
38 yet if water is put on a seed and then some of a carcasse from them falls on top of it, it will be unclean to y’all. |
38 וְכִי יֻתַּן-מַיִם עַל-זֶרַע[gg] וְנָפַל מִנִּבְלָתָם עָלָיו טָמֵא הוּא לָכֶם: ס |
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39 Ἐὰν δὲ ἀποθάνῃ τῶν κτηνῶν ὅ ἐστιν ὑμῖν τοῦτο φαγεῖν, ὁ ἁπτόμενος τῶν θνησιμαίων αὐτῶν ἀκάθαρτος ἔσται ἕως ἑσπέρας· |
39 And if any beast, of which ye may eat, die; he that toucheth the carcase thereof shall be unclean until the even. |
39 And if one of the beasts which is for y’all’s food dies, the one who comes into contact with its carcass will be unclean until the evening: |
39 וְכִי יָמוּת מִן-הַבְּהֵמָה אֲשֶׁר-הִיא[hh] לָכֶם לְאָכְלָה הַנֹּגֵעַ בְּנִבְלָתָהּ יִטְמָא עַד-הָעָרֶב: |
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40 καὶ ὁ ἐσθίων
ἀπὸ τῶν θνησιμαίων τούτων
πλυνεῖ τὰ
ἱμάτια καὶ
ἀκάθαρτος ἔσται
ἕως ἑσπέρας·
καὶ ὁ αἴρων [ἀπὸ]
θνησιμί |
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. |
40 so the one who eats from its carcass should wash his clothes, and he will be unclean until the evening, and the one who picks up its carcass should wash his clothes, and he will be unclean until evening. |
40 וְהָאֹכֵל מִנִּבְלָתָהּ יְכַבֵּס בְּגָדָיו וְטָמֵא עַד-הָעָרֶב וְהַנֹּשֵׂא אֶת-נִבְלָתָהּ יְכַבֵּס בְּגָדָיו וְטָמֵא עַד-הָעָרֶב: |
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41 Καὶ πᾶν ἑρπετόν, ὃ ἕρπει ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, βδέλυγμα τοῦτο ἔσται ὑμῖν, οὐ βρωθήσεται. |
41 And every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth shall be an abomination; it shall not be eaten. |
41 Now, any creepy-crawly which crawls upon the earth is a contamination; don’t you eat it! |
41 וְכָל-הַשֶּׁרֶץ הַשֹּׁרֵץ עַל-הָאָרֶץ שֶׁקֶץ הוּא לֹא יֵאָכֵל: |
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42 [καὶ] πᾶς ὁ πορευόμενος ἐπὶ κοιλίας καὶ πᾶς ὁ πορευόμενος ἐπὶ τέσσαρα διὰ παντός, ὃ πολυπληθεῖ ποσὶν ἐν πᾶσιν τοῖς ἑρπετοῖς τοῖς ἕρπουσιν ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, οὐ φάγεσθε αὐτό, ὅτι βδέλυγμα ὑμῖν ἐστιν. |
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. |
42 Everything that goes about on its belly and everything that goes about on legs, from everything with many feet to every creepy-crawly that crawls upon the earth; don’t y’all eat them, for they are a contaminant. |
42 כֹּל הוֹלֵךְ עַל-גָּחוֹן[ii] וְכֹל הוֹלֵךְ עַל-אַרְבַּע עַד כָּל-מַרְבֵּה רַגְלַיִם לְכָל-הַשֶּׁרֶץ הַשֹּׁרֵץ עַל-הָאָרֶץ לֹא תֹאכְלוּם כִּי-שֶׁקֶץ הֵם: |
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LXX |
KJV |
NAW |
MT |
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43 [καὶ] οὐ μὴ βδελύξητε τὰς ψυχὰς ὑμῶν ἐν πᾶσι τοῖς ἑρπετοῖς τοῖς ἕρπουσιν ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς καὶ οὐ μιανθήσεσθε ἐν τούτοις καὶ οὐκ ἀκάθαρτοι ἔσεσθε ἐν αὐτοῖς |
