LévitiqueChapitre 11

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Show the animal rulesFood laws in Leviticus

God gave Israel detailed rules about which animals they could eat. These rules set Israel apart from other nations and taught them to distinguish between clean and unclean in all areas of life.

Land Animals - Clean

Animals that both have a divided hoof AND chew the cud. Examples: cow, sheep, goat, deer, gazelle, roe deer.

v.2, 3

Land Animals - Unclean

Animals that lack one or both of these traits. Camel (chews the cud but does not have a divided hoof), pig (has a divided hoof but does not chew the cud), hare, rock badger.

v.4, 5, 6, 7, 8

Water Animals - Clean

Everything in the water that has fins AND scales may be eaten.

v.9

Water Animals - Unclean

All without fins and scales are detestable: shellfish, eel, squid, etc.

v.10, 11, 12

Birds - Unclean

Birds of prey and scavengers: eagle, vulture, sea eagle, kite, falcon, raven, ostrich, owl, gull, hawk, great horned owl, cormorant, ibis, bat.

v.13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19

Insects

Winged creeping things are unclean. Exception: Locusts with jumping legs (locust, solam, hargol, hagab) are clean.

v.20, 21, 22, 23

Creeping Things

All creeping things on the ground are unclean: mole, mouse, lizards, gecko, chameleon.

v.29, 30, 31

The LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying to them:

Say to the Israelites: These are the creatures you may eat among all the animals on the earth.

Any animal that has a divided hoof, split in two, and that chews the cud—that you may eat.

But these you shall not eat among those that chew the cud or have divided hooves: the camel, because it chews the cud but does not have a divided hoof; it is unclean for you.

The rock badger, because it chews the cud but does not have a divided hoof; it is unclean for you.

The hare, because it chews the cud but does not have a divided hoof; it is unclean for you.

And the pig, because it has a divided hoof, split in two, but does not chew the cud; it is unclean for you.

You shall not eat their meat, and you shall not touch their carcasses; they are unclean for you.

Of all that lives in the water you may eat these: whatever has fins and scales, in the seas or in the streams—those you may eat.

But everything in the seas or streams that does not have fins and scales, among all the swarming creatures of the water and all the living creatures in the water—they are detestable to you.

They shall remain detestable to you. You shall not eat their meat, and you shall detest their carcasses.

Anything in the water that does not have fins and scales is detestable to you.

These are the birds you shall detest; they must not be eaten, for they are detestable: the eagle, the vulture, the black vulture,

the kite, and every kind of falcon,

every kind of raven,

the ostrich, the nighthawk, the gull, and every kind of hawk,

the little owl, the cormorant, the great owl,

the white owl, the desert owl, the osprey,

the stork, every kind of heron, the hoopoe, and the bat.

Every winged insect that walks on all fours is detestable to you.

Yet you may eat these among the winged insects that walk on all fours: those that have jointed legs above their feet for leaping on the ground.

Of these you may eat: every kind of locust, every kind of bald locust, every kind of cricket, and every kind of grasshopper.

But every other winged insect that has four feet is detestable to you.

By these you will make yourselves unclean: whoever touches their carcasses will be unclean until evening,

and whoever carries any part of their carcasses must wash his clothes, and he will be unclean until evening.

Every animal that has a hoof but does not have it fully split, and does not chew the cud, is unclean for you; whoever touches them becomes unclean.

Among the animals that walk on all fours, every one that walks on its paws is unclean for you; whoever touches their carcasses will be unclean until evening,

and whoever carries their carcasses must wash his clothes, and he will be unclean until evening. They are unclean for you.

Among the creatures that swarm on the ground, these are unclean for you: the mole rat, the mouse, every kind of large lizard,

the gecko, the monitor lizard, the wall lizard, the skink, and the chameleon.

These are unclean for you among all the swarming creatures. Whoever touches them when they are dead will be unclean until evening.

Anything one of them falls on when it is dead becomes unclean—any article of wood, clothing, leather, or sackcloth, any utensil used for work. It must be put in water, and it will be unclean until evening; then it will be clean.

If one of them falls into a clay pot, everything in it becomes unclean, and you must break the pot.

Any food that may be eaten becomes unclean if such water has come on it, and any liquid that may be drunk becomes unclean in any such vessel.

Anything that one of their carcasses falls on becomes unclean; an oven or a cooking stove must be broken up. They are unclean, and they shall be unclean for you.

