Bible Strands
Leviticus 11:31
These animals are unclean for you among all the crawling creatures. Whoever touches them when they are dead shall be unclean until evening.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Moses delivers this regulation to the Israelites during the wilderness period, immediately following a list of specific reptiles and amphibians. The instruction functions as a boundary marker for ritual purity within the covenant community.
The words — שֶׁרֶץ (Sha.retz) literally means "swarming thing" or crawling creature, and יִטְמָא (yit.Ma') translates directly to "he will be unclean." These terms anchor the verse's focus on contact with dead swarming animals.
The thread — Leviticus 11:24 extends the evening uncleanness rule to anyone touching the carcasses of similar creatures. Leviticus 11:32 applies the identical temporal boundary to inanimate objects contaminated by a dead swarming thing.
Why it lands — The text states that physical contact with a dead crawling creature imposes temporary ritual impurity that lasts until evening. It requires the reader to acknowledge that covenant holiness demands concrete, time-bound separation from specific sources of defilement.
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
These are unclean to you among all that creep: whosoever doth touch them, when they be dead, shall be unclean until the even.
Cross-references
- Leviticus 11:8 You must not eat their meat or touch their carcasses; they are unclean for you.
- Leviticus 11:24 These creatures will make you unclean. Whoever touches their carcasses will be unclean until evening,