A) INTRODUCTION.

B) AFTER HIS KIND.

C) A LIST OF THE BEASTS TO BE OR NOT TO BE EATEN.

D) A LIST OF THE BIRDS TO BE OR NOT TO BE EATEN.

E) A LIST OF FISH TO BE OR NOT TO BE EATEN.

F) A LIST OF INSECTS TO BE OR NOT TO BE EATEN.

 

 

A) INTRODUCTION

 

 

What I find very interesting is that whenever Christian denominations want to use verses to cancel the God ordained (established) Biblical diet, they never discuss the conclusion of the first Apostolic council.  When the first Apostolic council met in Jerusalem to discuss the Christian outreach to the Gentiles, three of the four deliberations had to do with diet, namely, abstention from food that was “(20) strangled, and from blood (29) meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled,” Acts 15:20 & 29.  The first temptation of mankind was on the point of appetite, “yea had God said,” Genesis 3:1, questioning God’s wisdom in this area.  To this day, mankind struggles with his appetite.

 

 

B) AFTER HIS KIND

 

 

The KEY phrase in all of God’s instructions in regards to each creature is, “after his kind.”  Therefore, we must explore any creature mentioned in regards to their “kind” to determine other such things that we should not eat.  In other words, if God instructs us not to eat horses, that would include anything in the family of horses, such as Zebras for example.

 

Another clear instruction, after almost all of the individual instructions, is that we cannot eat anything that has died (Lev. 22:8; Deu. 14:21); nor tough a dead person or animal (Lev. 11:8; Num. 19:11-13).  Deuteronomy 14:21 has an interesting twist upon that instruction, but I would not recommend it to anyone attempting to eventually evangelize them, by giving them a dead carcass to eat that you found upon the road (road-kill).

 

Also, another clear instruction is found in Leviticus 17:10-11:  “[10] And whatsoever man there be of the house of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn among you, that eateth any manner of blood; I will even set My face against that soul that eateth blood, and will cut him off from among his people. [11] For the life of the flesh is in the blood:  and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls:  for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.”

 

This would include those who insist upon their steaks to be either rare, medium-rare, or medium.  Only a well-done, hard as leather steak is allowed by God.

 

Otherwise, see my Bible Study:  “DIET, DINNING GOD’S WAY.”

 

 

C) A LIST OF THE BEASTS TO BE OR NOT TO BE EATEN

 

 

Leviticus 11:3:  “Whatsoever parteth the hoof, and is clovenfooted, and cheweth the cud, among the beasts, that shall ye eat.”

Leviticus 11:4:  “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.”

Leviticus 11:5:  “And the coney, because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof; he is unclean unto you.”

Leviticus 11:6:  “And the hare, because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof; he is unclean unto you.”

Leviticus 11:7:  “And the swine, though he divide the hoof, and be clovenfooted, yet he cheweth not the cud; he is unclean to you.”

Leviticus 11:8:  “Of their flesh shall ye not eat, and their carcase shall ye not touch; they are unclean to you.”

 

Leviticus 11:26:  “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.”

Leviticus 11:27:  “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.”

 

Leviticus 11:29:  “These also shall be unclean unto you among the creeping things that creep upon the earth; the weasel, and the mouse, and the tortoise after his kind,”

Leviticus 11:30:  “And the ferret, and the chameleon, and the lizard, and the snail, and the mole.”

Leviticus 11:31:  “These are unclean to you among all that creep:  whosoever doth touch them, when they be dead, shall be unclean until the even.”

 

Deuteronomy 14:4-8:  “These are the beasts which ye shall eat: the ox, the sheep, and the goat, 

Deuteronomy 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.”

Deuteronomy 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.”

Deuteronomy 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.”

Deuteronomy 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.”

 

Apparently, from the beginning, Noah knew which animals were clean and which were unclean, for they were well separated out (see Gen. 7:2), the clean having “seven” pairs, and the unclean having only “two” pairs.

 

Let’s break some of this down.  The phrase, “parteth the hoof, and is clovenfooted,” Leviticus 11:3, that is, those whose hoof is parted and cloven all the way through; for there are some creatures that have partitions in their feet, but they are not cloven all the way through; they are parted above, but underneath they are joined together by a skin.  Wherefore, both these phrases are used to describe the beasts lawful to be eaten along with Leviticus 11:4’s statement of their hoofs.

 

“Cheweth the cud,” of Leviticus 11:3, means, “ruminates,” that is, they transfer the grass back into the mouth to be chewed some more in order to go into the second stomach.  It is first taken into the stomach for the purpose of mastication.  Animals which chew the cud, or ruminate, are provided with two, three or four stomachs.  As an example, the ox has four stomachs.  However, animals that do this but don’t have the requirements of Leviticus 11:4, are excluded as clean foods, such as the toes of a camel are divided above, but they are united below in a sort of cushion or pad resting upon the hard bottom of the foot, kind of like the sole of a shoe, and therefore, they are deemed unclean.

