“ ‘By these you will become unclean: whoever touches their carcass shall be unclean until the evening. Whoever carries any part of their carcass shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the evening.
“ ‘Every animal which has a split hoof that isn’t completely divided, or doesn’t chew the cud, is unclean to you. Everyone who touches them shall be unclean. Whatever goes on its paws, among all animals that go on all fours, they are unclean to you. Whoever touches their carcass shall be unclean until the evening. He who carries their carcass shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the evening. They are unclean to you.
“ ‘These are they which are unclean to you among the creeping things that creep on the earth: the weasel, the rat, any kind of great lizard, the gecko, and the monitor lizard, the wall lizard, the skink, and the chameleon. These are they which are unclean to you among all that creep. Whoever touches them when they are dead shall be unclean until the evening. Anything they fall on when they are dead shall be unclean; whether it is any vessel of wood, or clothing, or skin, or sack, whatever vessel it is, with which any work is done, it must be put into water, and it shall be unclean until the evening. Then it will be clean. Every earthen vessel into which any of them falls and all that is in it shall be unclean. You shall break it. All food which may be eaten which is soaked in water shall be unclean. All drink that may be drunk in every such vessel shall be unclean. Everything whereupon part of their carcass falls shall be unclean; whether oven, or range for pots, it shall be broken in pieces. They are unclean, and shall be unclean to you. Nevertheless a spring or a cistern in which water is gathered shall be clean, but that which touches their carcass shall be unclean. If part of their carcass falls on any sowing seed which is to be sown, it is clean. But if water is put on the seed, and part of their carcass falls on it, it is unclean to you.
“ ‘If any animal of which you may eat dies, he who touches its carcass shall be unclean until the evening. He who eats of its carcass shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the evening. He also who carries its carcass shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the evening.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv25, 26, 29, 32, 36, 38 Out of the camp.
Out of the camp.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv24–40 Lev 11:24 And for these ye shall be unclean:…
Lev 11:24 And for these ye shall be unclean: whosoever toucheth the carcase of them shall be unclean until the even.
Ver. 24. Whosoever toucheth the carcass.] This and the like signified that all, even the least sins, are to be purged through Christ, and carefully cast away.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv24, 25, 26, 27, 34, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40 And such were excluded both from the courts of…
And such were excluded both from the courts of God’s house, and from free conversation with other men.
Until the even; which possibly might signify that even the smallest defilements could not be cleansed but by the death of Christ, who was to come and offer up himself in the evening, or end, or declining age of the world, as the prophets signify, and the apostle expresseth, Heb 9:26.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv24–40 And for these ye shalt be unclean,.... That is,…
And for these ye shalt be unclean,.... That is, for eating them; or should they eat them they would be unclean:
whosoever toucheth the carcass of them shall be unclean until the even; not only he was unclean that ate them, but he that even touched their dead bodies was reckoned unclean; might not go into the tabernacle, nor have conversation with men, nor eat of the holy things, which were forbid men in any uncleanness; and though there is no mention of his washing himself, it may be understood, this being a short or concise way of speaking, as Aben Ezra observes; who adds, that it was necessary that he should wash himself in water; which was typical of washing and cleansing by the grace and blood of Christ, without which a man cannot be cleansed from the least sin, and pollution by it; and may signify that during the legal dispensation there was no proper cleansing from sin, until the evening of the world, when Christ came and shed his blood for the cleansing of it.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv24, 25, 27, 34, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40 Unclean - And such were excluded both from the…
Unclean - And such were excluded both from the court of God's house, and from free conversation with other men.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv27, 29, 30, 32, 33, 35, 36, 37 Verse 27. Whatsoever goeth upon his paws] כפיו cappaiv,…
Verse 27. Whatsoever goeth upon his paws] כפיו cappaiv, his palms or hands, probably referring to those animals whose feet resemble the hands and feet of the human being, such as apes, monkeys, and all creatures of that genus; together with bears, frogs, &c.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv26, 27, 30, 34, 36, 38, 39 Lev 11:26. The carcasses of every beast, &c., are…
Lev 11:26. The carcasses of every beast, &c., are unclean — They were prohibited from touching their dead bodies, but not their bodies when alive: for they used camels, horses, asses, &c., for necessary service, Lev 11:31.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv24, 29, 33, 35 Unclean - If the due purification was omitted at…
Unclean - If the due purification was omitted at the time, through negligence or forgetfulness, a sin-offering was required. See Lev 5:2.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv24, 25, 26, 27, 29, 30, 33, 34, 36, 38, 39, 40 Evening. If he were guilty of sin in so…
Evening. If he were guilty of sin in so doing, contrition would be necessary to regain God’s favour. (Worthington) --- But the legal uncleanness would not be removed till the evening; as the one might subsist while the other was remitted. (Haydock)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv26, 29, 30, 31 every beast . . . not cloven-footed--The prohibited animals…
every beast . . . not cloven-footed--The prohibited animals under this description include not only the beasts which have a single hoof, as horses and asses, but those also which divided the foot into paws, as lions, tigers, &c.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv24, 26, 29, 30, 32, 33, 36, 37, 39 24. Unclean until the even — The slighter degrees…
24. Unclean until the even — The slighter degrees of uncleanness were merely “until even,” and were removed by bathing and washing the clothes at the end of it; meanwhile the person was excluded from certain religious privileges. See Lev_5:2, note.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv24, 27, 29, 30, 31, 32, 34, 35, 36, 37, 39, 40 24–28. Uncleanness caused by Dead Bodies
24–28. Uncleanness caused by Dead Bodies
(See introductory note on Lev_11:20-23.)
