2 Say to the children of Israel: These are the living things which you may have for food among all the beasts on the earth.
Because they are only rules of the flesh, of meats and drinks and washings, which have their place till the time comes when things will be put right.
Not that which goes into the mouth makes a man unclean, but that which comes out of the mouth.
And Daniel had come to the decision that he would not make himself unclean with the king's food or wine; so he made a request to the captain of the unsexed servants that he might not make himself unclean.
Do not be turned away by different strange teachings, because it is good for your hearts to be made strong by grace, and not by meats, which were of no profit to those who took so much trouble over them.
Because everything which God has made is good, and nothing is evil, if it is taken with praise: For it is made holy by the word of God and by prayer. If you keep these things before the minds of the brothers, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, trained in the words of the faith and of the right teaching which has been your guide:
I am conscious of this, and am certain in the Lord Jesus, that nothing is unclean in itself; but for the man in whose opinion it is unclean, for him it is unclean. And if because of food your brother is troubled, then you are no longer going on in the way of love. Do not let your food be destruction to him for whom Christ went into death.
One man has faith to take all things as food: another who is feeble in faith takes only green food. Let not him who takes food have a low opinion of him who does not: and let not him who does not take food be a judge of him who does; for he has God's approval.
There is nothing outside the man which, going into him, is able to make him unclean: but the things which come out of the man are those which make the man unclean. [] And when he had gone into the house away from all the people, his disciples put questions to him about the saying. And he said to them, Have even you so little wisdom? Do you not see that whatever goes into a man from outside is not able to make him unclean, Because it goes not into the heart but into the stomach, and goes out with the waste? He said this, making all food clean.
But, at the same time, of those beasts, you may not take for food the camel, because its food comes back but the horn of its foot is not parted in two; it is unclean to you.
Then I said, Ah, Lord! see, my soul has never been unclean, and I have never taken as my food anything which has come to a natural death or has been broken by beasts, from the time when I was young even till now; no disgusting flesh has ever come into my mouth.
No disgusting thing may be your food. These are the beasts which you may have for food: the ox, the sheep, and the goat; The hart, the gazelle, and the roe, the mountain goat and the pygarg and the antelope and the mountain sheep. Any beast which has a division in the horn of its foot and whose food comes back into its mouth to be crushed again, may be used for food. But even among these, there are some which may not be used for food: such as the camel, the hare, and the coney, which are unclean to you, because, though their food comes back, the horn of their feet is not parted in two. And the pig is unclean to you, because though it has a division in the horn of its foot, its food does not come back; their flesh may not be used for food or their dead bodies touched by you. And of the things living in the waters, you may take all those who have wings for swimming with and skins formed of thin plates. But any which have no skin-plates or wings for swimming, you may not take; they are unclean for you. All clean birds may be used for food. But these birds you may not take: the eagle and the gier-eagle and the ospray; The falcon and the kite, and birds of that sort; Every raven, and all birds of that sort; And the ostrich and the night-hawk and the sea-hawk and birds of that sort; The little owl and the great owl and the water-hen; And the pelican and the vulture and the cormorant; The stork and the heron and birds of that sort, and the hoopoe and the bat. Every winged thing which goes flat on the earth is unclean to you and may not be used as food. But all clean birds you may take. You may not have as food anything which has come to a natural death; the man from another country who is living with you may take it for food, or you may get a price for it from one of another nation; for you are a holy people to the Lord your God. The young goat is not to be cooked in its mother's milk.
Everything which goes flat on its body on the earth is disgusting, and is not to be used for food. Whatever goes on its stomach or on four feet or has a great number of feet, even all those going flat on the earth, may not be used for food, for they are disgusting. You are not to make yourselves disgusting with anything which goes about flat on the earth; you may not make yourselves unclean with them, in such a way that you are not holy to me. For I am the Lord your God: for this reason, make and keep yourselves holy, for I am holy; you are not to make yourselves unclean with any sort of thing which goes about flat on the earth.
Any food in it, and anything on which water from it comes, will be unclean: any drink taken from such a vessel will be unclean.
And these are unclean to you among things which go low down on the earth; the weasel and the mouse and the great lizard, and animals of that sort;
And among birds these are to be disgusting to you, and not to be used for food: the eagle and the gier-eagle and the ospray;
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Leviticus 11
Commentary on Leviticus 11 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 11
The ceremonial law is described by the apostle (Heb. 9:9, 10) to consist, not only "in gifts and sacrifices,' which hitherto have been treated of in this book, but "in meats, and drinks, and divers washings' from ceremonial uncleanness, the laws concerning which begin with this chapter, which puts a difference between some sorts of flesh-meat and others, allowing some to be eaten as clean and forbidding others as unclean. "There is one kind of flesh of men.' Nature startles at the thought of eating this, and none do it but such as have arrived at the highest degree of barbarity, and become but one remove from brutes; therefore there needed no law against it. But there is "another kind of flesh of beasts,' concerning which the law directs here (v. 1-8), "another of fishes' (v. 9-12), "another of birds' (v. 13-19), and "another of creeping things,' which are distinguished into two sorts, flying creeping things (v. 20-28) and creeping things upon the earth (v. 29-43). And the law concludes with the general rule of holiness, and reasons for it (v. 44, etc.).
Lev 11:1-8
Now that Aaron was consecrated a high priest over the house of God, God spoke to him with Moses, and appointed them both as joint-commissioners to deliver his will to the people. He spoke both to Moses and to Aaron about this matter; for it was particularly required of the priests that they should put a difference between clean and unclean, and teach the people to do so. After the flood, when God entered into covenant with Noah and his sons, he allowed them to eat flesh (Gen. 9:3), whereas before they were confined to the productions of the earth. But the liberty allowed to the sons of Noah is here limited to the sons of Israel. They might eat flesh, but not all kinds of flesh; some they must look upon as unclean and forbidden to them, others as clean and allowed them. The law in this matter is both very particular and very strict. But what reason can be given for this law? Why may not God's people have as free a use of all the creatures as other people?
Lev 11:9-19
Here is,
Lev 11:20-42
Here is the law,
Lev 11:43-47
Here is,