Bible Strands
Leviticus 22:28
But you must not slaughter an ox or a sheep on the same day as its young.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — God speaks to Moses and Aaron, establishing standards for acceptable sacrificial livestock. The command follows regulations on the age of newborn animals and precedes instructions for thank offerings.
The words — תִשְׁחֲטוּ (tishchaṭu) means "you must slaughter" or "cut the throat of," paired with בְּנֹו (beno) for "its young." The text explicitly prohibits slaughtering an ox or sheep on the same day as its offspring.
The thread — This prohibition runs alongside Deuteronomy 22:6, which forbids taking a mother bird with her young, and Exodus 23:19, which bans cooking a young goat in its mother’s milk. Deuteronomy 14:21 further restricts the handling of animal carcasses.
Why it lands — The text demands strict adherence to a specific temporal boundary in sacrificial practice. Readers are required to observe the commanded separation without adding to or subtracting from the stated limit.
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 whether it be cow or ewe, ye shall not kill it and her young both in one day.
Cross-references
- Deuteronomy 22:6 If you come across a bird’s nest with chicks or eggs, either in a tree or on the ground along the road, and the mother is sitting on the chicks or eggs, you must not take the mother along with the young.
- Deuteronomy 14:21 You are not to eat any carcass; you may give it to the foreigner residing within your gates, and he may eat it, or you may sell it to a foreigner. For you are a holy people belonging to the LORD your God. You must not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.
- Exodus 23:19 Bring the best of the firstfruits of your soil to the house of the LORD your God. You must not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.
- Exodus 34:26 Bring the best of the firstfruits of your soil to the house of the LORD your God. You must not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.”