Bible Strands
Leviticus 11:2
“Say to the Israelites, ‘Of all the beasts of the earth, these ones you may eat:
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The LORD commands Moses and Aaron to deliver dietary instructions to the Israelites, placing this verse at the opening of a legislative block that defines permitted animals. The directive functions as a formal introduction to the specific criteria that follow in the surrounding text.
The words — The Hebrew דַּבְּרוּ (da.be.ru) commands "speak," while זֹאת (zot) means "this," structuring the verse as a legislative header. These terms signal a direct transmission of divine regulation rather than a descriptive observation.
The thread — This opening statement launches the dietary framework that Leviticus 11:11 later reinforces by forbidding the consumption of unclean animals. The passage's external regulatory nature is later referenced in Hebrews 9:10 and recontextualized in Matthew 15:11 regarding the source of defilement.
Why it lands — The text requires the reader to accept a specific, divinely assigned boundary for permitted food. It establishes a concrete standard of obedience that precedes any subsequent theological treatment of purity or dietary practice.
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
Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, These are the beasts which ye shall eat among all the beasts that are on the earth.
Cross-references
- Leviticus 11:11 They shall be an abomination to you; you must not eat their meat, and you must detest their carcasses.
- Matthew 15:11 A man is not defiled by what enters his mouth, but by what comes out of it.”
- Hebrews 9:10 They consist only in food and drink and special washings—external regulations imposed until the time of reform.
- Leviticus 11:4 But of those that only chew the cud or only have a divided hoof, you are not to eat the following: The camel, though it chews the cud, does not have a divided hoof; it is unclean for you.
- Leviticus 11:9 Of all the creatures that live in the water, whether in the seas or in the streams, you may eat anything with fins and scales.
- Leviticus 11:13 Additionally, you are to detest the following birds, and they must not be eaten because they are detestable: the eagle, the bearded vulture, the black vulture,
- Leviticus 11:21 However, you may eat the following kinds of flying insects that walk on all fours: those having jointed legs above their feet for hopping on the ground.
- Leviticus 11:29 The following creatures that move along the ground are unclean for you: the mole, the mouse, any kind of great lizard,
- Leviticus 11:34 Any food coming into contact with water from that pot will be unclean, and any drink in such a container will be unclean.
- Leviticus 11:39 If an animal that you may eat dies, anyone who touches the carcass will be unclean until evening.