Bible Strands
Leviticus 11:17
the little owl, the cormorant, the great owl,
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Moses transmits divine dietary regulations to Israel during the wilderness journey, continuing a sequential list of prohibited avian species (Leviticus 11:16–18).
The words — The text employs הַכּוֹס (ha.Kos) for "little owl," הַשָּלֶךְ (ha.sha.Lakh) for "cormorant," and הַיַּנְשׁוּף (ha.yan.Shuf) for "great owl," each introduced by the direct-object marker אֶת (et) to designate them as items of exclusion.
The thread — This verse functions as a middle item in the Leviticus 11 bird catalog, which later biblical writers reference when discussing ritual purity and the boundary between clean and unclean animals (Leviticus 11:46; Deuteronomy 14:11–20).
Why it lands — The passage requires readers to accept a divinely ordained distinction in diet before any moral or spiritual rationale is provided, establishing obedience to categorical boundaries as the immediate demand.
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
King James Version
And the little owl, and the cormorant, and the great owl,