Leviticus 11:26

26 And whichever among the beasts divides the hoof and makes claws, and does not chew the cud, shall be unclean to you; every one that touches their dead bodies shall be unclean till evening.

Leviticus 11:26 Meaning and Commentary

Leviticus 11:26

[The carcasses] of every beast which divideth the hoof,
and is not cloven footed
As the camel:

nor cheweth the cud;
though it may divide the hoof, as the swine; and on the other hand, such as may chew the cud, and yet not dividing the hoof, as the coney and hare; for the Scripture here, as Aben Ezra observes again, uses a short and concise way of speaking: these

[are] unclean unto you;
to be reckoned by them such, and neither to be eaten nor touched:

everyone that toucheth them shall be unclean;
until the evening; and obliged to washing, though not expressed: this is not to be understood of touching them while alive, as some Sadducees or Karaites understand it, according to Aben Ezra; for camels, horses, mules might be, and were rode upon, and so touched; but of them when dead, or their carcases, as is rightly supplied in the beginning of the verse; and the Jewish writers F3 understand this of the flesh of the carcass only, not of the bones, horns, and hoofs, which, they say, do not defile, only the flesh: this is repeated from ( Leviticus 11:8 ) .


FOOTNOTES:

F3 Misn. Edaiot, c. 6. sect. 3. & Maimon. & Bartenora in ib.

Leviticus 11:26 In-Context

24 And by these ye shall be defiled; every one that touches their carcases shall be unclean till the evening.
25 And every one that takes of their dead bodies shall wash his garments, and shall be unclean till the evening.
26 And whichever among the beasts divides the hoof and makes claws, and does not chew the cud, shall be unclean to you; every one that touches their dead bodies shall be unclean till evening.
27 And every one among all the wild beasts that moves upon its fore feet, which goes on all four, is unclean to you; every one that touches their dead bodies shall be unclean till evening.
28 And he that takes of their dead bodies shall wash his garments, and shall be unclean till evening: these are unclean to you.

The Brenton translation of the Septuagint is in the public domain.