“ ‘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.
“ ‘Every creeping thing that creeps on the earth is an abomination. It shall not be eaten. Whatever goes on its belly, and whatever goes on all fours, or whatever has many feet, even all creeping things that creep on the earth, them you shall not eat; for they are an abomination. You shall not make yourselves abominable with any creeping thing that creeps. You shall not make yourselves unclean with them, that you should be defiled by them.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv29, 32, 36, 38 Or, crocodile.
Or, crocodile.
The green frog that sitteth on the bushes.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv29–43 Lev 11:29 These also [shall be] unclean unto you…
Lev 11:29 These also [shall be] unclean unto you among the creeping things that creep upon the earth; the weasel, and the mouse, and the tortoise after his kind,
Ver. 29. And the tortoise.] Which hath its name in Hebrew of a coach or wagon. The thick shell wherewith it is covered is said to be so hard, that a loaded wagon may go over it and not break it. And such is a hard heart, that cannot repent, or relent never so little.
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 vv34, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42 That on which such water cometh: the meaning is,…
That on which such water cometh: the meaning is, that flesh or herbs, or other food which is dressed in water, to wit, in a vessel so polluted, shall be unclean; not so, if it be food which is eaten dry, as bread, fruits, &c., the reason of which difference seems to be this, that the water did sooner receive the pollution in itself, and convey it to the food so dressed.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain On v43 Here is, I. The exposition of this law, or…
Here is, I. The exposition of this law, or a key to let us into the meaning of it. It was not intended merely for a bill of fare, or as the directions of a physician about their diet, but God would hereby teach them to sanctify themselves and to be holy, Lev 11:44. That is, 1. They must hereby learn to put a difference between good and evil, and to reckon that it could not be all alike what they did, when it was not all alike what they ate. 2. To maintain a constant observance of the divine law, and to govern themselves by that in all their actions, even those that are common, which ought to be performed after a godly sort, Jo3 1:6. Even eating and drinking must be by rule, and to the glory of God, Co1 10:31. 3. To distinguish themselves from all their neighbours, as a people set apart for God, and obliged not to walk as the Gentiles: and all this is holiness. Thus these rudiments of the world were their tutors and governors (Gal 4:2, Gal 4:3), to bring them to that which is the revival of our first state in Adam and the earnest of our best state with Christ, that is, holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord. This is indeed the great design of all the ordinances, that by them we may sanctify ourselves and learn to be holy. Even This law concerning their food, which seemed to stoop so very low, aimed thus high, for it was the statute-law of heaven, under the Old Testament as well as the New, that without holiness no man shall see the Lord. The caution therefore (Lev 11:43) is, You shall not make yourselves abominable. Note, By having fellowship with sin, which is abominable, we make ourselves abominable. That man is truly miserable who is in the sight of God abominable; and none are so but those that make themselves so. The Jewish writers themselves suggest that the intention of this law was to forbid them all communion by marriage, or otherwise, with the heathen, Deu 7:2, Deu 7:3. And thus the moral of it is obligatory on us, forbidding us to have fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness; and, without this real holiness of the heart and life, he that offereth an oblation is as if he offered swine's blood (Isa 66:3); and, if it was such a provocation for a man to eat swine's flesh himself, much more it must be so to offer swine's blood at God's altar; see Pro 15:8.
II. The reasons of this law; and they are all taken from the Law-maker himself, to whom we must have respect in all acts of obedience. 1. I am the Lord your God, Lev 11:44. "Therefore you are bound to do thus, in pure obedience." God's sovereignty over us, and propriety in us, oblige us to do whatever he commands us, how much soever it crosses our inclinations. 2. I am holy, Lev 11:44, and again, Lev 11:45. If God be holy, we must be so, else we cannot expect to be accepted of him. His holiness is his glory (Exo 15:11), and therefore it becomes his house for ever, Psa 93:5. This great precept, thus enforced, though it comes in here in the midst of abrogated laws, is quoted and stamped for a gospel precept, Pe1 1:16, where it is intimated that all these ceremonial restraints were designed to teach us that we must not fashion ourselves according to our former lusts in our ignorance, Lev 11:14. 3. I am the Lord that bringeth you out of the land of Egypt, Lev 11:45. This was a reason why they should cheerfully submit to distinguishing laws, having of late been so wonderfully dignified with distinguishing favours. He that had done more for them than for any other people might justly expect more from them.