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. |
43 Do not contaminate your selves with any of the creepy-crawlies that crawl, and don’t y’all become unclean by means of them or even be made unclean by them[jj], |
43 אַל-תְּשַׁקְּצוּ אֶת-נַפְשֹׁתֵיכֶם בְּכָל-הַשֶּׁרֶץ הַשֹּׁרֵץ וְלֹא תִטַּמְּאוּ בָּהֶם וְנִטְמֵתֶם בָּם: |
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44 ὅτι ἐγώ εἰμι κύριος ὁ θεὸς ὑμῶν, καὶ ἁγιασθήσεσθε καὶ ἅγιοι ἔσεσθε, ὅτι ἅγιός εἰμι ἐγὼ [κύριος ὁ θεὸς ὑμῶν], καὶ οὐ μιανεῖτε τὰς ψυχὰς ὑμῶν ἐν πᾶσιν τοῖς ἑρπετοῖς τοῖς κινουμένοις ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς· |
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. |
44 because[kk] I am Yahweh, y’all’s God. So consecrate yourselves, and you will become holy ones, because I am holy. So don’t let yourselves become unclean by means of any creepy-crawly that creeps upon the earth, |
44 כִּי אֲנִי יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם וְהִתְקַדִּשְׁתֶּם וִהְיִיתֶם קְדֹשִׁים כִּי קָדוֹשׁ אָנִי וְלֹא תְטַמְּאוּ אֶת-נַפְשֹׁתֵיכֶם בְּכָל-הַשֶּׁרֶץ הָרֹמֵשׂ עַל-הָאָרֶץ: |
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45 ὅτι ἐγώ εἰμι κύριος ὁ ἀναγαγὼν ὑμᾶς ἐκ γῆς Αἰγύπτου εἶναι ὑμῶν θεός, καὶ ἔσεσθε ἅγιοι, ὅτι ἅγιός εἰμι ἐγὼ [κύριος]. |
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. |
45 because I am Yahweh, the one who effected your escape from the land of Egypt, to be God to y’all. So y’all must be holy ones because I am holy. |
45 כִּי אֲנִי יְהוָה[ll] הַמַּעֲלֶה אֶתְכֶם מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם לִהְיֹת לָכֶם לֵאלֹהִים וִהְיִיתֶם קְדֹשִׁים כִּי קָדוֹשׁ אָנִי: |
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46 Οὗτος ὁ νόμος περὶ τῶν κτηνῶν καὶ τῶν πετεινῶν καὶ πάσης ψυχῆς τῆς κινουμένης ἐν τῷ ὕδατι καὶ πάσης ψυχῆς ἑρπούσης ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς |
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: |
46 This is the instruction concerning the beasts and the birds and every live animal creeping through the waters and for every animal that crawls upon the earth, |
46 זֹאת תּוֹרַת הַבְּהֵמָה וְהָעוֹף וְכֹל נֶפֶשׁ הַחַיָּה הָרֹמֶשֶׂת בַּמָּיִם וּלְכָל-נֶפֶשׁ הַשֹּׁרֶצֶת עַל-הָאָרֶץ: |
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47 διαστεῖλαι ἀνὰ μέσον τῶν ἀκαθάρτων καὶ ἀνὰ μέσον τῶν καθαρῶν καὶ ἀνὰ μέσον τῶν ζωογονούντων τὰ ἐσθιόμενα καὶ ἀνὰ μέσον τῶν ζωογονούντων τὰ μὴ ἐσθιόμενα. |
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. |
47 for distinguishing[mm] between the unclean and the pure and between the living thing that may be eaten and the living thing which may not be eaten. |
47 לְהַבְדִּיל בֵּין הַטָּמֵא וּבֵין הַטָּהֹר וּבֵין הַחַיָּה הַנֶּאֱכֶלֶת וּבֵין הַחַיָּה אֲשֶׁר לֹא תֵאָכֵל: פ |
[1] Les Sacrifices de porce en Palestine et dans l’Ancient Orient, pp.250ff. This citation was actually found by Wenham.
