Leviticus 11 - Animals

I've always had an affinity for the animal kingdom. As a child animals fascinated me, and to an extent they still do. We learn so much about the natural world from observing them, and they are a testament to the sheer beauty and majesty of God's creation. And so when I reached Leviticus 11 and saw the long list of animal species, I naturally became excited. Here we find the part of the Law that dictates what a Jew may or may not eat. Here are the clean and unclean animals. I found the variety and detail of the list fascinating. Even from a purely secular, scientific perspective, this list would be quite interesting, in that it documents the types of animals that were familiar to the Israelites living in that region of the world thousands of years ago.

The list of clean animals was surprisingly short. It basically boiled down to one criterion: Any animal that "hath the hoof divided, and cheweth the cud among the beasts you shall eat" (Leviticus 11:3). This of course refers to cattle and the like. (One interesting interpretation I read remarked that the divided hoof represents "discretion between good and evil," and the chewing of the cud represents "meditating on the law." Therefore, if an animal doesn't have/do one of those things, it is unclean.) There are a few exceptions, mainly fish and some insects. But what was truly fascinating was the list of unclean animals. As I said, this was a surprisingly varied and detailed list. I feel the need to include it here. The list of unclean animals specifically mentioned by name in the Book of Leviticus are as follows: camel, cherogrillus, hare, swine, eagle, griffon, osprey, kite, vulture, raven, ostrich, owl, larus, hawk, screech-owl, cormorant, ibis, swan, bittern, porphyrion, heron, charadrion, houp, bat, weasel, mouse, crocodile, shrew, chameleon, stellio, lizard, and mole. As you can see, there are many unfamiliar animals in this list. But apparently the reason is that there were some animals whose identity couldn't be known for sure, and so they were left untranslated from either Greek or Latin. The first to catch my eye was the "cherogrillus," which some say may be a rabbit or a hedgehog or even a porcupine. The "griffon" mentioned is a large type of eagle, not the mythical creature. A "porphyrion" is thought to be a pelican, while the "charadrion" is either a heron, a parrot, or a peacock.

My commentary gives four reasons why God mandated that only certain animals were to be eaten:
1. To exercise the people in obedience and temperance
2. To restrain them from the vices of which these animals were symbols
3. Because the things here forbidden were for the most part unwholesome, and not proper to be eaten
4. That the people of God, by being obliged to abstain from things corporally unclean, might be trained up to seek a spiritual cleanness

There seems to be a continual emphasis on separation and distinction of the Israelites in regard to the surrounding gentile nations. They really strove to be set apart from these "outsiders." And according to the Mosaic Law, God Himself sought to set them apart. For in Leviticus 11:44 and 46 He says, "Be holy, because I am holy." As God's chosen people it was extremely important for the Jews to be set apart or "holy" among the nations. And God very clearly required a visible distinction, including how they worshipped and what they ate. They weren't invisibly different from the gentiles; they were visibly different. It seems God always requires this of His people, even still; as Christians are to be visibly distinguished among the people of the world by their good deeds and the glory they show to God. According to St. Basil the Great, when God told Adam and Eve, "Increase and multiply, and fill the earth" (Genesis 1:28), He wanted them (mankind) to fill the earth with visible good works, so that by their actions God would be known to all. Therefore, when gentile nations would see the Jews so obediently and temperately following a strict dietary code, they would see the work of God in His people (for God requires obedience and temperance, both of which are healthy for the soul).