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III. The conclusion of this statute: This is the law of the beasts, and of the fowl, etc., Lev 11:46, Lev 11:47. This law was to them a statute for ever, that is, as long as that economy lasted; but under the gospel we find it expressly repealed by a voice from heaven to Peter (Act 10:15), as it had before been virtually set aside by the death of Christ, with the other ordinances that perished in the using: Touch not, taste not, handle not, Col 2:21, Col 2:22. And now we are sure that meat commends us not to God (Co1 8:8), and that nothing is unclean of itself (Rom 14:14), nor does that defile a man which goes into his mouth, but that which comes out from the heart, Mat 15:11. Let us therefore, 1. Give thanks to God that we are not under this yoke, but that to us every creature of God is allowed as good, and nothing to be refused. 2. Stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free, and take heed of those doctrines which command to abstain from meats, and so would revive Moses again, Ti1 4:3, Ti1 4:4. 3. Be strictly and conscientiously temperate in the use of the good creatures God has allowed us. If God's law has given us liberty, let us lay restraints upon ourselves, and never feed ourselves without fear, lest our table be a snare. Set a knife to thy throat, if thou be a man given to appetite; and be not desirous of dainties or varieties, Pro 23:2, Pro 23:3. Nature is content with little, grace with less, but lust with nothing.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv29–43 These also shall be unclean unto you among the…
These also shall be unclean unto you among the creeping things that creep upon the earth,.... As distinguished from those creeping things that fly, these having no wings as they; and which were equally unclean, neither to be eaten nor touched, neither their blood, their skin, nor their flesh, as the Targum of Jonathan paraphrases it: and the Misnic doctors say (d) that the blood of a creeping thing and its flesh are joined together: and Maimonides (e) observes, that this is a fundamental thing with them, that the blood of a creeping thing is like its flesh; which in Siphre (an ancient book of theirs) is gathered from what is said in Lev 11:29 "these shall be unclean", &c. hence the wise men say, the blood of a creeping thing pollutes as its flesh: the creeping things intended are as follow:
the weasel, and the mouse, and the tortoise after his kind; the first of these, "the weasel", a creature well known; there are two sorts of it, as Pliny (f) says, the field weasel, and the house weasel; the former are called by the Jewish writers the weasel of the bushes (g), and the latter the weasel that dwells in the foundations of houses (h); and of the former there was a doubt among some of them whether it was a species of the eight reptiles in Lev 11:29 or whether it was a species of animals (i); and which, Maimonides says, is a species of foxes like to weasels: Bochart (k) thinks the mole is intended; but the generality of interpreters understand it of the weasel; and so Jarchi and Kimchi, and Philip Aquinas (l), interpret it by "mustela", the weasel: however, all agree the second is rightly interpreted "the mouse"; which has its name in Hebrew from its being a waster and destroyer of fields; an instance of which we have in Sa1 6:5; see Gill on Sa1 6:5; so that this sort may be chiefly intended, though it includes all others, who are distinguished by their colours, the black, the red, and the white, which are all mentioned by Jonathan in his paraphrase of the text: this animal, as a learned physician (m) expresses it, eats almost everything, gnaws whatever it meets with, and, among other things, is a great lover of swine's flesh, which was an abomination to the Jews; nor does it abstain from dung, and therefore it is no wonder it should be reckoned among impure creatures; and yet we find they were eaten by some people, see Isa 66:17 especially the dormouse; for which the old Romans made conveniences to keep them in, and feed them, and breed them for the table (n): so rats in the West Indies are brought to market and sold for food, as a learned author (o) of undoubted credit assures us, who was an eyewitness of it: the last in this text, "the tortoise", means the land tortoise; it has its name from the shell with which it is covered, this word being sometimes used for a covered wagon, Num 7:3 there are various kinds of them, as Pliny (p) and other writers observe, and who, as Strabo (q) and Mela (r) also, speak of a people they call Chelonophagi, or tortoise eaters: a tortoise of the land kind is esteemed a very delicate dish: Dr. Shaw (s), speaking of the land and water tortoises in Barbary, says, the former, which hides itself during the winter months, is very palatable food, but the latter is very unwholesome: the Septuagint version renders it, the "land crocodile", which, is approved of by Bochart (t): and Leo Africanus says (u), that many in Egypt eat the flesh of the crocodile, and affirm it to be of good savour; and so Benzon (w) says, its flesh is white and tender, and tastes like veal; though some among them, as Strabo (x) asserts, have a great antipathy and hatred to them; and others worship them as gods, and neither can be supposed to eat them; the land crocodiles are eaten by the Syrians, as Jerom (y) affirms, for those feeding on the sweetest flowers, as is said, their entrails are highly valued for their agreeable odour: Jarchi says, it is a creature like a frog; he means a toad; so Philip Aquinas and many render the word: Dr. Shaw takes the creature designed to be the sharp-scaled tailed lizard (z).
