Leviticus 11:10-23

10 But anything in the seas or the rivers that has not fins and scales, of the swarming creatures in the waters and of the living creatures that are in the waters, is ¹detestable to you.

11 You shall regard them as detestable; you shall not eat any of their flesh, and you shall detest their carcasses.

12 Everything in the waters that has not fins and scales is detestable to you.

13 "And these you shall detest among the birds;^[a] they shall not be eaten; they are ²detestable: ³the eagle,^[b] the bearded vulture, the black vulture,

14 the kite, ⁴the falcon of any kind,

15 every raven of any kind,

16 the ostrich, the nighthawk, the sea gull, the ⁵hawk of any kind,

17 the ⁶little owl, the cormorant, the ⁷short-eared owl,

18 the barn owl, the ⁸tawny owl, the carrion vulture,

19 the stork, the heron of any kind, the hoopoe, and ⁹the bat.

20 "All winged insects that go on all fours are detestable to you.

21 Yet among the winged insects that go on all fours you may eat those that have jointed legs above their feet, with which to hop on the ground.

22 Of them you may eat: ¹⁰the locust of any kind, the bald locust of any kind, the cricket of any kind, and the grasshopper of any kind.

23 But all other winged insects that have four feet are detestable to you.

Leviticus 11:10-23 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO LEVITICUS 11

This chapter treats of creatures clean and unclean, as fit or not fit to be eaten; and first of beasts, whose signs are given, Le 11:1-8 then of fishes, which are likewise described, Le 11:9-12 after that of fowls, and those that are not to be eaten are particularly named, Le 11:13-19 next of creeping things, which are distinguished into two sorts, as flying creeping things, of which those that are unclean, their carcasses are not even to be touched, as neither the carcasses of unclean beasts, Le 11:20-28 and creeping things on the earth, which defile by touching, as well as eating, and make everything unclean, upon which, being dead, they fall, Le 11:29-43 and these laws are enforced from the holiness and goodness of God, Le 11:44,45 and the chapter is concluded with a recapitulation of them, Le 11:46,47.

Cross References

• 1. Leviticus 7:21
• 2. [See ver. 10 above]
• 3. Job 39:26, 30
• 4. Job 28:7
• 5. Job 39:26
• 6. Psalms 102:6
• 7. Isaiah 34:11
• 8. Psalms 102:6; Isaiah 34:11; Zephaniah 2:14
• 9. Isaiah 2:20
• 10. Exodus 10:4; Joel 1:4; [Matthew 3:4; Mark 1:6]

Footnotes

• [a]. Or things that fly; compare Genesis 1:20
• [b]. The identity of many of these birds is uncertain