[2] cf. Matthew Henry: “[M]ost of the creatures which by this law were to be abominated as unclean were such as were had in high veneration among the heathen, not so much for food as for divination and sacrifice to their gods; and therefore those are here mentioned as unclean, and an abomination... that they might keep up a religious loathing of that for which the Gentiles had a superstitious value. The swine, with the later Gentiles, was sacred to Venus, the owl to Minerva, the eagle to Jupiter, the dog to Hecate, etc., and all these are here made unclean.”
[3] From Ante-Nicene Fathers: “Moses, having ... learned from God what was peculiar to them, and to the demons which are kindred to each of the animals... pronounced all those which are supposed by the Egyptians and the rest of mankind to possess the power of divination to be unclean... Each species of demon, consequently, would seem to possess a certain affinity with a certain species of animal.”
[4]
“For you must not fall into the degrading idea that it was out of regard to
mice and weasels and other such things that Moses drew up his laws with such
exceeding care. All these ordinances were made for the sake of righteousness to
aid the quest for virtue and the perfecting of character. For all the birds
that we use are tame and distinguished by their cleanliness, feeding on various
kinds of grain... But the birds which are forbidden you will find to be wild
and carnivorous... cruelly obtaining food by preying on the tame birds... so by
naming them unclean, he gave a sign by means of them that those, for whom the
legislation was ordained, must practice righteousness in their hearts and not
tyrannize over any one... Wherefore all the rules which he has laid down with
regard to what is permitted in the case of these birds and other animals, he
has enacted with the object of teaching us a moral lesson. For the division of
the hoof and the separation of the claws are intended to teach us that we must
discriminate between our individual actions with a view to the practice of
virtue... [A]ll animals " which are cloven-footed and chew the cud "
represent to the initiated the symbol of memory... wherefore he exhorts us in
the Scripture also in these words: 'Thou shalt surely remember the Lord that
wrought in thee those great and wonderful things"... In the case of the
wild animals, too, the same principle may be discovered. For the character of
the weasel and of mice and such animals as these... is destructive. Mice defile
and damage everything, not only for their own food but even to the extent of
rendering absolutely useless to man whatever it falls in their way to damage...
And so concerning meats and things unclean, creeping things, and wild beasts,
the whole system aims at righteousness and righteous relationships between man
and man.” ~ The
Letter Of Aristeas, R.H. Charles-Editor, Oxford: The Clarendon
Press, 1913
cf. K&D “[A]nimals that are enumerated as unclean and not suitable for food...
watch for the life of other animals and kill them... live on... all kinds of
impurities, and... flies about in the dark... they called to mind the old
serpent, partly because they crawled in the dust, seeking their food in mire
and filth... all such animals as exhibited more or less the darker type of sin,
death, and corruption; and it was on this ethical ground alone, and not for all
kinds of sanitary reasons, or even from political motives, that the nation of Israel, which was called to sanctification, was forbidden to eat them.”
[5] I am indebted to Gordon Wenham’s commentary on this point, and he, in turn, appears to be indebted to M. Douglas’ writings on the subject.
[6] So Matthew Henry: “It should seem there had been, before this, some difference between the Hebrews and other nations in their food, kept up by tradition; for the Egyptians and they would not eat together, Gen. 43:32. And even before the flood there was a distinction of beasts into clean and not clean (Gen. 7:2)... But by this law it is reduced to a certainty, and ordered to be kept up among the Jews, that thus, by having a diet peculiar to themselves, they might be kept from familiar conversation with their idolatrous neighbours, and might typify God's spiritual Israel...”
[7] “And we must learn, by daily renewing our repentance every night for the sins of the day, to cleanse ourselves from the pollution we contract by them, that we may not lie down in our uncleanness.... We ought as industriously to preserve our precious souls from the pollutions of sin, and as speedily to cleanse them when they are polluted, as they were to preserve and cleanse their bodies and household goods from those ceremonial pollutions.” ~Matthew Henry
[a] This last phrase “to them” is not in the Septuagint (and thus not in the Vulgate or the English versions based on the Vulgate), but it’s in the Cairo Geniza, albeit with a shorter preposition (lamed) which is a synonym to the preposition in the MT.
