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11 And Hashem spoke unto Moshe and to Aharon, saying unto them,

Speak unto the Bnei Yisroel, saying, These are the beasts which ye shall eat among all the beasts that are on ha’aretz.

Whatsoever spliteth the hoof, and separateth into double hooves, and cheweth the cud, among the behemah (animals), that shall ye eat.

Nevertheless these shall ye not eat of them that chew the cud, or of them that separateth the hoof; as the gamal (camel), because he cheweth the cud, but separateth not the hoof; he is tamei unto you.

And the hyrax, because he cheweth the cud, but separateth not the hoof; he is tamei unto you.

And the hare, because he cheweth the cud, but separateth not the hoof; he is temeiah (unclean) unto you.

And the chazir (swine), though he separate the hoof, and be separated into double hooves, yet he cheweth not the cud; he is tamei to you.

Of their basar shall ye not eat, and their nevelah shall ye not touch; they are temei’im (unclean ones) to you.

These shall ye eat of all that are in the mayim; whatsoever hath fins and scales in the mayim, in the seas, and in the rivers, them shall ye eat.

10 And all that have not fins and scales in the seas, and in the rivers, of all that swarm in the mayim, and of any nefesh hachayyah which is in the mayim, they shall be sheketz (abomination, detestable) unto you;

11 They shall be even sheketz unto you; ye shall not eat of their basar, but ye shall have their nevelah in sheketz.

12 Whatsoever hath no fins nor scales in the mayim, that shall be sheketz unto you.

13 And these are they which ye shall have in sheketz among the fowls; they shall not be eaten, they are sheketz: the nesher (eagle), and the vulture, and the whitetailed eagle,

14 And the da’ah (kite), and the black kite after its kind;

15 Every orev (raven) after its kind;

16 And the ostrich, and the screech owl, and the seagull, and the hawk after its kind,

17 And the little owl, and the cormorant, and the great owl,

18 And the white owl, and the pelican, and the osprey,

19 And the stork, the heron after its kind, and the hoopoe, and the bat.

20 All fowls that creep, going upon all fours, shall be sheketz unto you.

21 Yet these may ye eat of every winged insect that goeth upon all fours, which have jumping legs above their feet, to hop withal upon ha’aretz;

22 Even these of them ye may eat: the arbeh (locust) after its kind, and the katydid after its kind, and the cricket after its kind, and the grasshopper after its kind.

23 But all other winged insects, which have four feet, shall be sheketz unto you.

24 And for these ye shall be temei’im; whosoever toucheth the nevelah of them shall be tamei until erev.

25 And whosoever pick up any of the nevelah of them shall wash his clothes, and be tamei until erev.

26 Every beast which spliteth the hooves, and is not completely split, nor cheweth the cud, are temei’im unto you; every one that toucheth them shall be tamei.

27 And whatsoever goeth upon its paws, among all manner of beasts that go on all fours, those are temei’im unto you; whosoever toucheth their nevelah shall be tamei until erev.

28 And he that beareth the nevelah of them shall wash his clothes, and be tamei until erev; they are temei’im unto you.

29 These also shall be tamei unto you among the creeping things that creep upon ha’aretz: the weasel, and the rat, and the great lizard after its kind,

30 And the gecko, and the land crocodile, and the skink, and the lizard, and the chameleon.

31 These are temei’im to you among all that creep; whosoever doth touch them, when they be dead, shall be tamei until erev.

32 And whatsoever of them, when they are dead, doth fall on something, it shall be tamei; whether it be any vessel of wood, or cloth, or hide, or sackcloth, whatsoever vessel it be, wherein any melachah (work) is done, it must be put into mayim, and it shall be tamei until erev; then it shall be tahor (clean).

33 And every clay vessel, whereinto any of them falleth, whatsoever is in it shall be tamei; and ye shall break it.

34 Of all okhel which may be eaten, that on which such mayim cometh shall be tamei; and all mashkeh that may be drunk in every such vessel shall be tamei.

35 And everything whereupon any part of their nevelah falleth shall be tamei; whether it be oven, or stove, they shall be broken; for they are temei’im and shall be temei’im unto you.

36 Nevertheless a spring or cistern, wherein there is a mikveh mayim (collection of water) shall be tahor; but that which toucheth their nevelah shall be tamei.

37 And if any part of their nevelah fall upon any zera for sowing which is to be sown, it shall be tahor.

38 But if any mayim be put upon the zera, and any part of their nevelah fall thereon, it shall be tamei unto you.

39 And if any behemah, of which ye may eat, die, he that toucheth the nevelah thereof shall be tamei until erev.

40 And he that eateth of the nevelah of it shall wash his clothes, and be tamei until erev; he also that picketh up the nevelah of it shall wash his clothes, and be tamei until erev.

41 And every creeping thing that creepeth upon ha’aretz shall be sheketz; it shall not be eaten.

42 Whatsoever goeth upon the belly, and whatsoever goeth upon all fours, or whatsoever hath marbeh raglayim (many feet) among all creeping things that creep upon ha’aretz, them ye shall not eat; for they are sheketz.

43 Ye shall not make your nefashot sheketz with any creeping thing that creepeth, neither shall ye make yourselves tamei with them, that ye should be made tamei thereby.

44 For I am Hashem Eloheichem; ye shall therefore set yourselves apart as kodesh, and ye shall be kadoshim; for I am kadosh; neither shall ye make your nefashot tamei with any manner of creeping thing that creepeth upon ha’aretz.

