Leviticus 11:8

8 Ye shall not eat the flesh of these beasts, neither ye shall touch their dead bodies, for those be unclean to you.

Leviticus 11:8 Meaning and Commentary

Leviticus 11:8

Of their flesh shall ye not eat
Meaning, not of swine only, but of the camel, coney, and hare:

and their carcass shall ye not touch;
which must not be understood of touching them in any sense; for then it would have been unlawful for a Jew to have rode upon a camel, or to take out and make use of hog's lard in medicine; but of touching them in order to kill them, and prepare them for food, and eat them; and indeed all unnecessary touching of them is forbidden, lest it should bring them to the eating of them; though perhaps it may chiefly respect the touching of them dead:

they [are] unclean to you:
one and all of them; for as this was said of each of them in particular, so now of all of them together; and which holds good of all wild creatures not named, to whom the description above belongs, and which used to be eaten by other nations; some of which were called Pamphagi, from eating all sorts, and others Agriophagi, from eating wild creatures, as lions, panthers, elephants {l}


FOOTNOTES:

F12 Plin. l. 6. c. 30. Solinus, c. 43.

Leviticus 11:8 In-Context

6 and an hare, for also he cheweth (the) cud, but parteth not the claw (but its foot is not divided);
7 and a swine, that cheweth not the cud, though he parteth the claw (though its hoof is divided).
8 Ye shall not eat the flesh of these beasts, neither ye shall touch their dead bodies, for those be unclean to you.
9 Also these things be that be engendered in waters, and [it] is leaveful to eat; ye shall eat all things that have fins and scales, as well in the sea, as in [the] fresh floods, and standing waters; (And these things that be begotten in waters, it is lawful for ye to eat; ye shall eat all the things that have fins and scales, that be in the sea, as well as those that be in fresh water rivers, and lakes, and ponds;)
10 soothly whatever thing of them that be moved and live in waters (but whichever of them that move and live in water), (but) hath not fins and scales, shall be abominable, and loathsome to you;
Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.