Leviticus 11:33

If any of them falls into a clay pot, everything in it will be unclean; you must break the pot.

Berean Standard Bible

Study note

Setting — God delivers ritual purity regulations to Moses and the Israelites immediately after cataloging unclean animals that may die and contaminate surrounding objects.

The words — חֶרֶשׂ (Che.res) = earthenware and יִפּוֹל (yi.Pol) = it will fall specify the porous material and the accidental mechanism that triggers the contamination.

The thread — The mandate to shatter clay vessels upon contact with impurity appears in Leviticus 6:28 for sin offerings, Leviticus 15:12 for bodily discharges, and Leviticus 11:35 for other carcasses.

Why it lands — The passage requires the immediate physical destruction of unglazed containers that absorb uncleanness, establishing a non-negotiable boundary to prevent ritual defilement from spreading.

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

וְכָל־ve./kholand/ every כְּלִי־ke.li-vessel of חֶ֔רֶשׂChe.researthenware אֲשֶׁר־'a.Sher-which יִפֹּ֥לyi.Polit will fallמֵהֶ֖םme./Hemany of <the>/ themאֶל־'el-into תּוֹכ֑וֹto.Kh/o[the] middle of/ it כֹּ֣לkolall אֲשֶׁ֧ר'a.Sherthat בְּתוֹכ֛וֹbe./to.Kh/o[is] in/ [the] midst of/ it יִטְמָ֖אyit.Ma'it will be unclean וְאֹת֥וֹve./'o.T/oand/ <obj.>/ it תִשְׁבֹּֽרוּ׃tish.Bo.ruyou will break

King James Version

And every earthen vessel, whereinto any of them falleth, whatsoever is in it shall be unclean; and ye shall break it.

Cross-references

Leviticus 6:28 The clay pot in which the sin offering is boiled must be broken; if it is boiled in a bronze pot, the pot must be scoured and rinsed with water.
Leviticus 15:12 Any clay pot that the man with the discharge touches must be broken, and any wooden utensil must be rinsed with water.
Leviticus 11:35 Anything upon which one of their carcasses falls will be unclean. If it is an oven or cooking pot, it must be smashed; it is unclean and will remain unclean for you.
Leviticus 14:45 It must be torn down with its stones, its timbers, and all its plaster, and taken outside the city to an unclean place.
Jeremiah 48:38 On all the rooftops of Moab and in the public squares, everyone is mourning; for I have shattered Moab like an unwanted jar,” declares the LORD.
2 Corinthians 5:1 For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is dismantled, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.
Philippians 3:21 who, by the power that enables Him to subject all things to Himself, will transform our lowly bodies to be like His glorious body.