[b] This word is omitted in the Cairo Geniza, but that manuscript seems to have been edited down a bit for brevity, so I do not depend on it as the original source. It also omits a good bit of v.5 and all of v.6, and the first word in v.21, and a good bit of vs. 42-43.
[c] Several Hebrew manuscripts plus the Samaritan Pentateuch and the Septuagint and Syriac versions add the word שְתֵּ׳ “two,” which is also the reading of Deut 14:6.
[d] Deut. 14:7
[e] Notice how much the passage talks about carcasses or dead bodies of animals. Death is a common denominator in what is to be avoided to walk in holiness. Death is the result of sin. Since God does not sin, death is foreign to God. For the same reason, animals that eat dead animals are symbolically unholy – those that walk on paws like dogs and cats, or the many raptors – whether predatory or carrion-feeding, and even the aquatic animals without fins and scales (like clams, crawdads, snails, and catfish) that eat dead, decaying animal and plant matter off the bottom of the waterways. God’s people are to be associated with life, not with death.
[f] The Samaritan Pentateuch as well as some Hebrew manuscripts, and the Septuagint start this verse (and verses 12, 15, 20, 26, 42, and 43) with an “and” (and do not include the “and” at the beginning of v.23. This doesn’t really make a difference in the meaning, though.
[g] This word shachatz, translated “abomination/detestable/abhorrent/contaminant” is a key word. But why would God put animals into the world that He didn’t want His people to interact with them? In addition to the overall health of the environment created by scavengers cleaning up decaying matter, I am reminded of NT passages which teach that God made some things He didn’t want to keep simply to destroy them and demonstrate His holiness and sovereignty. (cf. Romans 9:22-23, 2 Timothy 2:20)
[h] The Samaritan Pentateuch and the Septuagint add “in the waters” here for a three-part division of waters, seas, and streams, but the DSS editions (1Q3 Paleo-Leviticus and Masada Leviticusb) of this verse do not support this addition.
[i] There is a strong tradition of interpreting this animal to be the osprey (sea-eagle).
[j] In Daedalus 101, page 75, author M. Douglas points out that even animals were called to keep the law, including resting on the Sabbath and giving the firstborn to the LORD, thus the birds which commit something akin to murder and don’t drain the blood of their prey were set outside the covenant bounds.
[k] The Samaritan Pentateuch renders this actively “y’all shall not eat” instead of passively like the MT and LXX “they shall not be eaten,” which is effectively the same thing. There are no DSS intact enough to weigh in on this variant.
[l] There is a strong tradition of translating this bird as an ostrich, but it seems out of place to group with these other birds.
[m] The Samaritan Pentateuch places this word in the middle of the verse instead, but the DSS and LXX support the MT here.
[n] The Samaritan Pentateuch spells it dugifat (perhaps from the Hebrew word for “fishing,” but not listed as a word by Davidson or Holladay) instead of ducifat. It would not be surprising for animal names to have variations in spelling, especially a variation as small as whether the palatal consonant is voiced (g) or unvoiced (c). The DSS is obscured at this point so it can’t help.
[o] All the English versions and the Septuagint go with the Qere, לו, which is also the reading of the Cairo Geniza. The Samaritan Pentateuch sides with the MT, and the DSS are obscured at that point so are inconclusive.
[p] Some Hebrew manuscripts and the Samaritan Pentateuch make the pronoun masculine (בהֶם) to refer to the “feet” whereas the MT spells it feminine, referring to the “joints” – either one works and doesn’t really make a difference.
[q] Apparently some Hebrew manuscripts, including the Cairo Geniza substitute the sign of the direct object (את) for the mem prefix to this word. The mem prefix is generally interpreted “some from/of.” The Septuagint and Dead Sea Scrolls do not support this substitution however. The NIV follows the LXX in making the word “carcass” plural whereas it is singular in Hebrew.
[r] The Samaritan Pentateuch and DSS 2Q5 appear to support the addition of the phrase “and wash with water” but the more substantial Masada Leviticusb and the Septuagint support the Masoretic text.