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Lev_11:24-25 are a general introduction. ‘And by these’ (Lev_11:24) refers to what follows, not to the ‘winged creeping things’ of Lev_11:23.
(a) touching or bearing the carcase of (α) beasts specified in Lev_11:26-27 or (β) swarming things specified in Lev_11:29-30 caused uncleanness till the even; if they were carried, the clothes must also be washed.
(b) further cases of defilement were caused by a carcase, (α) a vessel (Lev_11:32-33), (β) food (Lev_11:34), (γ) ovens, etc. (Lev_11:35), (δ) water in a pit (Lev_11:36), (ε) seed (Lev_11:37-38).
Carrying part of the carcase involves uncleanness of a higher degree than that caused by mere contact. Note the difference in the regulations of Lev_11:24-25; Lev_11:27-28.
In Lev_11:26-27 the beasts are specified by their characteristics; in Lev_11:29-30 by their names.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv24–40 (24) And for these ye shall be unclean.—Rather, and…
(24) And for these ye shall be unclean.—Rather, and by these ye shall be defiled, that is, the beasts and animals specified in Lev_11:26-27.
Shall be unclean until the even.—For coming in contact with the dead body of the animals contracts defilement for the rest of the day, and till the beginning of a new day, which took place after sunset (comp. Lev_23:32). During these hours of legal uncleanness he was not allowed to enter the sanctuary, touch any sacred thing, or have intercourse with those who were legally clean, since contact with one who has contracted legal defilement imparted defilement to both persons and things.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv24, 26, 29, 31, 39 Vers. 24-28. These verses contain an expansion of the…
Vers. 24-28. These verses contain an expansion of the warning contained in verse 8, to the effect that the touch of the dead bodies of the forbidden animals was defiling, as well as the consumption of their flesh. A further mark of an unclean animal is added in verse 27. Whatsoever goeth upon his paws; that is, whatever has not hoofs, but goes stealthily, like beasts of prey of the eat kind. It includes also dogs.
Vers. 24-28, 39, 40. The significance of death.
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"Whosoever toucheth the carcass shall be unclean." What is the meaning of these minute and stringent regulations touching the dead bodies of animals, both clean (verses 39, 40) and unclean (verses 24-28)? The answer to this question is in the fourfold consideration
I HOW MUCH GOD MAKES OF DEATH. Death is the key-note of very much of sacred Scripture. "Thou shalt die" is a constantly recurring refrain. "And he died" is a continually repeated statement. It was the death of the slain victim at the altar that made expiation for the sinner. It is the death upon the cross which constitutes the sacrifice for the world"s sin. The death of the soul is the awful punishment of guilt hereafter as it is on earth. It was the death of these animals that made their caresses unclean. In the Old Testament and New, God makes much of death.
II THE SIGNIFICANCE OF DEATH. Death is odious and intolerable in God"s sight: it must be made to seem so in man"s; for:
1. It is the consequence of sin in man.
2. It is the picture of sin in man.
3. It is a reminder of the painful and hateful presence of sin in man.
III THE AVOIDABLENESS OF SIN. The fact that the dead carcass could be and must be avoided, and that contraction of ceremonial defilement could be prevented, indicated to the Jew and now intimates to us that sin may be and must be shunned. Two things were and are necessary:
1. Carefulness: scrupulous regard to the known laws (verses 32, 34, 38).
2. Self-sacrifice: things made unclean must be broken up, disused, cast away, at whatever cost (verses 33, 35).
IV THE REMOVAL OF THE STAIN OF SIN. "It must be put into water; ... so it shall be cleansed" (verse 32). "There is a fountain filled with blood," etc. C.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On v29 Of the Smaller Animals. General Precepts.
