Leviticus 11.1-47

Clean and Unclean Foods / Unclean Animals

I worked in dining services for two years during my time at Ithaca. I don't think we ever served ostrich.

Dietary regulations help to distinguish between the holy and the not holy, which the author of Leviticus is very concerned with doing. We have already seen the death of Aaron's sons because of improper action directly in front of a holy God. Holy means separate, not necessarily divine, though a holy thing can be divine. Mixing the profane with the sacred brings guilt upon a person, so it is important to know the difference.

Clean and Unclean Foods: Leviticus 11.1-23

Land animals
Any edible land animal must have cleft hooves and chews cud. This pretty much limits the Israelites to goats, sheep, and cattle, which just happen to be the animals that are sacrificed.

Inedible land animals either do not have cleft hooves or chew cud. These specifically include: rock badger and hare (cud* but no hooves), pig (divided hooves but no cud).

*[hares and badgers are not ruminant animals, but must appear to be because of the motion they make while chewing.]

Seafood
Any sea or stream creature with fins and scales may be eaten.

In-flight meals
Abominations are specifically listed as: eagle, vulture, osprey, buzzard, kite, raven, ostrich, nighthawk, sea gull, hawk, little owl, cormorant, great owl, water hen, desert owl (or pelican), carrion vulture, stork, heron, hoopoe*, bat.

There is no list or specification for edible birds, so have at it!

*[Hoopoes, by the way, are birds with attitude. They're the ones with the greased-up feathers and leather jackets that shove other birds into lockers. These fowl specimens seem to get all the chicks.]

Insects
Of winged insects that walk on all fours, you may only eat those that have jointed legs and which can leap of the ground. So basically you can eat locusts, grasshoppers and crickets.

Unclean Animals: Leviticus 11.24-47

Land rovers
Touching the carcass of any of these will make you unclean, so that you must wash you clothes and remain unclean until evening. Animals include: animals with hooves but not cleft hooves or that do not chew cud, as well as anything that walks on its paws.

Swarming animals
Touching the carcass of any of these will make you unclean, so that you must wash you clothes and remain unclean until evening. Animals listed: weasel, mouse, great lizard, gecko, land crocodile, lizard, sand lizard, chameleon.

If the carcass of any of these touches wood or cloth or skin or sacking, the object should be dipped into water and will remain unclean until evening. If any fall into an earthen vessel, oven, or stove, the object should be broken into pieces. Any liquid or food in the vessel is deemed unclean. Water sources, however, such as springs and cisterns, will not become unclean through contact. If a carcass touches seed, it is still good. But a watered seed is no good if a carcass touches it.

Eating cattle that dies by natural causes
You may eat an animal that dies of natural causes, but anyone who touches the carcass is unclean until evening. Those who carry or eat it should wash their clothes and be unclean until evening.

Also, don't eat swarming animals


Follow these laws to stay holy like God.

Tomorrow: Blood!