What does Leviticus 11:2 Mean?

Study Notes

These are the beasts
The dietary regulations of the covenant people must be regarded primarily as sanitary. Israel, it must be remembered, was a nation living on the earth under a theocratic government. Of necessity the divine legislation concerned itself with the social as well as with the religious life of the people. To force upon every word of that legislation a typical meaning is to strain 1 Corinthians 10:1-11 ; Hebrews 9:23 ; Hebrews 9:24 beyond all reasonable interpretation.

Context Summary

There were good and sufficient reasons for excluding certain animals from Israel's dietary. Devout medical men insist that this is the finest sanitary code in existence, and that many of the diseases of modern life would disappear if it were universally adopted. God made these distinctions matters of religion, that the well-being of His people might be doubly assured. These restrictions were also imposed to erect strong barriers between the chosen people and the heathen. So long as they obeyed, it was clearly impossible to participate in the heathen festivals, where many of these animals were partaken of.

We are not now bound by these enactments. Our Lord made all meats clean, Mark 7:19, r.v. Peter was bidden to kill and eat all manner of creeping things, and his protest was overborne by the assurance that God had cleansed all. See Acts 10:11-16. Religion consists not in outward rites, but in the inward temper. See Hebrews 9:10. Note that touching was forbidden, because the least contact with evil hurts the soul. [source]

Chapter Summary: Leviticus 11

¹  What animals may be eaten
⁴  and what may not be eaten
⁹  What fishes
¹³  What fowls
²⁹  The creeping things which are unclean