The Significance of Clean and Unclean Foods in the Bible
Food is considered clean or unclean for eating. Food that is kosher is considered clean (fitting for eating).
God gave these food laws as a means of separating His people from the pagans. This obedience to these laws was a matter of Holiness.
- Leviticus 11:46-47
- This is the law of the beasts, and of the fowl, and of every living creature that moveth in the waters, and of every creature that creepeth upon the earth:
- To make a difference between the unclean and the clean, and between the beast that may be eaten and the beast that may not be eaten.
- Leviticus 10:9-10
- And that ye may put difference between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean;
- Deuteronomy 14:2-3
- For thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God, and the Lord hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto himself, above all the nations that are upon the earth.
- Thou shalt not eat any abominable thing.
- Deuteronomy 14:21
- Ye shall not eat of anything that dieth of itself: thou shalt give it unto the stranger that is in thy gates, that he may eat it; or thou mayest sell it unto an alien: for thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother’s milk.
Here is a summary of the Laws.
Of the “beasts of the earth” (which basically refers to land mammals with the exception of swarming rodents), you may eat any animal that has cloven hooves and chews its cud. Lev. 11:3; Deut. 14:6. Any land mammal that does not have both of these qualities is forbidden.
| Not Allowed | Allowed |
| Camel | Cattle |
| Rabbit/ Hare | Sheep |
| Pig | Goats |
| Dog | Deer |
| cat | Bison |
Of the things that are in the waters, you may eat anything that has fins and scales. Lev. 11:9; Deut. 14:9.
| Not Allowed | Allowed |
| lobsters | tuna |
| shrimp | carp |
| clams | salmon |
| crabs | herring |
For birds, the criteria are less clear. The Torah provides a list of forbidden birds (Lev. 11:13‑19; Deut. 14:11‑18) but does not specify why these particular birds are forbidden. All of the birds on the list are birds of prey or scavengers, thus the rabbis inferred that this was the basis for the distinction. Other birds are permitted, such as chicken, geese, ducks and turkeys. However, some people avoid turkey, because it is was unknown at the time of the giving of the Torah, leaving room for doubt.
Of the “winged swarming things” (winged insects), a few are specifically permitted (Lev. 11:22), but the Sages are no longer certain which ones they are, so all have been forbidden. There are communities that have a tradition about what species are permitted, and in those communities some insects are eaten.
Rodents, reptiles, amphibians, and insects (except as mentioned above) are all forbidden. Lev. 11:29‑30, 42‑43.
Any product derived from these forbidden animals, such as their milk, eggs, fat, or organs, also cannot be eaten. Rennet, an enzyme used to harden cheese, is often obtained from non‑kosher animals, thus kosher hard cheese can be difficult to find.
Today we are still called to be Holy.
- 1 Peter 1:15-16
- But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation;
- Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.
“Manner of conversation” is a phrase:
- STRONGS G391:ἀναστροφή, -ῆς, ἡ, (from the passive ἀναστρέφομαι, see the preceding word), properly, ‘walk,’ i. e. manner of life, behavior, conduct
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