Leviticus: Arcane Rules or Important Truths for Today?

[John317]

I. Principal Passages in the Hebrew Bible

Which Deal With the Subject of

Clean and Unclean Meats

A. Genesis 7-9: The Flood Story

In the instructions given to Noah for the way in which he was to prepare for the Flood which God was to bring upon the world, he was told to take animals into the Ark once he had constructed it. The purpose of this was to preserve alive the various kinds of birds and land animals. As a consequence they were to be brought in by pairs, male and female, in order that they might propagate on the earth after the flood. They were also to be brought in quantitatively according to whether they were classified as clean and unclean: seven pairs of clean animals, but only one pair of unclean animals (Gen 7:2). From this passage a number of points of interest can be made:

1. No explanation was given to Noah as to how he was to recognize them as either clean or unclean. In other words, either additional information was given to him about their characteristics of qualifications, or this was information which was already known to him as common knowledge.

2. The first statement about clean and unclean animals in the Bible comes here as an observation, not in legislation about their use. Legislation about their use comes only later in the laws of the Pentateuch.

3. The most direct comment on their use comes in terms of their use (or nonuse) as sacrificial animals (8:2), for indeed only clean animals and birds were sacrificed upon exit from the Ark. This does not necessarily mean, however, that this was the only purpose of the distinction made.

4. It is at this time that flesh food from animals was given to, assigned, or permitted for use in the diet of man. This contrasts with the original Edenic diet originally assigned to man which consisted of nuts, fruits, grains, and vegetables (Gen 1:29-30; 2:9, 16; 3:2). Although it is not explained in the text as such, one evident reason for the use of flesh food being introduced at this time was the depopulation of the flora of the world with the destructive action of the Flood. In any event, one can say that the distinction between clean and unclean animals occurs in Scripture at the same time when flesh foods are introduced into the diet of man.

5. It should also be noted that this differentiation and its relationships were introduced long before the Sinai Covenant when the more specific legislation about such animals as made in greater detail. One can certainly say, therefore, that such a distinction goes back long before the more specific covenantal stipulations with Israel were made at Sinai. This distinction was made at a time when all of the ancestors of the human race, the 8 members of Noah's family, were still together in a group with those animals in the Ark.

6. Although the legislation about the use of these animals and their distinction is not made specifically in terms of diet at this time, one could say that it was implied. In providing seven times more clean animals in the Ark and for the postdiluvian world, God was also providing a sevenfold greater likelihood for having clean animals available for consumption after the Flood by Noah's immediate descendants.

7. The association of restrictions upon the use of blood in the diet was also made at this time. (Gen 9:4). The continuing nature of this association between clean and unclean animals and the prohibition upon the use of blood is spelled out in more detail in Leviticus.

B. Leviticus 11: The Major Law of the Clean and Unclean Animals

The most extensive piece of legislation on this subject in all the Bible is found in Leviticus 11. There is a definite sequence of animals treated in this chapter and it runs as follows: quadruped land animals, verses 2-8, water animals, verses 9-12, all flying animals, whether birds or insects, verses 13-23, and finally, the smaller animals that creep upon the earth, verses 29-31, 41-43. This order of the animals treated and their different categories are summarized in verse 46. Mixed in with this type of legislation is another type, that which deals with the touching of the carcasses of dead animals. This type of legislation shows up in the latter half of the chapter, verses 24-40. In particular these laws are found in verses 24-28, and verses 32-40. Here they sandwich or bracket the legislation about the creeping animals.

It should not be said, however, that the first half of the chapter deals with the issue of clean and unclean and the second half deals with the touching of dead animals. In the first section we can already find references to the second issue, and in the second section there are still references to the first. But the fact that these two issues are so closely intermingled should not lead us to overlook the difference between them.

