Leviticus 11 Study Notes

11:13-19 These birds may have been outlawed because they are scavengers.

11:24-25 Defilement occurred by touching carcasses or by transporting them. When transporting them, the clothing of the person was defiled by contact and required laundering. All corpses conveyed uncleanness through touch (22:4; Nm 5:2). For consecrated persons, just being in the presence of a dead body resulted in defilement (Lv 21:11; Nm 6:6; Hg 2:13). The duration of uncleanness stretched until sunset, which concluded a day (Dt 22:26; Jos 8:29).

11:27 Four-footed animals that walked on paws (lit “palms”), such as dogs and cats, were considered unclean.

11:29-38 Carcasses of creatures that swarm on the ground (such as insects) conveyed defilement through direct contact or indirectly to persons who handled inanimate things which had already come into contact with the dead creatures. Since a clay pot absorbed the liquid polluted by a carcass, it must be thrown away; food or drink touched secondarily by the contaminated water in the pot was unclean. Two exceptions pertained to water: the water of a reservoir from which a carcass was retrieved remained clean, probably because of the ritual significance of water for purification; and seed already germinated by water was unclean.

11:39-40 Animals that had been killed by wild animals or that had died by natural means—that is, not slaughtered for food—could be eaten, but they still conveyed uncleanness (17:15; they were prohibited for a priest, 22:8). The cleansing rite demanded more of the person who had longer contact with a carcass. This involved the laundering of clothes for those who ate or transported the animal.

11:41-43 See vv. 29-30.

11:44-45 Since the Lord had made the Israelites uniquely his by delivering them from the land of Egypt, they must be holy as he is holy (Ex 19:2). It was necessary that the people maintain their ritual cleanness in everyday activities as well as in sanctuary worship. The food offered to the Lord in worship involved the partaking of portions by the priests and the people. For God to continue his presence among the people, they must practice the same measure of holiness in their homes. Since it was inevitable that the people became unclean, they must consecrate themselves by undergoing these cleansing procedures.

11:46-47 The purpose was to distinguish (Hb badal) what could be lawfully consumed; the same root term occurs in 10:10 and means “set apart” in 20:24. The ultimate rationale was theological. Since the Lord is holy, the people had to express holiness by their behavior (19:2; 20:7,26).