Of the Smaller Animals. General Precepts.
v. 29. These also shall be unclean unto you among the creeping things that creep upon the earth: the weasel, which often entered houses and defiled foods, and the mouse, that is, the field-mouse, and the tortoise after his kind, the great lizard of the Orient,
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v. 30. and the ferret, or rather a lizard with a sharp cry, and the chameleon, a salamander-like lizard living in old walls, and the lizard, and the snail, either the true lizard or one similar to the blind-worm of Europe, and the mole, the word here used seeming to point definitely to the chameleon. Note that the equivalent of the Hebrew names can be given only approximately in the English language, since we have no means of knowing to which of the species now occurring in the Orient the various words apply, or whether perhaps certain species are not extinct.
v. 31. These are unclean to you among all that creep; whosoever doth touch them when they be dead shall be unclean until the even. The ordinance concerning them was so strict, not because these animals in themselves were unusually filthy, but because there was greater likelihood of their coming in contact with clothes and with vessels in the houses.
v. 32. And upon whatsoever any of them, when they are dead, doth fall, it shall be unclean, for it might easily happen that one of them would fall out of a wall or from the open ceiling; whether it be any vessel of wood, or raiment, garments of every kind, or skin, used for churning, for holding wine and other liquids, and for a variety of purposes, or sack, whatsoever vessel it be, wherein any work is done, that is, put to any use in the household or shop, it must be put in to water, and it shall be unclean until the even; so it shall be cleansed.
v. 33. And every earthen vessel whereinto any of them falleth, whatsoever is in it shall be unclean; and ye shall break it, since the porous nature of it would cause it to absorb some of the filthiness.
v. 34. of all meat which may be eaten, that on which such water cometh, which has been in contact with the carcass of such a creature, shall be unclean; and all drink that may be drunk in every such vessel shall be unclean, it was defiled by the touch of the dead animal.
v. 35. And everything whereupon any part of their carcass falleth shall be unclean, whether it be oven, the larger bake-oven, or ranges for pots, small, portable ovens of earthenware, they shall be broken down; for they are unclean and shall be unclean unto you.
v. 36. Nevertheless a fountain or pit, wherein there is plenty of water, a spring or cistern with an abundance of fresh water or with the only water supply for an entire neighborhood, shall be clean; but that, or rather, he, which toucheth their carcass, in order to carry it away, shall be unclean.
v. 37. And if any part of their carcass fall upon any sowing seed which is to be sown, it shall be clean, the external filthiness on the dry grains being absorbed by the earth.
v. 38. But if any water be put upon the seed, and any part of their carcass fall thereon, it shall be unclean unto you, for in this case the uncleanness would be absorbed by the moisture in the kernels.
v. 39. And if any beast of which ye may eat, die, if an animal belonging to the category of clean animals die a natural death or be torn by wild beasts, he that toucheth the carcass thereof shall be unclean until the even.
v. 40. And he that eateth of the carcass of it shall wash his clothes and be unclean until the even; he also that beareth the carcass of it shall wash his clothes and be unclean until the even. In either case contact of the clothes with the dead animal was practically unavoidable.
v. 41. And every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth, all crawling and four-footed vermin, shall be an abomination; it shall not be eaten.
v. 42. Whatsoever goeth upon the belly, as serpents and worms, and whatsoever goeth upon all four, as mice, rats, weasels, moles, or whatsoever hath more feet among all creeping things that creep upon the earth, as centipedes, spiders, and other arthropods, them ye shall not eat; for they are an abomination.
v. 43. Ye shall not make yourselves abominable, literally, "ye shall not make your souls an abomination," with any creeping thing that creepeth, neither shall ye make yourselves unclean with them, that ye should be defiled thereby. The children of Israel, as the people of the Lord, must keep away from every form of defilement.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv24, 26, 29, 31, 34, 36, 39 General Information:
General Information:
Yahweh begins to tell Moses and Aaron which animals the people are to consider unclean.
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You will become unclean until evening by these animals if you touch a carcass of one of them
This can be translated in active form. AT: "The dead bodies of these animals will make you unclean if you touch any of them" (See: Active or Passive)
You will become unclean
A person who is unacceptable for God's purposes because he has touched one of these dead animals is spoken of as if the person were physically unclean. (See: Metaphor)
these animals
This refers to the animals he is about to list in the following verses.
translationWords
clean
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv24, 29, 32, 36, 37, 39 11:24-25 defiled until evening: Anyone who touched a carcass…
11:24-25 defiled until evening: Anyone who touched a carcass of an unclean animal would be unclean until evening, which marked the beginning of the next day in Israel.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.