The Hebrew terminology in this passage, and others that deal with the same subject includes: (1) tahor for "pure, clean," (2) tame' for "unclean, defiled," (3) sheqes for "abomination," and (4) qadash, a stative verb referring to the state of being holy. In a causative form it is commonly translated "to sanctify." The dictionaries ascribe three aspects to the word for "clean." It can mean pure physically, as in a state of "pure" gold. It can mean to be ceremonially clean, and it can mean to be ethically or morally pure or clean. Examples of all of these kinds of usages can be found in the Hebrew Bible. The noun for "abomination" mentioned above occurs 11 times in the Hebrew Bible and eight of those occurrences appear here in Leviticus 11. The three other occurrences are in Leviticus 7:21, Isaiah 66:17, and Ezekiel 8:10.

There are a number of aspects of this important passage which should be studied individually.

1. Relationship to context. Leviticus 11 is the first of a series of chapters (11-15) which deal with the general subject of uncleanness. In these chapters various types of states of uncleanness are described and treated. This is the second main section of the book of Leviticus. The first main section covers chapters 1-6 which describe in detail the nature of the sacrificial system. The entire first half of the book of Leviticus comes to its climax in the Day of Atonement ritual described in Leviticus

16. Then the second half of the book of Leviticus deals with a new set of laws for living. These laws are frequently punctuated with the imperative statement, "Be ye holy for I am holy." In other words the second half of the book of Leviticus deals with holy living or sanctification while the first half deals with the problems of sin and uncleanness. Since the treatment for both of these problems was found in the sacrificial system where the offerings brought atonement, as described especially in Leviticus 4. The law of the clean and unclean animals thus introduces the second main section of Leviticus in the section that deals with sacrifice, atonement, and justification.

Different scholars have dealt in different ways with these two main topics of justification and sanctification as they are found in the book of Leviticus. E. J. Young, for example, holds that it deals with "the removal of that defilement which separates man from God," and secondly that it deals with "the restoration of the lost fellowship with God and man."-Introduction to the OT, 1954, p. 75. C. Erdman describes Leviticus as "a directory for divine worship" and characterizes it as the "provision for approach to God" and sees the word holiness as the key word of the book (The Book of Leviticus, 1951, pp. 7-8). That chapters 11-15 form a unit has been widely recognized. M. Noth sees a stronger coherence in chapters 11-15 than in the previous chapters (Leviticus, 1965, p. 11). He refers to these chapters as "cleanness regulations" (p. 89). C. Pfeiffer refers to them instead as the "Laws of Purity" (The Book of Leviticus, 1963, p. 32), while G. L. Archer collects them under the title "Separation from Defilement."-A Survey of OT Introduction, 1964, p. 227.

This section in particular was introducted by the end of chapters 8-10 which dealt with the installation of the priests, Aaron and his sons. At the end of that section the charge of the high priest and his descendants in office is, "that ye may put difference between holy and unholy, between clean and unclean, and that ye may teach the children of Israel all the statutes which the Lord has spoken unto them by the end of Moses." (Lev 10:10-11). This passage in particular forms the theme for the next section of chapters 11-15 which is introduced by chapter 11 which we are considering here. This idea of the children of Israel as the holy people of God that is emphasized so strongly in Leviticus has been summarized by L. E. Toombs in the following way:

A pervasive principle of OT theological thought is that Israel should reflect in her community life the character and activity which she ascribes to God. . . . If Yahweh is pre-eminently a holy God, then his people must be peculiarly a holy nation (Exod 19:6, Num 15:40, Deut 14:21). Holiness and uncleanness are as incompatible as light and darkness-Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible, vol. 1, pp. 647.

This statement on holiness has taken us over into another area which deserves a separate treatment below. Before leaving this subject, however, one might note the treatment or ways through which the unclean person could become clean again according to the legislation of Leviticus 11-15. There were three main elements in this process of purification: (1) There was a waiting period of 1, 7, 14, 40, or 80 days. (2) hen there was a cleansing agent: fire, water, blood, or a complex mixture known as the "water for impurity" (Num 19:9). And (3) there was a sacrifice of the type for sin or guilt offering. How many and which of these elements were necessary for cleansing in any given case depended upon the nature of the uncleanness.