A spring or cistern holding water remains clean, but whoever touches one of these carcasses becomes unclean.

If one of their carcasses falls on any seed intended for sowing, the seed remains clean.

But if water has been put on the seed and one of their carcasses falls on it, it is unclean for you.

If an animal you are allowed to eat dies, whoever touches its carcass will be unclean until evening.

Whoever eats from its carcass must wash his clothes, and he will be unclean until evening; and whoever carries its carcass must wash his clothes, and he will be unclean until evening.

Every creature that swarms on the ground is detestable; it must not be eaten.

You shall not eat anything that moves on its belly, or that walks on all fours, or that has many feet—any creature that swarms on the ground—for they are detestable.

Do not make yourselves detestable with any creature that swarms. Do not make yourselves unclean by them, so that you become defiled through them.

For I am the LORD your God. Consecrate yourselves and be holy, for I am holy. Do not defile yourselves with any swarming creature that crawls on the ground.

For I am the LORD, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt to be your God. Be holy, for I am holy.

This is the law concerning animals and birds, every living creature that moves through the water, and every creature that swarms on the ground,

to distinguish between the unclean and the clean, between the living creature that may be eaten and the living creature that may not be eaten.

Historical and Cultural Context for Leviticus 11

Events and Customs

Leviticus 11 contains detailed food regulations that form the basis of later kosher laws (Hebrew: כָּשְׁרוּת, kashrut). The chapter establishes criteria for clean and unclean animals: land animals had to have split hooves and chew the cud, water creatures had to have fins and scales, and specific birds and insects were forbidden or permitted. These food laws were unique in their systematic nature, although the concept of clean and unclean animals existed in other ancient cultures. In Egypt, the pig was associated with the god Set and avoided by priests, while Mesopotamian cultures had their own dietary taboos linked to temple rituals. The difference was that Israelite purity regulations applied to the entire people, not just a priestly class, and were grounded theologically in the call to holiness (verses 44-45).

The parallel with Egypt is explicitly mentioned in verse 45, where God identifies Himself as "the one who brought you up out of Egypt" (הַמַּעֲלֶה אֶתְכֶם מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם, hama'aleh etkhem me'erets mitsrayim). This connects the food laws to Israelite identity: by eating differently from the peoples around them, the Israelites were to daily remember their election and commitment to holiness.

Key Terms

The terms טָמֵא (tame, "unclean") and טָהוֹר (tahor, "clean") are central to this chapter. These concepts primarily concern ritual status, not hygiene or morality. An unclean animal was not sinful but inaccessible for consumption or contact without subsequent cleansing. Uncleanness typically lasted "until evening" (עַד־הָעָרֶב, ad ha-'arev) and required washing of clothes.

The word שֶׁקֶץ (shekets, "abomination") is used for water creatures without fins and scales, as well as certain birds and creeping things. This stronger expression indicates a higher degree of prohibition than mere uncleanness.

The phrase מַעֲלֵה גֵרָה (ma'aleh gerah, "chews the cud") describes ruminant animals. The Hebrew description of the rock badger (שָׁפָן, shafan) and the hare (אַרְנֶבֶת, arnevet) as those that "bring up the cud" (verses 5-6) reflects observation-based classification: these animals have a chewing motion resembling ruminating, even though they are not biologically true ruminants.

Chapter-Specific Findings

Archaeological excavations of Israelite settlements from the Iron Age (ca. 1200-586 B.C.) show a striking absence of pig bones compared to Philistine and Canaanite sites. At Philistine locations such as Ekron and Ashkelon, pig bones make up to 20% of animal remains, while Israelite highland settlements show less than 1%. This confirms that the prohibition against pork was a practiced ethnic marker distinguishing Israelites from neighboring peoples. The finding is particularly significant because it shows that the food laws were not merely theoretical but actually followed in daily life already in early Israelite history.

LévitiqueChapitre 11

Land Animals - Clean

Land Animals - Unclean

Water Animals - Clean

Water Animals - Unclean

Birds - Unclean

Insects

Creeping Things

Chapitre 11

Contexte historique

Historical and Cultural Context for Leviticus 11

Events and Customs

Key Terms

Chapter-Specific Findings

Land Animals - Clean

Land Animals - Unclean

Water Animals - Clean

Water Animals - Unclean

Birds - Unclean

Insects

Creeping Things

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