Leviticus 11:41-47
Because the Lord has brought His people out of Egypt, they must live as a holy people who discern between the clean and the unclean.
41 “ ‘Every creeping thing that creeps on the earth is an abomination. It shall not be eaten.
42 Whatever goes on its belly, and whatever goes on all fours, or whatever has many feet, even all creeping things that creep on the earth, them you shall not eat; for they are an abomination.
43 You shall not make yourselves abominable with any creeping thing that creeps. You shall not make yourselves unclean with them, that you should be defiled by them.
44 For I am Yahweh your God. Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be holy; for I am holy. You shall not defile yourselves with any kind of creeping thing that moves on the earth.
45 For I am Yahweh who brought you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God. You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.
46 “ ‘This is the law of the animal, and of the bird, and of every living creature that moves in the waters, and of every creature that creeps on the earth,
47 to make a distinction between the unclean and the clean, and between the living thing that may be eaten and the living thing that may not be eaten.’ ”
Because the LORD has brought His people out of Egypt, they must live as a holy people who discern between the clean and the unclean.
This concluding section summarizes the dietary and purity instructions of Leviticus 11 and reinforces Israel's covenant obligation to distinguish between clean and unclean creatures as an expression of holiness before the LORD.
Leviticus 11:41-47 concludes the animal clean/unclean chapter. After classifying land animals, water creatures, birds, flying insects, carcasses, ground creatures, household contamination, and clean animal carcasses, this unit gives the final prohibition concerning ground swarmers and the theological rationale for the whole chapter.
Leviticus 11:41-47 is set at Sinai within the clean/unclean animal laws given to Israel after the tabernacle and priesthood were inaugurated. Israel is the LORD's redeemed covenant people, brought up from Egypt and now being formed as a holy people who live near the tabernacle. The passage concerns ordinary eating and defilement, but it is grounded in the worship reality that Israel belongs to the holy LORD and must distinguish clean from unclean. The instruction is addressed to Israel through Moses and Aaron. The priests must teach these distinctions so the people may live as holy before the LORD. Ground swarmers are forbidden as detestable. The final summary identifies the chapter as a law for distinguishing clean and unclean creatures and edible from inedible creatures. This passage concludes Leviticus 11 and provides the theological foundation for the wider purity section of Leviticus 11-15: the redeemed people of the holy LORD must live in holiness.
Clean and Unclean Creatures: Holiness in Daily Life
The holy LORD trains His redeemed people to distinguish clean from unclean in daily life so that their ordinary existence reflects His holy claim upon them.