Expert: Thurman C. Petty, Jr. - 8/5/2009

Question
QUESTION: I searched online after reading a daily devotional email concerning Noah's sacrifice in Genesis 8:20. Your answer is listed here - http://en.allexperts.com/q/Bible-Studies-1654/Noah-animals-3.htm

I know that certain religions do not eat swine. Do the verses you referenced state that none of us should? Is there an easier to read list of allowable foods? Am I reading this correctly or reading too much into it? Thanks and God Bless!

Scott

ANSWER: Dear Scott,

Thank you for your question about clean and unclean animals.

It’s true that God restricted the diet of His people to clean animals. Some say that these restrictions were for the Jews only. But I submit that there is no difference between the body and metabolism of a Jew than that of any other human being. The restrictions of Lev. 11 and Deut 14 actually are not only a commandment, but an appeal from God to keep our bodies pure and disease free.

Let me quote from Deut. 14 to explain what is clean—fit for human consumption—and what is unclean—unfit for human consumption.

Deu 14:3  Thou shalt not eat any abominable thing.
Deu 14:4  These are the beasts which ye shall eat: the ox, the sheep, and the goat,
Deu 14:5  The hart, and the roebuck, and the fallow deer, and the wild goat, and the pygarg, and the wild ox, and the chamois.
Deu 14:6  And every beast that parteth the hoof, and cleaveth the cleft into two claws, and cheweth the cud among the beasts, that ye shall eat.
Deu 14:7  Nevertheless these ye shall not eat of them that chew the cud, or of them that divide the cloven hoof; as the camel, and the hare, and the coney: for they chew the cud, but divide not the hoof; therefore they are unclean unto you.
Deu 14:8  And the swine, because it divideth the hoof, yet cheweth not the cud, it is unclean unto you: ye shall not eat of their flesh, nor touch their dead carcase.
Deu 14:9  These ye shall eat of all that are in the waters: all that have fins and scales shall ye eat:
Deu 14:10  And whatsoever hath not fins and scales ye may not eat; it is unclean unto you.
Deu 14:11  Of all clean birds ye shall eat.
Deu 14:12  But these are they of which ye shall not eat: the eagle, and the ossifrage, and the osprey,
Deu 14:13  And the glede, and the kite, and the vulture after his kind,
Deu 14:14  And every raven after his kind,
Deu 14:15  And the owl, and the night hawk, and the cuckoo, and the hawk after his kind,
Deu 14:16  The little owl, and the great owl, and the swan,
Deu 14:17  And the pelican, and the gier eagle, and the cormorant,
Deu 14:18  And the stork, and the heron after her kind, and the lapwing, and the bat.
Deu 14:19  And every creeping thing that flieth is unclean unto you: they shall not be eaten.

You’ll notice that God gives quite specific instructions here. He mentions a number of animals that are fit for food, and then gives what we would call a “rule of thumb” to help us decide other animals that are all right to eat: Those that have a split hoof AND chew the cud. Then he mentions some which do one or the other, BUT NOT BOTH. You’ll notice that God specifically rules out the pig because it doesn’t pass both tests.

Of fish, the deciding point is the fact that it is all right to eat all that have both fins AND scales. If it has fins but doesn’t have scales, don’t eat it.

Of birds, there is no rule, just a list of all the kinds of birds that should be excluded from the menu. He also precludes all insects—except:

Lev 11:21  Yet these may ye eat of every flying creeping thing that goeth upon all four, which have legs above their feet, to leap withal upon the earth;
Lev 11:22  Even these of them ye may eat; the locust after his kind, and the bald locust after his kind, and the beetle after his kind, and the grasshopper after his kind.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve never been tempted to eat grasshoppers, etc. But it’s good to know should I be stranded somewhere and need something to eat!

Some have claimed that these restrictions are meant solely for the Jews and were done away with at the Cross. They say that when Jesus went to the Cross, He did away with all the Jewish laws, including the 10 commandments and the restrictions on diets.

But Jesus didn’t die to clean up animals and make them fit to eat! Jesus died to clean up people from their sins and make us fit for His heavenly kingdom. And there is plenty of evidence in the New Testament that Jesus did not do away with the 10 commandments (see Matthew 5:17-19).

What about the use of the words clean and unclean? This word is used in many contexts of the ceremonial law. Why would God use it here?

How else would you teach a nation of slaves in the second century BC what they should or should not eat?  It was a word that they could relate to and understand better, perhaps, than any other word that God could use.

And to help us to understand that this wasn’t just for the Jews, we remember the fact, as you noted, that God had made a difference between clean and unclean animals at the time of Noah. If Noah had eaten pork on the Ark, then there would be no pigs on the earth today, because he only had two of them. But if he ate mutton or venison, it would have been no big deal, because he had 14 of each.

I hope this helps you sort out the question you asked.

Thurman C. Petty, Jr.
PettyPress@gmail.com
Check out www.PettyPress.com where I’ve posted 18 of my books, 40 Bible study guides, and much more.


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks Thurman! Just to be clear, is the following list of commonly eaten animals correct?

Cow, Deer, Chicken, turkey - Clean

pig, catfish, lobsters, crabs, shrimp, mussels, clams, oysters, squid, octopi - unclean


Answer
Scott,

Your list is correct. Of course, should you be stranded somewhere in the desert without food, remember that you can add to the clean list, locusts and grasshoppers. (Yuck) But it's good to know.

Thurman
PettyPress@gmail.com
www.PettyPress.com