Chapter Eleven

1–32. The distinction between clean and unclean animals. 33–47. Cases of defilement by them of a person

Leviticus 11:1. And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying to them Leviticus 11:2. Say to the sons of Israel: Here are the animals which you may eat from all the beasts on the earth Before Israel, the elect people of Jehovah, began to live a new theocratic life according to the Sinai law, it had to be protected from various forms of uncleanness (Lev 15:31), such as: 1) from eating unclean animals (Lev 11); 2) from uncleanness connected with human sexual life (Lev 12 and 15); 3) from the uncleanness of leprosy (Lev 13-14). Laws on all these subjects are given to Moses together with Aaron (Lev 11:1, Lev 15:11), because the priests themselves were obligated to teach the sons of Israel all of them, especially in distinguishing the sacred from the profane, the clean from the unclean (Lev 10:10-11). As for the reason or basis for recognizing a particular group of animals as unclean, here first of all – as with other types of ritual uncleanness in ancient Hebrew – instinctive, organic human aversion or disgust toward certain breeds of animals and birds comes into force, namely toward carnivorous breeds and those feeding on carrion; that is why the division of animals into clean and unclean not only appears in biblical antiquity long before the Sinai law – in the history of Noah (Gen 7:2), but also existed among other ancient peoples – Egyptians, Arabs, Persians, Indians, of course with their own peculiar modifications in particular details. Then, physical uncleanness naturally served as an image of moral uncleanness; Jehovah, the holy God of Israel, requiring holiness from his people, forbids them the eating and even contact with unclean food and generally with ritually unclean things (cf. Lev 11:34-35; Exod 22:30; Deut 14:21; Num 5:3; Deut 23:15). Such ordinances were to set apart God’s people from among other nations, cultivating in it special vigilance and remembrance of the will of Jehovah and cautious circumspection regarding possible defilements. Indeed, according to Tacitus, the laws of the Jews on clean and unclean food erected a great barrier between Jews (“separati epulis, discreti cubilibus”, Hist. V, c. 5) and other ancient peoples. In modern times, following the example of H. Spencer and others, in biblical notions of “clean” and “unclean” some recognize (Nowack, Benzinger, Baentsch and others) a later differentiation of the ancient primitive notion of “taboo” (still preserved among Australian Aboriginals and other savages), which denoted simultaneously both the holy and the unclean, but later, with the development of religious consciousness in Israel, all clean and holy came to be attributed to the worship of Jehovah, while all unclean – to the worship of demons and totems. This theory has some plausibility, but taken as a whole it cannot be accepted, as it introduces into the development of the Old Testament Kingdom of God the law of pure natural evolution. The particular motives for forbidding certain animals are more implied than directly stated

Leviticus 11:3. any animal that has divided hoofs and chews the cud – you may eat Leviticus 11:4. Nevertheless these you shall not eat of those that chew the cud or have divided hoofs: the camel, because it chews the cud but does not have divided hoofs, is unclean for you Leviticus 11:5. and the rock badger, because it chews the cud but does not have divided hoofs, is unclean for you Leviticus 11:6. and the hare, because it chews the cud but does not have divided hoofs, is unclean for you Leviticus 11:7. and the swine, because it has divided hoofs and a deep split hoof, but does not chew the cud, is unclean for you Leviticus 11:8. Of their meat you shall not eat, and you shall not touch their carcasses; they are unclean for you Clean and unclean four-footed mammals. For them two criteria of cleanliness and fitness for food are indicated (Leviticus 11 and following): 1) complete cloven-footedness – the presence on the animal’s hoofs of a “deep split” (Deut 14:6) and 2) the cud-chewing of the animal. In the parallel section of Deuteronomy in Leviticus Deut 14:4-5, 10 breeds of animals are named that meet both requirements and therefore are clean and eaten, but of course many other breeds of four-footed mammals that fit the indicated criteria were also eaten. The regurgitation of cud is the property of herbivores only, hence carnivorous animals were excluded by this criterion; the cloven-hoof criterion limited the circle of herbivores themselves. The absence of either of these two criteria made the animal unclean. The first criterion is lacking, for example, in the camel – it has a split on its hoofs, but it is not deep, and its hoof presents a pad-like cushion; also – in the rock badger or mountain mouse (Hebrew schaphan, Greek χοιρογρύλλἰ᾿ος cf. Ps 103:18; Prov 30:26) and the hare (Lev 11:4-6; Deut 14:7); the second criterion was absent, for example, in the swine, considered by the Hebrews as the most unclean and polluting animal (according to the rabbis, nine-tenths of all uncleanness in the world comes from the swine, see Buxtorf’s Lexicon under the word chazir), both because of its filthiness (they also regarded it as the source of leprosy) and because of its use in pagan sacrifices (the name “eater of swine” was a synonym for an idolater, Ps 65:4, cf. 2 Macc 6:18, 7 and following). Not eating swine by the Hebrews, both in ancient times and in modern times, has been considered one of the characteristic features of this nation (Juvenal in his 14th satire mocked the Jews for this). The moral or allegorical sense of the rule concerning the distinction of four-footed animals, according to the blessed Theodoret (question 11), is this: “a cloven hoof signifies the distinction of good deeds and those opposed to them, moreover life not only in the present age but in the future, and the giving to the one age only what is necessary, and to the other all things, that is, soul and body, and what pertains to the body. And cud-chewing signifies instruction in divine words”

