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Scriptural Text [& Editorial]
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Commentary & Explanation
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Footnotes ~ References ~ JST
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CHAPTER 11
The Lord reveals which living things may and may not be eaten; also,
those things that are clean and unclean—He commands Israel: Be holy,
for I am holy.
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1 AND the LORD spake unto Moses and to Aaron, saying unto them,
2 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying,
These are the beasts which ye shall aeat among all
the beasts that are on the earth.
3 Whatsoever parteth the hoof, and is clovenfooted, and cheweth the cud, among the beasts, that shall ye eat.
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4 Nevertheless these shall ye not eat of them that chew the cud, or of them that divide the hoof: as the camel, because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof; he is unclean unto you.
5 And the coney, because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof; he is unclean unto you.
6 And the hare, because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof; he is unclean unto you.
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7 And the swine, though he divide the hoof, and be clovenfooted, yet he cheweth not the cud; he is unclean to you.
8 Of their flesh shall ye not eat, and their carcase shall ye not touch; they are unclean to you.
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9 ¶ These shall ye eat of all that are in the waters: whatsoever hath fins and scales in the waters, in the seas, and in the rivers, them shall ye eat.
10 And all that have not fins and scales in the seas, and in the rivers, of all that move in the waters, and of any living thing which is in the waters, they shall be an abomination unto you:
11 They shall be even an abomination unto you; ye shall not eat of their flesh, but ye shall have their carcases in abomination.
12 Whatsoever hath no fins nor scales in the waters, that shall be an abomination unto you.
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13 ¶ And these are they which ye shall have in abomination among the fowls; they shall not be eaten, they are an abomination: the eagle, and the ossifrage, and the ospray,
14 And the vulture, and the kite after his kind;
15 Every raven after his kind;
16 And the owl, and the night hawk, and the cuckow, and the hawk after his kind,
17 And the little owl, and the cormorant, and the great owl,
18 And the swan, and the pelican, and the gier eagle,
19 And the stork, the heron after her kind,
and the lapwing, and the bata.
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19a and the bat Now is a
bat a fowl, that is a bird? According to today's detailed scientific
dissection of the tree of life, a bat is not a bird. How then does the
commandment of the Law of God make such an error? God does not speak to men
in the science and understanding of some other era than that which man will
understand. That is God speaks to men according to their understanding that
man might know what is being said to them. With God's ultimate knowledge of
things, God could well bury any of us in the 'more proper terminology' and
'advanced understanding', that we would not understand what God was saying
to us at all. It would seem that men of Moses' day classified things a bit
differently than scientist do today. And to man in that day, a bat that
flew in the air was classified in the same class as the bird which also
did fly in the air, thus God stated to man in that manner in which man in
their common understanding would readily comprehend what God was saying to
them. Just because we today have somewhat different perspectives of how
thing ought to be classified and viewed does not make in improper for God to
speak to men of a different era in that manner in which those men would
best understand what God is saying to them.
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20 All fowls that creep, going upon all four, shall be an abomination unto you.
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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;
22 Even these of them ye may eat; the
alocust after his kind, and the bald locust after his kind,
and the beetle after his kind, and the grasshopper after his kind.
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23 But all other flying creeping things, which have four feet, shall be an abomination unto you.
24 And for these ye shall be unclean:
whosoever toucheth the carcase of them shall be aunclean
until the even.
25 And whosoever beareth ought of the carcase of them shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even.
26 The carcases of every beast which divideth the hoof, and is not clovenfooted, nor cheweth the cud, are unclean unto you: every one that toucheth them shall be unclean.
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27 And whatsoever goeth upon his paws, among all manner of beasts that go on all four, those are unclean unto you: whoso toucheth their carcase shall be unclean until the even.
28 And he that beareth the carcase of them shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even: they are unclean unto you.
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29 ¶ These also shall be
aunclean unto you among the creeping things that creep upon
the earth; the weasel, and the mouse, and the tortoise after his kind,
30 And the ferret, and the chameleon, and the lizard, and the snail, and the mole.
31 These are unclean to you among all that creep: whosoever doth touch them, when they be dead, shall be unclean until the even.
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32 And upon whatsoever any of them, when they are dead, doth fall, it shall be unclean; whether it be any vessel of wood, or raiment, or skin, or sack, whatsoever vessel it be, wherein any work is done, it must be put into water, and it shall be unclean until the even; so it shall be cleansed.
33 And every earthen vessel, whereinto
any of them falleth, whatsoever is in it shall be unclean; and
ye shall abreak it.
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34 Of all meat which may be eaten, that on which such water cometh shall be unclean: and all drink that may be drunk in every such vessel shall be unclean.
35 And every thing whereupon any
part of their carcase falleth shall be unclean; whether it be
aoven, or ranges for pots, they shall be broken down:
for they are unclean, and shall be unclean unto you.
36 Nevertheless aa fountain
or pit, wherein there is plenty of water, shall be clean: but that which toucheth their carcase shall be unclean.
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37 And if any part of their carcase fall upon any sowing seed which is to be sown, it shall be clean.
38 But if any water be put upon the seed, and any part of their carcase fall thereon, it shall be unclean unto you.
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39 And if any beast, of which ye may eat, die; he that toucheth the carcase thereof shall be unclean until the even.
40 And he that eateth of the
acarcase of it shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until
the even: he also that beareth the carcase of it shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even.
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41 And every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth shall be an abomination; it shall not be eaten.
42 Whatsoever goeth upon the belly, and
whatsoever goeth upon all four, or awhatsoever hath
more feet among all creeping things that creep upon the earth, them ye shall
not eat; for they are an abomination.
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43 Ye shall not make yourselves
aabominable with any creeping thing that creepeth, neither
shall ye make yourselves unclean with them, that ye should be defiled
thereby.
44 For I am the LORD your God: ye shall
therefore asanctify yourselves, and ye shall be holy; for I
am holy: neither shall ye defile yourselves with any manner of
creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
45 For I am the LORD that bringeth you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: ye shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.
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46 This is athe
lawa
of the beasts, and of the fowl, and of every living creature that moveth in
the waters, and of every creature that creepeth upon the earth:
47 aTo make a difference
between the bunclean and the clean, and between the beast
that may be eaten and the beast that may not be eaten.
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46a This is the law While
there were and are reasons of logic behind many of these restrictions, not
all is known and understood by man even today. And many things are eaten
now which were not to be eaten then, and we think we understand the logic
of why we can eat them safely now and man could not do so then. But even
still not all is understood. And perhaps more important than the logic unto
man or unto nature for why these things were commanded is the underlying
fact that they were commanded and commanded by God. This ought to be logic
and reason enough for man to comply with what God has said. God never has
justified unto the minds of men all that he does command them to do. In some
thing might it not be but a test of man to see it man will comply with the
mind, will and command of the Lord? Thus if as Joseph Smith has stated, 'If
God commands it, do it.' In that is not only safety for man's temporal will
being but more important for his eternal salvation.
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