2. Technical content of the laws. As far as quadruped land animals were concerned, their suitability was determined upon the basis of herbivorous, ruminant animals that chew the cud and whose hooves are wholly cloven are "clean" (Deut 14:6). Then such clean animals are identified in the Pentateuch: the ox, sheep, goat, deer, gazelle, roebuck, wild goat, the pygarg, antelope, and mountain sheep (Deut 14:4-5). Altogether 42 animals are identified as clean in the Bible. These could fail in either one or both of the specificied characteristics. The camel is a ruminant but does not split the hoof, while the pig splits the hoof but is not a ruminant fail on one characteristic each.

Leviticus 11:13-19 lists 20 unclean birds while Deuteronomy 14:12-18 enumerates 21. All birds of prey are forbidden. The Bible does not list clean birds. Later Jewish law identified the characteristics necessary for a clean bird to be: (1) a crop, (2) a gizzard which can easily be peeled away, and (3) an extra talon. In Jewish practice, the eggs of unclean birds are considered unclean. The qualification for clean fish is twofold: fins and scales. Leviticus 11:21-22 permits the eating of four types of locusts as clean while all other insects are by and large considered unclean. (Lev 11:23). Given the difficulty in identifying the approved of classes of locusts, they generally are not eaten in practicing Jewish communities today.

3. The holiness motivation for observance. Leviticus 11:44-45 provide an excellent base from which to examine the motivation for observing this set of laws. At the conclusion to the final section on the creeping animals, the text concludes:

"You shall not defile yourselves with them, lest you become unclean. For I am the Lord your God; consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy. You shall not defile yourselves with any swarming thing that crawls upon the earth. For I am the Lord who brought you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God; you shall therefore be holy, for I am holy" (Lev 11:43b-45).

It is well to note how emphatic this passage is. Twice the people are told not to defile themselves with these animals, in verse 43b, and again in verse 44b. Twice the Lord identifies himself as the Lord your God, or to be your God in verses 44a and 45a. Twice the people are charged to be holy because God is holy, in verses 44a and 45b. Finally, there is the reference to the Exodus experience, in the statement that God is the one who brought them up out of the land of Egypt. Here cleanness and holiness are linked with redemption, the historical redemption from slavery and bondage in Egypt. Recall now that the Ten Commandments begin with the very same reference to God's redemptive activity, "I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage" (Exod 20:2). Only the redeemed person, ancient or modern, can maintain a full and right relationship with God and this relationship is expressed in holy conduct, as described in both the Ten Commandments and in the laws of Leviticus 11.

This idea of holiness and eating goes back to the covenant code where, in Exodus 22:31 it is stated, "you shall be . . . consecrated to me [= my people]; therefore you shall not eat any flesh that is torn by beasts in the field; you shall cast it to the dogs." Exodus 21-23 form what has been called the "covenant code," the laws given to amplify the Ten Commandments at the time when the Ten Commandments were given. This connection, spelled out in so much detail in Leviticus 11, is already present in principle there. Holiness is not just a spiritual state, it has physical ramifications down to and including what one eats. That principle is enunciated in the Covenant Code and it is elaborated in Leviticus 11.

The same principle of holiness and cleanness physically is elaborated in the illustrative law of Deuteronomy 23:10-14 where the person unclean from excrement was to have a place outside of the camp and there he was to cover the excrement, was to wash himself to become clean so that he could come back into the camp. We today would simply call this good public health hygiene. But the text does not say that he should do so to prevent disease, rather the motivation is given as "your camp must be holy" "because the Lord your God walks in the midst of your camp, to save you" (vs. 14). The Lord was not bound to explain the term theory of disease to a people who would not understand it, but he was able to incorporate those principles into his overall program for ancient Israel and he gave the great underlying motivation for that program-even those parts which were hygienically and health oriented-in terms of His holiness.