Leviticus 11:9. Of all the animals that are in the water, you may eat those that have fins and scales in the water, in the seas or in the rivers Leviticus 11:10. but all those that do not have fins and scales in the seas or in the rivers, of all the swarming creatures in the water and of all the living creatures that are in the water, are detestable to you Leviticus 11:11. They shall be detestable to you; you must not eat their meat, and you must detest their carcasses Leviticus 11:12. all animals that do not have fins and scales in the water are detestable to you The law concerning fish, which also in the history of creation is named (Gen 1:21) before birds. The criteria for clean or permitted fish are stated with complete definiteness – these fish must have: 1) swimming fins and 2) scales (according to the Mishnah, Hullin, 3:7, the presence of only the latter criterion was sufficient, as the first criterion necessarily presupposes the second). On the basis of this law, Jews even now do not eat, for example, sturgeon (as do the Shiite Persians)

Leviticus 11:13. Among the birds, these are the ones you must detest [you must not eat them; they are detestable]: the eagle, the vulture, and the osprey Leviticus 11:14. the kite and the falcon of every kind Leviticus 11:15. every kind of raven Leviticus 11:16. the ostrich, the owl, the seagull, and the hawk of every kind Leviticus 11:17. the little owl, the cormorant, the ibis Leviticus 11:18. the swan, the pelican, the vulture Leviticus 11:19. the heron, the hoopoe, and the hoopoe of every kind, and the bat By the name birds, haoph, are meant all creatures capable of flying, including bats and winged insects. The law counts 19 (according to Lev 11:13-19) or 20 (according to Deut 14:13-20) kinds of unclean flying creatures, with repeated additions of: of every kind, that is, with all the varieties of a given breed. The Bible does not indicate general characteristics of the uncleanness of these birds: the Talmudic zoology already attempts to do this. In the Mishna (Hullin 3:6) the following rules are given: “any bird that is a predator is unclean,” “any bird that separates its feet is unclean,” “if when perching on a cord it separates two toes forward and two back, it is unclean”; “a bird that lives among unclean birds and resembles unclean ones is unclean”; a clean bird has a prominent crop, an extra toe that comes off easily, a gallbladder that is easily removed. Most of the birds named in the biblical text are those that eat meat, carrion, worms, insects, or items repulsive to humans. The blessed Theodoret says: “from birds Moses calls unclean the predatory ones, feeding on dead bodies and loving darkness, teaching us thereby to refrain from avarice, to deny ourselves repulsive food of sin, and to hate darkness.” The identification of Hebrew names with existing breeds in many cases is difficult, especially since the translation of the LXX (especially in Lev 11:15-18) instead of clarification introduces even greater confusion here (cf., however, Vlastov, Svyashch. letopis. 2:154–157). The bat, Hebrew atalleph, – a flying mouse by its form was classified with birds

Leviticus 11:20. All swarming creatures that have wings and go on four feet are detestable to you Leviticus 11:21. But among the swarming creatures that have wings and go on all fours you may eat those that have above their feet joints for jumping on the ground Leviticus 11:22. You may eat these: the locust of every kind, the cricket of every kind, the grasshopper of every kind, and the katydid of every kind Leviticus 11:23. All other swarming creatures that have wings and four feet are detestable to you Small four-footed and many-footed living creatures, creeping on the ground, and insects having wings for flying, are all considered unclean, with the exception of 4 kinds of locusts, “which have joints above their feet” (Lev 11:21; Vulgate: per quae salit super terram – something like a grasshopper)

Leviticus 11:24. By these you shall become unclean: whoever touches the carcass of any of them shall be unclean until the evening Leviticus 11:25. and whoever picks up any of their carcasses must wash his clothes and shall be unclean until the evening If touching a living animal, even an unclean one, does not make one unclean, then the carcass of a dead animal unconditionally defiles the one who touched it, and this uncleanness, lasting until evening, is removed by washing

