Leviticus 11:23

23 Forsooth whatever thing of birds (that) hath four feet only, it shall be abominable to you; (But all other creatures with wings that hath four feet, they shall be abominable to you;)

Leviticus 11:23 Meaning and Commentary

Leviticus 11:23

But all [other] flying creeping things
Excepting the four sorts before mentioned, wherefore we rightly supply the word "other":

which have four feet;
or more; the Vulgate Latin version adds, "only", but wrongly; for those that have more are unclean, and forbidden to be eaten, excepting those in the preceding verse; and most creeping things that fly have six feet, as the locusts themselves, reckoning their leaping legs into the number; though it may be observed, that those creatures that have six feet have but four equal ones, on which they walk or creep; and the two foremost, which are longer, are as hands to them to wipe their eyes with, and protect them from anything that may fall into them and hurt them; they not being able to see clearly because of the hardness of their eyes, as Aristotle

---

FOOTNOTES:

F1 observes, and particularly it may be remarked of the fly, as it is by Lucian ^F2, that though it has six feet it only goes on four, using the other two foremost as hands; and therefore you may see it walking on four feet, with something eatable in its hands, lifting them up on high, just after the manner of men: now all such creatures that have four feet or more, excepting the above,

[shall be] an abomination unto you;
abhorred as food, and abstained from.

F1 Ut supra. (Hist. Animal. l. 9. c. 6.)
F2 De Musca.

Leviticus 11:23 In-Context

21 soothly whatever thing goeth on four feet, but hath longer hips behind, by which it skippeth on the earth (by which it leapeth upon the ground), ye shall eat;

22 as is a bruchus, that is, the fruit of locusts before it hath wings, in his kind, and (an) accatus, that is, the fruit of locusts when it beginneth to have wings, and (an) ophimachus, [that is, a foul enemy to serpents,] and a locust, all by their kind.

23 Forsooth whatever thing of birds (that) hath four feet only, it shall be abominable to you; (But all other creatures with wings that hath four feet, they shall be abominable to you;)

24 and whoever toucheth their bodies dead by themselves, shall be polluted, or defouled, and shall be unclean till to eventide; (and whoever toucheth their dead bodies, shall be polluted, or defiled, and shall be unclean until the evening;)

25 and if it is need, that he bear any dead thing of these, he shall wash his clothes, and he shall be unclean till to the going down of the sun.