Leviticus 11:33

33 If any of these creatures fall into a pottery jar, everything inside it will be unclean; you must smash the pot.

Leviticus 11:33 Meaning and Commentary

Leviticus 11:33

And every earthen vessel, whereinto [any] of them falleth,
&c.] Any of the above eight reptiles, should they by chance fall into the midst an earthen vessel:

whatsoever [is] in it shall be unclean;
if it only by falling touched the outside of it, it was not unclean; but if it fell into it, then whatever was contained in it was unclean; for, as Jarchi says, an earthen vessel does not pollute or receive pollution, but from the air of it ^F21, from its inside:

and ye shall break it;
other vessels might be put into water and rinsed, and so be cleansed, but earthen vessels, being of no great value, were to be broken in pieces: an emblem this, as Ainsworth suggests, of the dissolution of our bodies, which are as earthen vessels, and of the destruction of sin thereby, and of the entire removal of it by death.

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FOOTNOTES:

F21 Vid. Misn. Celaim, c. 2. sect. 1. & Maimon. & Bartenora in ib.

Leviticus 11:33 In-Context

31 Of all small moving creatures, these are unclean for you—anyone who touches them when they are dead will be unclean until evening.

32 Moreover, anything on which one of these creatures falls when it is dead will be unclean, whether it is wood, cloth, skin, or funeral clothing—any such item that can be used to do work. It must be put into water and will be unclean until evening. Then it will be clean again.

33 If any of these creatures fall into a pottery jar, everything inside it will be unclean; you must smash the pot.

34 If water from such a jar gets on any edible food, it will be unclean; any drinkable beverage in such a jar will be unclean.

35 Anything on which a part of these animals' dead bodies might fall will be unclean. If it is an oven or stove, it must be destroyed; they are unclean for you and must remain that way.