Leviticus 11:26. Every animal that has divided hoofs but does not have a deep split, and does not chew the cud, is unclean for you: anyone who touches any of them shall be unclean [until the evening] Leviticus 11:27. Among all the four-footed animals, those that walk on their paws are unclean for you: anyone who touches the carcass of any of them shall be unclean until the evening Leviticus 11:28. whoever picks up their carcass must wash his clothes and shall be unclean until the evening; they are unclean for you The ordinance concerning unclean four-footed animals (“walking on their paws,” i.e., on their feet) supplements what was given in Lev 11:3-7, with the addition of a remark about the uncleanness of their carcasses

Leviticus 11:29. These are unclean for you among the creatures that creep on the ground: the mole, the mouse, the lizard of every kind Leviticus 11:30. the gecko, the monitor lizard, the wall lizard, the skink, and the chameleon Leviticus 11:31. These are unclean for you among all the creeping creatures; anyone who touches any of them when they are dead shall be unclean until the evening Leviticus 11:32. And anything on which any of them falls when they are dead shall be unclean; whether it is any wooden vessel or garment or skin or sack, any vessel that is used for work, it must be put into water, and it shall be unclean until the evening, and then it shall be clean Leviticus 11:31 and Lev 11:41-43 complete the indication of Lev 11:20-23 the forbidden creeping creatures, such as: all snakes, mollusks, worms, snails, toads, moles, frogs, and the like

Leviticus 11:31. These are unclean for you among all the creeping creatures; anyone who touches any of them when they are dead shall be unclean until the evening Leviticus 11:32. And anything on which any of them falls when they are dead shall be unclean; whether it is any wooden vessel or garment or skin or sack, any vessel that is used for work, it must be put into water, and it shall be unclean until the evening, and then it shall be clean Leviticus 11:33. and if any of them falls into a clay vessel, everything that is in it shall be unclean, and you shall break the vessel Leviticus 11:34. Any food that could be eaten shall be unclean if it comes into contact with water from any such vessel, and any liquid that could be drunk shall be unclean if it is in any such vessel Leviticus 11:35. Everything on which any part of the carcass of any of them falls shall be unclean; an oven or stove must be broken down, for they are unclean and shall remain unclean for you Leviticus 11:36. Nevertheless a spring or a well, a collection of water, remains clean; but whoever touches the carcass in it is unclean Leviticus 11:37. And if any part of the carcass of any of them falls on any seed for sowing, it is clean Leviticus 11:38. but if water has been put on the seed and any part of the carcass of any of them falls on it, it is unclean for you Leviticus 11:39. And if any animal which you are allowed to eat dies, whoever touches its carcass shall be unclean until the evening Leviticus 11:40. and he who eats of its carcass shall wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening; and he who carries the carcass of it must wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening Determination of the presence of uncleanness or defilement in various cases of contact of the person himself, his clothes, food, and other items of his use with unclean animals or their carcasses (cf. the blessed Theodor. questions 12 and 13 on Leviticus)

Leviticus 11:41. All creatures that creep on the ground are detestable; you must not eat them Leviticus 11:42. Whether they crawl on their belly or go on all fours or have many feet, all creeping creatures that swarm on the ground, you shall not eat; for they are detestable Leviticus 11:43. You shall not make yourselves unclean by any creature that creeps on the ground; and do not make yourselves unclean through them so as to become unclean Leviticus 11:31 and Lev 11:20-23 supplement the indication of forbidden creeping creatures, such as: all snakes, mollusks, worms, snails, toads, moles, frogs, and the like

Leviticus 11:44. For I am the Lord your God; consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am [the Lord, your God] holy; and do not make yourselves unclean by any creature that creeps on the ground Leviticus 11:45. For I am the Lord, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God. You shall be holy, for I am holy Leviticus 11:46. This is the law concerning beasts and birds and every living creature that moves in the waters and every creature that creeps on the ground Leviticus 11:47. to distinguish between the unclean and the clean, and between the animals that may be eaten and the animals that may not be eaten In the concluding remarks on the laws concerning clean and unclean animals, attention is drawn to the separation of Israel by Jehovah from among other peoples and to the special holiness and purity required of it. According to the blessed Theodoret (question 11 on Leviticus), “by dividing animals into clean and unclean, Moses, in addition to this, persuades us not to recognize any of them as a god. For who of the sensible will call a god either what he detests and loathes with disgust, or what is sacrificed and eaten by the very one who makes the sacrifice”