Not only are the laws of clean and unclean in Leviticus 11 given in the strongly positive context of God's holiness, our call to holiness, and God's redemption, but this strongly positive framework for these laws becomes all the more positive when they are compared with the rest of the Laws of Purification in Leviticus 11-15. As one compares the period of uncleanness, the requirement for purification, and the requirement for sacrifice, one finds the following distribution of these requirements in Leviticus 11-15:

Text

Type of Uncleanness Purification Sacrifice Period

Lev 11a

Food - - -

Lev 11b

Touch Carcass + - 1 day

Lev 12

Childbirth + + 40-80 days

Lev 13-14

Leprosy + + till healed

Thus the eating of unclean animals is set off in a class by itself. This does not necessarily mean, however, that this is less serious than the others. On the contrary, the use of the word for abomination in this passage (see above) emphasizes how serious this type of offence was considered. This word, sheqqes is used three times with the unclean fish (Lev 11:10-12), three times with the unclean birds and insects (Lev 11:13, 20, and 23), and three times with the unclean creeping animals (Lev 11:41-43). The only section in which this word does not appear is in the section with the quadruped land animals. This kind of language cannot be taken lightly, it is very serious. Thus the consumption of unclean animals was a serious offence in the view of the type of language used for it here.

Another aspect of this comparison is that of the connection with holiness, as stated in the text. At the end of Leviticus 11 it is stated twice that the people were to be holy in this regard because God was holy. This type of admonition and motivation does not occur again in the laws of purity in Leviticus 12-15. Even the word holy does not occur in those passages. Yet here in Leviticus 11 it stands in the position of the summary and climax of the chapter. Furthermore, the reference to redemption from the house of bondage in Egypt does not occur again in Leviticus 12-15. It occurs in the laws of purity only here in Leviticus 11, again as part of the summary and climax of the significance to these laws.

4. Divine author. Leviticus 11:1 states that the laws concerning the clean and the unclean animals were given when "the Lord said to Moses and Aaron." (Similar introductions occur at the beginning of the next four chapters: 12:1, 13:1, 14:1, and 15:1.) The question here is, how should one view this kind of legislation here. This is a serious philosophical question. The difference can be expressed in this way: If one comes to this passage as a person who accepts the Bible as the inspired reliable Word of God then that person will not hesitate to acknowledge that the law of clean and unclean animals came from God. If, on the other hand, one comes to the Bible with the presuppositions of modern historico-critical scholarship and with an evolutionary viewpoint on the history of religions, especially as applied to the religion of Israel, then it would be natural to downgrade the instruction of this passage as simply human ideas of a certain time which may not be relevant to this present time and need not be taken any more seriously than any other ideas produced in the realm of diet and religion by other religious or health authorities of antiquity.

The Bible itself, however, presents the distinction between the clean and the unclean animals as divinely given. Not only does Leviticus 11:1 introduce the law with the distinctive phrase, "and the Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron, saying unto them" (KJV), but in Leviticus 20:25 the Lord speaks unto the children of Israel in quite authoritative tones, "ye shall not make your souls abominable by beast, or by fowl, or by any manner of living thing that creepeth on the ground, which I have separated from you as unclean" (KJV). God himself has made the separation this passage tells us.

G. L. Archer has stressed the fact that "no other book in the Bible affirms divine inspiration so frequently as Leviticus. Under the heading of the verb 'to speak' (dibber) alone the concordance lists no less than thirty-eight occurrences of the statement that Jehovah spoke to Moses or Aaron."-Introduction to the Old Testament, 1964, p. 228. He continues by emphasizing the point that either this is a revelation of God or "otherwise no affirmation of divine origin is to be trusted for any statement in the rest of Scripture."-Ibid. Gispen appeals to the headings on the chapters in Leviticus 11-15 to remind us that "in the laws of clean and unclean we have not to do with the thoughts of the people of Israel but with divine revelation given through Moses and Aaron."-Oudtestamentische Studien, 1948, p. 192.

From "Clean and Unclean Meats" by William H. Shea