Leviticus 11:39

If an animal that you may eat dies, anyone who touches the carcass will be unclean until evening.

Berean Standard Bible

Study note

Setting — YHWH issues a purity regulation to Israel immediately after detailing how carcasses contaminate stored seed. The directive applies to the community encountering a dead edible animal in daily life.

The words — The Hebrew יָמוּת (ya.Mut) means "it will die," and הַ/נֹּגֵ֥עַ (ha./no.Ge.a') denotes "whoever touches." These terms establish physical contact with a dead edible animal as the specific trigger for ritual contamination.

The thread — The text states that contact with a dead edible animal causes uncleanness until evening. This rule parallels Leviticus 11:24, Leviticus 11:28, and Leviticus 11:31, which extend the same temporary uncleanness principle to crawling creatures and carried carcasses.

Why it lands — The text requires anyone who touches the carcass to remain unclean until evening. It establishes a non-negotiable boundary that separates ritual purity from direct contact with death.

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

וְכִ֤יve./Khiand/ if יָמוּת֙ya.Mutit will die מִן־min-any of הַבְּהֵמָ֔הha./be.he.Mahthe/ livestock אֲשֶׁר־'a.Sher-which הִ֥יאhi'itלָכֶ֖םla./Khem[belongs] to <the>/ youלְאָכְלָ֑הle./'okh.Lahto/ food הַנֹּגֵ֥עַha./no.Ge.a'who/ [-ever] touches בְּנִבְלָתָ֖הּbe./niv.la.Ta/h<in>/ carcass/ its יִטְמָ֥אyit.Ma'he will be unclean עַד־'ad-until הָעָֽרֶב׃ha./'A.revthe/ evening

King James Version

And if any beast, of which ye may eat, die; he that toucheth the carcase thereof shall be unclean until the even.

Cross-references

Leviticus 11:24 These creatures will make you unclean. Whoever touches their carcasses will be unclean until evening,
Leviticus 11:28 and anyone who picks up a carcass must wash his clothes, and he will be unclean until evening. They are unclean for you.
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.
Leviticus 11:40 Whoever eats from the carcass must wash his clothes and will be unclean until evening, and anyone who picks up the carcass must wash his clothes and will be unclean until evening.
Leviticus 15:5 Anyone who touches his bed must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will be unclean until evening.
Leviticus 15:7 Whoever touches the body of the man with a discharge must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will be unclean until evening.
Numbers 19:11 Whoever touches any dead body will be unclean for seven days.
Numbers 19:16 Anyone in the open field who touches someone who has been killed by the sword or has died of natural causes, or anyone who touches a human bone or a grave, will be unclean for seven days.