Read Leviticus 11 here or at Bible Gateway.
The Hebrew paragraphs:
11:1-28 {s} Unclean animals, sea life, birds, creeping things which may not be eaten
11:29-38 {s} Transferring uncleanness
11:39-47 {p} Uncleanness of creeping things, and conclusion
11:1-47 {s+s+p} Strong Theme: The law of clean and unclean animals
Most of the lexicons define clean and unclean in a Levitical or ceremonial sense; that it is an arbitrary designation assigned by God having to do with arcane Temple ceremonies now passed away. But if you dig deeper into the usage of these terms in Scripture, you find that they were used long before the tabernacle, Temple, or Levitical priesthood existed.
“Clean” means, not filthy, as a garment. When an article of clothing comes out of the wash, it is clean. After it is worn for a while, sweat, or food, or dirt gets mixed in with the cloth fibers, and it is no longer clean. It is now unclean.
“Clean” means, pure, as gold or silver. When gold or silver ore is first taken from the earth, it is not clean. It is not pure. There are other minerals and rock mixed in with the gold. When the gold goes through the fire, the impurities can be separated from the gold, and pure gold unmixed with other minerals, is left.
Someone or something that is clean can become unclean by pollution; as Shechem polluted Dinah (Gen 34:5, yes, this is the same word in Hebrew as “Levitical” uncleanness); as wickedness pollutes a land (Lev 18:28); as an adulteress pollutes herself (Num 5:13); or as God’s people pollute themselves by idolatry (Hos 5:3).
So now, if we take our understanding of clean and unclean as taught to us by its Scripture usage, and apply it to Lev chapter 11, the law of clean and unclean animals, we realize that unclean animals may not be eaten because eating them pollutes the body. This is the Teaching Tool of Common Theme. My first experience with not eating pork was that it was forbidden when eating a diet to detox the body. Pigs retain a greater amount of toxins than other livestock, not to mention the parasites and diseases that find a ready home in pigs. Aquatic life that does not have fins and scales, such as catfish or shellfish, are the garbage scows of the rivers or oceans. The birds that are unclean, are scavengers or predators. God, being smarter than we are, explained for us what animals if eaten would pollute the body, not ceremonially, but physically.
If there are questions, these are good resources:
Leviticus 10 and 11, Hebrew root word parables (clean and unclean)
Leviticus 11, The health benefits of eating clean
Clean and Unclean Food Index of Studies
The Dietary Laws – Wildbranch Ministry (Brad Scott)
Continued in part two, part three, part four, part five
Clean and Unclean Foods Product List
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