Leviticus 11:10

But the following among all the teeming life and creatures in the water are detestable to you: everything in the seas or streams that does not have fins and scales.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — God addresses the Israelites through Moses at Sinai, establishing dietary boundaries for the community. The command distinguishes permissible aquatic creatures from those forbidden for consumption.

The words — סְנַפִּיר (se.na.Pir) translates to "fin," and קַשְׂקֶ֗שֶׂת (kas.Ke.set) translates to "scale." The Hebrew syntax uses אֵֽין־ (ein) to negate their presence, marking the absence of these features as the basis for exclusion.

The thread — Leviticus 11:9 establishes the positive requirement for fins and scales, while Leviticus 11:11 reinforces the prohibition by calling the excluded creatures an abomination without repeating the physical criteria. Deuteronomy 14:3 echoes the category of "detestable thing" applied to forbidden foods.

Why it lands — The text requires readers to apply a visible, physical standard to separate clean from unclean aquatic life. It demands compliance with a specific boundary rather than subjective judgment.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

וְכֹל֩ve./Kholand/ all אֲשֶׁ֨ר'a.Sherthat אֵֽין־'ein-notל֜וֹl/o[belong] to <the>/ itסְנַפִּ֣ירse.na.Pirfin וְקַשְׂקֶ֗שֶׂתve./kas.Ke.setand/ scale בַּיַּמִּים֙ba/i.ya.Mimin the/ seas וּבַנְּחָלִ֔יםu./va./ne.cha.Limand/ in the/ wadis מִכֹּל֙mi./Kolfrom/ every שֶׁ֣רֶץShe.retz<the> swarming thing of הַמַּ֔יִםha./Ma.yimthe/ waters וּמִכֹּ֛לu./mi./Koland/ of/ every נֶ֥פֶשׁNe.feshcreature הַחַיָּ֖הha./chai.Yah<the>/ living אֲשֶׁ֣ר'a.Sherwhich בַּמָּ֑יִםba./Ma.yim[is] in the/ waters שֶׁ֥קֶץShe.ketz[are] detestable thing[s]הֵ֖םhemtheyלָכֶֽם׃la./Khemto <the>/ you

King James Version

And all that have not fins and scales in the seas, and in the rivers, of all that move in the waters, and of any living thing which is in the waters, they shall be an abomination unto you:

Cross-references

Leviticus 7:18 If any of the meat from his peace offering is eaten on the third day, it will not be accepted. It will not be credited to the one who presented it; it shall be an abomination, and the one who eats of it shall bear his iniquity.
Proverbs 29:27 An unjust man is detestable to the righteous, and one whose way is upright is detestable to the wicked.
Deuteronomy 14:3 You must not eat any detestable thing.
Psalms 139:21 Do I not hate those who hate You, O LORD, and detest those who rise against You?
Proverbs 13:20 He who walks with the wise will become wise, but the companion of fools will be destroyed.
Revelation 21:8 But to the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and sexually immoral and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their place will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur. This is the second death.”