[s] DSS 2Q5 inserts a yod here making it Hiphil, then, a few words later, puts the tav at the end of shesa’ instead of at the end of shosa’at, and furthermore appears to substitute aynennah with a synonym. However, these variants are not found in the Masada Leviticusb scroll, so I’m ignoring them.
[t] DSS 11Q1paleoLeviticusa and Cairo Gesenius render this word גחון (“belly”), a word found in v.42, but the LXX & SP support the MT (“paws”).
[u] Samaritan Pentateuch and LXX effectively substitute the direct object sign with the preposition “from,” which doesn’t really change the meaning. The DSS (Masada-Leviticusb) supports the MT.
[v] There is a tradition which translates this word as “weasel.” It’s hard to know for sure what a lot of these animals are because ancient literature doesn’t spend enough time talking about them to learn from context what animal is being referred to.
[w] There is a tradition which translates this word as “ferret.”
[x] This animal has also been translated as the “chameleon” or “crocodile.”
[y] Also translated “sand-lizard” or “snail”
[z] Also translated “mole”
[aa] SP and LXX render the preposition “from” but the Masada-Leviticusb DSS supports the MT’s preposition “in/with.” It doesn’t represent a change in meaning, though.
[bb] The SP renders this actively “it shall go,” but the LXX and DSS support the passive (Hophal) stem “it shall be made to go.”
[cc] In addition to the hygienic safeguard of not re-using containers made of porous material which could hide germs in them after being contaminated, I wonder if this was also intended to picture the human soul. In other places, clay pots are used to symbolize human beings. Once infected by sin, we are not capable of coming perfectly clean ever again. It is perfectly reasonable that the soul contaminated by sin be destroyed by God. For thousands of years, Jews shattered porcelain pots to picture the justice of God (incidentally leaving behind a rich ostracography for modern archaeologists to discover). This underscores all the more the wonderfulness of the mercy of God, as the Apostle Paul says in 2 Cor. 4:7, “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.” It is indeed the power of God that can take clay pots like us contaminated by our sin and make us into new creations which can actually hold the treasure of eternal life! That is good news!
[dd] Or “prepared with water” (K&D) or “soaked in water” (Wenham)
[ee] SP, LXX, Syriac, Targums, and Vulgate make this plural to match “ceramic-cooking-pots,” so the KJV makes it plural, but the DSS supports the singular that the MT has, so it is singular in the NASB & NIV. The singular matches the word for “tanoor-oven,” so I have interpreted the ceramim as a parenthesis with the tanoor being the main subject of the singular verb.
[ff] LXX & SP insert “of water” here, but the DSS support the MT here. It makes no difference in meaning because the context already indicates that these fountains have to do with water.
[gg] LXX inserts “any” and SP inserts “the” but the DSS supports the simpler reading of the MT. None of this makes for a substantial change in meaning.
[hh] The Cairo Geniza makes this pronoun feminine, relating what may be eaten to the feminine “beast/animal/cattle,” but the DSS, SP, and LXX agree with the MT in spelling it masculine, referring to “what died.” It ends up being a distinction without a difference.
[ii] The extra-big vav marks the middle letter of the Pentateuch. (K&D)
[jj] This would indicate care not to pursue actively touching or eating them, but also taking precautions not to be accidentally touched or contaminated by them passively. Jesus said it’s not what comes from outside that contaminates but the ideas that come out of your heart. What can you do to stop contaminating yourself with rebellion against God or by other people’s rebellion against God?
[kk] The underlying reason is finally given in v.44: Ci/For/Because... (The NIV was remiss in omitting this word!)
[ll] SP adds “your God” but not even the LXX substantiates this. There are no known DSS of this verse to compare with.
[mm] God gives us instruction that we may understand how to distinguish holiness from unholiness – the character of God from what is alien to the character of God. As we recognize these distinctions, we enter into the holiness of God! This discriminating mindset is applied frequently in First Corinthians: 6:5 “Is it so, that there is not among you one wise man who will be able to decide between his brethren,” 1:29 “For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not judge the body rightly... 31 But if we judged ourselves rightly, we would not be judged.” 14:29 “Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others pass judgment.” (NKJV)