45 For I am Hashem that bringeth you up out of Eretz Mitzrayim, to be for you as Elohim: ye shall therefore be kadoshim, for I am kadosh.

46 This is the torah concerning the beasts, and of the fowl, and of every living creature that moveth in the mayim, and of every creature that creepeth upon ha’aretz;

47 To make a divide [lehavdil; to make a distinction, separation] between the tamei and the tahor, and between the beast that may be and the beast that may not be eaten.

Clean and Unclean Food(A)

11 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Say to the Israelites: ‘Of all the animals that live on land, these are the ones you may eat:(B) You may eat any animal that has a divided hoof and that chews the cud.

“‘There are some that only chew the cud or only have a divided hoof, but you must not eat them.(C) The camel, though it chews the cud, does not have a divided hoof; it is ceremonially unclean for you. The hyrax, though it chews the cud, does not have a divided hoof; it is unclean for you. The rabbit, though it chews the cud, does not have a divided hoof; it is unclean for you. And the pig,(D) though it has a divided hoof, does not chew the cud; it is unclean for you. You must not eat their meat or touch their carcasses; they are unclean for you.(E)

“‘Of all the creatures living in the water of the seas and the streams you may eat any that have fins and scales. 10 But all creatures in the seas or streams that do not have fins and scales—whether among all the swarming things or among all the other living creatures in the water—you are to regard as unclean.(F) 11 And since you are to regard them as unclean, you must not eat their meat; you must regard their carcasses as unclean.(G) 12 Anything living in the water that does not have fins and scales is to be regarded as unclean by you.(H)

13 “‘These are the birds you are to regard as unclean and not eat because they are unclean: the eagle,[a] the vulture, the black vulture, 14 the red kite, any kind(I) of black kite, 15 any kind of raven,(J) 16 the horned owl, the screech owl, the gull, any kind of hawk, 17 the little owl, the cormorant, the great owl, 18 the white owl,(K) the desert owl, the osprey, 19 the stork,(L) any kind(M) of heron, the hoopoe and the bat.(N)

20 “‘All flying insects that walk on all fours are to be regarded as unclean by you.(O) 21 There are, however, some flying insects that walk on all fours that you may eat: those that have jointed legs for hopping on the ground. 22 Of these you may eat any kind of locust,(P) katydid, cricket or grasshopper. 23 But all other flying insects that have four legs you are to regard as unclean.

24 “‘You will make yourselves unclean by these;(Q) whoever touches their carcasses will be unclean till evening.(R) 25 Whoever picks up one of their carcasses must wash their clothes,(S) and they will be unclean till evening.(T)

26 “‘Every animal that does not have a divided hoof or that does not chew the cud is unclean for you; whoever touches the carcass of any of them will be unclean. 27 Of all the animals that walk on all fours, those that walk on their paws are unclean for you; whoever touches their carcasses will be unclean till evening. 28 Anyone who picks up their carcasses must wash their clothes, and they will be unclean till evening.(U) These animals are unclean for you.

29 “‘Of the animals that move along the ground, these are unclean for you:(V) the weasel, the rat,(W) any kind of great lizard, 30 the gecko, the monitor lizard, the wall lizard, the skink and the chameleon. 31 Of all those that move along the ground, these are unclean for you. Whoever touches them when they are dead will be unclean till evening. 32 When one of them dies and falls on something, that article, whatever its use, will be unclean, whether it is made of wood, cloth, hide or sackcloth.(X) Put it in water; it will be unclean till evening, and then it will be clean. 33 If one of them falls into a clay pot, everything in it will be unclean, and you must break the pot.(Y) 34 Any food you are allowed to eat that has come into contact with water from any such pot is unclean, and any liquid that is drunk from such a pot is unclean. 35 Anything that one of their carcasses falls on becomes unclean; an oven or cooking pot must be broken up. They are unclean, and you are to regard them as unclean. 36 A spring, however, or a cistern for collecting water remains clean, but anyone who touches one of these carcasses is unclean. 37 If a carcass falls on any seeds that are to be planted, they remain clean. 38 But if water has been put on the seed and a carcass falls on it, it is unclean for you.

39 “‘If an animal that you are allowed to eat dies,(Z) anyone who touches its carcass(AA) will be unclean till evening. 40 Anyone who eats some of its carcass(AB) must wash their clothes, and they will be unclean till evening.(AC) Anyone who picks up the carcass must wash their clothes, and they will be unclean till evening.

41 “‘Every creature that moves along the ground is to be regarded as unclean; it is not to be eaten. 42 You are not to eat any creature that moves along the ground, whether it moves on its belly or walks on all fours or on many feet; it is unclean. 43 Do not defile yourselves by any of these creatures.(AD) Do not make yourselves unclean by means of them or be made unclean by them. 44 I am the Lord your God;(AE) consecrate yourselves(AF) and be holy,(AG) because I am holy.(AH) Do not make yourselves unclean by any creature that moves along the ground.(AI) 45 I am the Lord, who brought you up out of Egypt(AJ) to be your God;(AK) therefore be holy, because I am holy.(AL)

46 “‘These are the regulations concerning animals, birds, every living thing that moves about in the water and every creature that moves along the ground. 47 You must distinguish between the unclean and the clean, between living creatures that may be eaten and those that may not be eaten.(AM)’”

Footnotes

  1. Leviticus 11:13 The precise identification of some of the birds, insects and animals in this chapter is uncertain.