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(d) Misn. Meilah, c. 4. sect. 3. (e) Pirush. in ib. (f) Nat. Hist. l. 29. c. 4. (g) Misn. Celaim, c. 8. sect. 5. (h) T. Bab. Cholin, fol. 20. 2. (i) Maimon. in Misn. ib. (k) Hierozoic. par. 1. l. 3. c. 95. col. 1022. (l) Sepher Shorash. & Aquinas in rad. (m) Scheuchzer. Physic. Sacr. vol. 2. p. 307. (n) Varro de re Rustic. l. 3. c. 14. apud Sir Hans Sloane's History of Jamaica, vol. 1. Introduct. p. 24. (o) Sir Hans Sloane, ib. p. 25. (p) Nat. Hist. l. 9. c. 10. & l. 32. c. 4. (q) Geograph. l. 16. p. 532. (r) De Situ Orbis, l. 3. c. 8. (s) Travels, p. 178. (t) Ut supra, (Hierozoic. par. 1.) l. 4. c. 1. (u) Descriptio Africae, l. 9. p. 762. (w) Nov. Orb. Hist. c. 3. (x) Geograph. l. 17. p. 558, 560, 561, 563. (y) Adv. Jovin. l. 2. (z) Ut supra. Travels, p. 178
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 vv34, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42 That on which such water cometh - That flesh…
That on which such water cometh - That flesh or herbs or other food which is dressed in water, in a vessel so polluted, shall be unclean; not so, if it be food which is eaten dry, as bread, or fruits; the reason of which difference seems to be this, that the water did sooner receive the pollution in itself, and convey it to the food so dressed.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv29, 30, 32, 33, 35, 36, 37, 42 Verse 29. The weasel] חלד choled, from chalad, Syr.,…
Verse 29. The weasel] חלד choled, from chalad, Syr., to creep in. Bochart conjectures, with great propriety, that the mole, not the weasel, is intended by the Hebrew word: its property of digging into the earth, and creeping or burrowing under the surface, is well known.
The mouse] עחבר achbar. Probably the large field rat, or what is called by the Germans the hamster, though every species of the mus genus may be here prohibited.
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The tortoise] צב tsab. Most critics allow that the tortoise is not intended here, but rather the crocodile, the frog, or the toad. The frog is most probably the animal meant, and all other creatures of its kind.
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 vv30, 34, 36, 38, 39 Lev 11:30. And the mole — The Hebrew word…
Lev 11:30. And the mole — The Hebrew word is the same with that which (Lev 11:18) we translate swan. But it is plain, that there it signifies a sort of fowl, as, in all probability, it here does a sort of lizard. All the reptiles here mentioned, according to Dr. James, are extremely subject to putrefaction, as are reptiles of almost every kind; and the smell of these, when putrefied, is extremely offensive; from whence we must conclude that their salts are highly exalted, and their juices alkalescent to a great degree.
