Bible Strands
Leviticus 11:7
And the pig, though it has a split hoof completely divided, does not chew the cud; it is unclean for you.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — God addresses Moses and the Israelites during the wilderness period, establishing dietary boundaries through the priestly instructions.
The words — The text specifies חֲזִיר (cha.zir, pig) and describes its hoof as מַפְרִיס פַּרְסָה (maf.Ris par.Sah, dividing a hoof). It notes the animal fails the second required marker, chewing the cud, rendering it unclean.
The thread — This physical distinction is reiterated in Deuteronomy 14:8 as a standing dietary rule and appears in Isaiah 65:4 and Isaiah 66:3 as a symbol of ritual defilement and covenant violation.
Why it lands — The verse requires readers to identify clean and unclean animals by two explicit physical markers rather than subjective judgment. It demands strict adherence to the stated boundary without modification.
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
And the swine, though he divide the hoof, and be clovenfooted, yet he cheweth not the cud; he is unclean to you.
Cross-references
- Deuteronomy 14:8 as well as the pig; though it has a divided hoof, it does not chew the cud. It is unclean for you. You must not eat its meat or touch its carcass.
- Isaiah 65:4 sitting among the graves, spending nights in secret places, eating the meat of pigs and polluted broth from their bowls.
- Isaiah 66:3 Whoever slaughters an ox is like one who slays a man; whoever sacrifices a lamb is like one who breaks a dog’s neck; whoever presents a grain offering is like one who offers pig’s blood; whoever offers frankincense is like one who blesses an idol. Indeed, they have chosen their own ways and delighted in their abominations.
- Isaiah 66:17 “Those who consecrate and purify themselves to enter the groves—to follow one in the center of those who eat the flesh of swine and vermin and rats—will perish together,” declares the LORD.
- Matthew 7:6 Do not give dogs what is holy; do not throw your pearls before swine. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces.
- Luke 8:33 Then the demons came out of the man and went into the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned.
- Luke 15:15 So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed the pigs.
- 2 Peter 2:18 With lofty but empty words, they appeal to the sensual passions of the flesh and entice those who are just escaping from others who live in error.