Bible Strands
Leviticus 11:23
All other flying insects that have four legs are detestable to you.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — God addresses Moses and Aaron, who relay the directive to the Israelite assembly, during the establishment of wilderness purity regulations.
The words — שֶׁקֶץ (She.ketz) translates literally as a detestable or abhorrent thing, and שֶׁרֶץ הָעוֹף (She.retz ha.'of) denotes a swarming creature of the wing.
The thread — Leviticus 11:23 operates as a restrictive clause within the broader dietary code, explicitly excluding flying insects with four legs after permitting specific locusts in the preceding verse.
Why it lands — It demands precise obedience to a physical distinction, treating the four-legged flying insect as ritually unclean without exception or debate.
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
But all other flying creeping things, which have four feet, shall be an abomination unto you.