Leviticus - Chapter 11

¹ Yahweh spoke to Moses and Aaron and said to them,

² 'Speak to the Israelites and say: "Of all animals living on land these are the creatures you may eat:

³ "You may eat any animal that has a cloven hoof, divided into two parts, and that is a ruminant.

⁴ The following, which either chew the cud or have a cloven hoof, are the ones that you may not eat: you will regard the camel as unclean, because though it is ruminant, it does not have a cloven hoof;

⁵ you will regard the coney as unclean, because though it is ruminant, it does not have a cloven hoof;

⁶ you will regard the hare as unclean, because though it is ruminant, it does not have a cloven hoof;

⁷ you will regard the pig as unclean, because though it has a cloven hoof, divided into two parts, it is not a ruminant.

⁸ You will not eat the meat of these or touch their dead bodies; you will regard them as unclean.

⁹ "Of all that lives in water, these you may eat: "Anything that has fins and scales, and lives in the water, whether in sea or river, you may eat.

¹⁰ But anything in sea or river that does not have fins and scales, of all the small water-creatures and all the living things found there, you will regard as detestable.

¹¹ You will regard them as detestable; you must not eat their meat and you will regard their carcases as detestable.

¹² Anything that lives in water, but not having fins and scales, you will regard as detestable.

¹³ "Of the birds these are the ones that you will regard as detestable; they may not be eaten, they are detestable for eating: "The tawny vulture, the griffon, the osprey,

¹⁴ the kite, the various kinds of buzzard,

¹⁵ all kinds of raven,

¹⁶ the ostrich, the screech owl, the seagull, the various kinds of hawk,

¹⁷ horned owl, night owl, cormorant, barn owl,

¹⁸ ibis, pelican, white vulture,

¹⁹ stork, the various kinds of heron, the hoopoe and the bat.

²⁰ "All winged insects moving on four feet you will regard as detestable for eating.

²¹ Of all these winged insects you may eat only the following: those with the sort of legs above their feet which enable them to leap over the ground.

²² These are the ones you may eat: the various kinds of migratory locust, the various kinds of solham locust, hargol locust and hagab locust.

²³ But all other winged insects on four feet you will regard as detestable for eating.

²⁴ "By the following you will be made unclean. Anyone who touches the carcase of one will be unclean until evening.

²⁵ Anyone who picks up their carcases must wash his clothing and will be unclean until evening.

²⁶ Animals that have hoofs, but not cloven, and that are not ruminant, you will regard as unclean; anyone who touches them will be unclean.

²⁷ Those four-footed animals which walk on the flat of their paws you will regard as unclean; anyone who touches their carcases will be unclean until evening,

²⁸ and anyone who picks up their carcases must wash his clothing and will be unclean until evening. You will regard them as unclean.

²⁹ "Of the small creatures which crawl along the ground, these are the ones which you will regard as unclean: the mole, the rat, the various kinds of lizard:

³⁰ gecko, koah, letaah, chameleon and tinshamet.

³¹ "Of all the small creatures, these are the animals which you must regard as disgusting. Anyone who touches them when they are dead will be unclean until evening.

³² "Any object on which one of these creatures falls when it is dead becomes unclean: wooden utensil, clothing, skin, sacking, any utensil whatever. It must be immersed in water and will remain unclean until evening: then it will be clean.

³³ If the creature falls into an earthenware vessel, the vessel must be broken; whatever the vessel contains is unclean.

³⁴ Any edible food will be unclean if the water touches it; any drinkable liquid will be unclean, no matter what its container.

³⁵ Anything on which the carcase of such a creature may fall will be unclean: be it oven or stove, it must be destroyed; for they are unclean and you will regard them as unclean

³⁶ (although springs, wells and stretches of water will remain clean); anyone who touches one of their carcases will be unclean.

³⁷ If one of their carcases falls on any kind of seed, the seed will remain clean;

³⁸ but if the seed has been moistened and one of their carcases falls on it, you will regard it as unclean.

³⁹ "If one of the animals that you use as food dies, anyone who touches the carcase will be unclean until evening;

⁴⁰ anyone who eats any of the carcase must wash his clothing and will remain unclean until evening; anyone who picks up the carcase must wash his clothing and will remain unclean until evening.

⁴¹ "Any creature that swarms on the ground is detestable for eating; it must not be eaten.

⁴² Anything that moves on its belly, anything that moves on four legs or more -- in short all the creatures that swarm on the ground -- you will not eat, since they are detestable.

⁴³ Do not make yourselves detestable with all these swarming creatures; do not defile yourselves with them, do not be defiled by them.

⁴⁴ For it is I, Yahweh, who am your God. You have been sanctified and have become holy because I am holy: do not defile yourselves with all these creatures that swarm on the ground.

⁴⁵ Yes, it is I, Yahweh, who brought you out of Egypt to be your God: you must therefore be holy because I am holy." '

⁴⁶ Such is the law concerning animals, birds, all living creatures that move in water and all creatures that swarm on the ground.

⁴⁷ Its purpose is to distinguish the clean from the unclean, the creatures that may be eaten from those that may not be eaten.

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