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 vv29, 33, 35, 42 The identification of “the creeping things” here named is…
The identification of “the creeping things” here named is not always certain. They are most likely those which were occasionally eaten. For the “Tortoise” read “the great lizard,” for the “ferret” the “gecko” (one of the lizard tribe), for the “chameleon” read the “frog” or the Nile lizard: by the word rendered “snail” is probably meant another kind of lizard, and by the “mole” the “chameleon.”
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 vv29, 30, 33, 34, 36, 38, 39, 40, 42 Weasel. Bochart understands the mole, in opposition to all…
Weasel. Bochart understands the mole, in opposition to all the versions: choled, means indeed "to root up the earth." (Calmet)
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 vv29–31 the weasel--rather, the mole.
the weasel--rather, the mole.
the mouse--From its diminutive size it is placed among the reptiles instead of the quadrupeds.
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the tortoise--a lizard, resembling very nearly in shape, and in the hard pointed scales of the tail, the shaketail.
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 vv29, 30, 32, 33, 36, 37, 39, 43 CONCERNING CREEPERS, Lev_11:29-47.
CONCERNING CREEPERS, Lev_11:29-47.
This section includes not only reptiles, but some of the small mammals. Reptiles are not mentioned as a collective group in the Bible, but are divided into the moving creatures of the sea, (classed with the fishes, Gen_1:20,) and the creeping things of the land mentioned with mammalian quadrupeds, but distinct from them.
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29. The weasel — The choledh is found only in this catalogue, and seems to include the weasel, ichneumon, and the mole. They are all remarkably abundant in Palestine, especially the last two.
The mouse — The akbar — field ravager — comprehends any destructive rodent. Tristram found twenty-three species of this group in Palestine. Field mice sometimes become multitudinous in Syria, and cause great destruction to the grain lands. They were eaten by idolaters, and probably used in their sacrifices or incantations. They were regarded as a great delicacy by the Romans, and were carefully kept and fattened for food. See Isa_66:17.
The tortoise — R.V. (“great lizard.”) The Hebrew tsafh occurs in Num_7:3, where it is translated covered, (wagons,) and in Isa_66:20, litters. As the name of an animal it occurs only here, and, from a similar word in Arabic, signifies a large kind of lizard, doubtless the land-waron or the land crocodile of Herodotus, (iv, 192.) “It sometimes attains the length of two feet. I kept one tame for some months, and it was very docile, coming at my call, and sleeping in the sun. It is eaten by the Bedouin.” — Tristram.
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 vv29, 30, 31, 32, 34, 35, 36, 37, 39, 40, 41 29–38. Uncleanness caused by Creeping Things
29–38. Uncleanness caused by Creeping Things
29. the weasel†] According to early Versions, and the Mishna the Heb. word should be thus translated; but some prefer the rendering ‘mole.’
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the great lizard†] tortoise A.V. The cognate words in Arab. and Syr. support the rendering of R.V.
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 vv29–43 (29) These also shall be unclean.—Better, And these shall…
(29) These also shall be unclean.—Better, And these shall be the most unclean. As Lev_11:24-28 have been occupied with the discussion of the defilement caused by the carcases of unclean quadrupeds, which, as we have seen, belong to the first class of the animal kingdom, the Lawgiver now enumerates those “creeping things” of the fourth class, which likewise cause defilement by touching them. The eight animals here adduced (Lev_11:29-30) are therefore a continuation of the things that go on their belly, mentioned in Lev_11:20-23. They only differ in this respect, that in Lev_11:20-23 the creeping things have also wings, whilst those described here are creeping things without wings. In a stricter sense, however, Lev_11:29, &c, is a resumption of Lev_11:20.
The weasel.—Though the Hebrew name (choled), which literally denotes “the gliding” or “slipping in” animal, does not occur again in the Bible, yet the ancient versions and the description given of it by the administrators of the law in the time of Christ place it beyond a doubt that it is meant for weasel. According to these authorities the animal in question lodges in the holes of walls and in ditches, is inordinately voracious, kills other animals of prey much bigger than itself, and carries them off in its mouth. It is especially obnoxious to poultry, for which reason the ventilating holes in hen roosts are made so small that it should not be able to get through them, it has pointed and crooked teeth, with which it pierces through the skull and brain of the hens; it attacks sleeping children and human corpses, and laps water from a vessel. It delights in pilfering bright objects, which it hides in holes. It will be seen that this description given by the administrators of the law during the second Temple, of the animal meant by choled can only apply to the weasel, and not to the mole. This is fully supported by the ancient versions, though the word denotes “mole” in Arabic, and is sometimes also used in this sense in the Talmud.
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And the mouse.—Besides this passage, this word (achbar), which is taken to denote “the field,” or ‘corn-destroyer,” also occurs four times in Samuel (1Sa_6:4-5; 1Sa_6:11; 1Sa_6:18), and once in Isaiah (Isa_66:17) and is uniformly translated “mouse.” That this is the true rendering is fully confirmed by the ancient versions and the administrators of the law during the second Temple. Their insatiable voracity and great fecundity make mice destroy the entire produce of a harvest in an incredibly short time. For this reason they became the symbol of destruction in the Egyptian hieroglyphics, and obtained the appellation, “the scourge of the field” in the Bible (1Sa_6:5). So great was the injury which they inflicted upon the fields in Palestine, that during the second Temple the administrators of the law permitted the Jews to destroy them by any means, even on the middle days of the two great pilgrimage festivals, the Feasts of Passover and of Tabernacles. The mischievous instinct which they have of gnawing at things which they cannot eat, and of penetrating into the sanctuary, and destroying the sacred food and scriptures, made mice peculiarly repulsive to the Jews, who gave them the appellation of “wicked mice,” a name with which they brand any malicious and wicked person to this day.
And the tortoise.—This creature (tzâb), which literally denotes “the swollen,” “the inflated” (see Num_5:27), occurs nowhere else in the Bible. That it is not the tortoise is perfectly certain, since this animal, according to the highest legal authority, was not unclean. Thus Maimonides tells us “only those animals mentioned in the Law (Lev_11:29-30) are defiling, but not the serpent, the frog, and the tortoise.” It is certain that the authorities in the time of Christ took it to denote the toad. This is evident from the discussion as to the condition of the man who has touched an animal, and cannot decide whether it is a frog, which is not defiling, or a tzâb, which is defiling. As it is the toad, and not the tortoise or lizard, which has such a misleading resemblance to the frog, there can hardly be any doubt that the administrators of the law understood the reptile here to denote the toad. This agrees with the meaning of the name, which, as we have seen, denotes the “swollen one,” and which is one of the peculiar characteristics distinguishing it from the frog, by its having a thick, squat, and more swollen body. The reason why the toad and not the frog is put into the defiling list of reptiles is probably owing to the fact that its shorter legs impart to it more the appearance of a creeping thing, and that it was believed that the limpid fluid which this reptile suddenly discharges when touched is poisonous. Some ancient versions, however, translate it “the land crocodile.”
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 vv29, 31, 39, 41 Vers. 29, 30. The creeping things that creep upon…
Vers. 29, 30. The creeping things that creep upon the earth. This class contains things that go on their belly, but have not wings, like the previous class of creeping things (verses 20-23). By the words translated tortoise, ferret, chameleon, lizard, snail, mole, different varieties of the lizard are probably meant. The mouse is joined by Isaiah with "eating swine"s flesh and the abomination". (Isa_66:17)
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 vv29, 31, 34, 36, 39, 41, 43 General Information:
General Information:
Yahweh continues telling Moses and Aaron which animals the people are to consider unclean.
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these are the animals that will be unclean to you
These animals that God declared to be unfit for people to touch or eat are spoken of as if they were physically unclean. (See: Metaphor)
weasel
a small animal with brown fur that eats birds and small animals (See: Translate Unknowns)
large lizard, the gecko, the monitor lizard, the lizard, the skink, and the chameleon
These are different kinds of reptiles with four legs. (See: Translate Unknowns)
skink
"sand lizard"
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 vv29, 32, 36, 37, 39 11:29-31 This list of unclean creatures that crawl contains…
11:29-31 This list of unclean creatures that crawl contains both warm-blooded and cold-blooded animals that scurry along the ground. Snakes are also included in this category (11:42).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.