 

The “hare” of Leviticus 11:6, is most likely upsetting to some, for it covers all rabbits.  And Leviticus 11:7, really upsets the standard American diet, for “swine,” or pork-chops, or bacon, or ham, or whatever is made fro piggies, is forbidden.  According to “Adam Clark’s Commentary On The Bible,” “swine” were “sacred to the Venus of the Greeks and Romans, and the Friga of our Saxon ancestors.”  Oh how Satan works.  However, the real reason God rejects this item as proper food for God’s children is, “swine” are scavengers, bottom feeders if-you-will (like crustations in the ocean, which we will get to), and therefore, do not place healthy things within their bodies.  Whereas, when you eat a cow, you are getting good food (grass0, all-be-it, second hand.  My question is, Why not just get it first-hand instead?

 

Therefore, the “after its kind” of edible animals in the Bible are:  “cattle, sheep, goat, deer and the gazelle” type of families.

 

 

D) A LIST OF THE BIRDS TO BE OR NOT TO BE EATEN

 

 

Leviticus 11:13:  “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,”

Leviticus 11:14:  “And the vulture, and the kite after his kind;”

Leviticus 11:15:  “Every raven after his kind;”

Leviticus 11:16:  “And the owl, and the night hawk, and the cuckow, and the hawk after his kind,”

Leviticus 11:17:  “And the little owl, and the cormorant, and the great owl,”

Leviticus 11:18:  “And the swan, and the pelican, and the gier eagle,”

Leviticus 11:19:  “And the stork, the heron after her kind, and the lapwing, and the bat.”

Leviticus 11:20:  “All fowls that creep, going upon all four, shall be an abomination unto you.”

 

Deuteronomy 14:12:  “But these are they of which ye shall not eat: the eagle, and the ossifrage, and the ospray,”

Deuteronomy 14:13:  “And the glede, and the kite, and the vulture after his kind,”

Deuteronomy 14:14:  “And every raven after his kind,”

Deuteronomy 14:15:  “And the owl, and the night hawk, and the cuckow, and the hawk after his kind,”

Deuteronomy 14:16:  “The little owl, and the great owl, and the swan,”

Deuteronomy 14:17:  “And the pelican, and the gier eagle, and the cormorant,”

Deuteronomy 14:18:  “And the stork, and the heron after her kind, and the lapwing, and the bat.”

 

According to “Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers,” in regards to our exploration of, “after his kind,” Ellicottwrites:  “the following rules obtained during the second Temple.  Those birds are unclean (1) which snatch their food in the air, and devour it without first dropping it on the ground; (2) which strike with their talons and press down with their foot the prey to the ground, and then tear off pieces with their beak for consumption; (3) which ‘divide their feet’ when standing on an extended rope or branch, placing two toes on the one side and two on the other, and not three in front and one behind; and (4) whose eggs are equally narrow or equally round at both ends, and have the white in the middle and the yolk around it.”

 

In other words, God’s instruction would be most prohibitive of “Birds of Prey,” carnivores’ in nature (see Mat. 24:28).  They can be classed with the way God describes wayward people in Micah 3:2-3:  “[2] Who hate the good, and love the evil; who pluck off their skin from off them, and their flesh from off their bones; [3] Who also eat the flesh of My people, and flay their skin from off them; and they break their bones, and chop them in pieces, as for the pot, and as flesh within the caldron.”  The inference follows that all which are not mentioned were allowed; that is, fowls which subsist on vegetable substances.

 

According to the “Targum of Jonathan,” they are those “which have no superfluous talon, or no craw, or a crop not uncovered.”  And according to Pliny, in his work, “Ut supra.” [see “Nat. Hist.” l. 10. c. 3.]), he “speaks of it as having a very clear sight, and, poising itself on high, having sight of a fish in the sea, will rush down at once and fetch it out of the water.”

 

Should you have any questions about some of the birds mentioned, the “Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary,” they make a statement I agree with:  “From our imperfect knowledge of the natural history of Palestine, Arabia, and the contiguous countries at that time, it is not easy to determine exactly what some of the prohibited birds were; although they must have been all well known among the people to whom these laws were given. . . The ossifrage -- Hebrew, ‘bone-breaker,’ rendered in the Septuagint ‘griffon,’ supposed to be the Gypoetos barbatus, the Lammer Geyer of the Swiss -- a bird of the eagle or vulture species, inhabiting the highest mountain ranges in Western Asia as well as Europe.  It pursues as its prey the chamois, ibex, or marmot, among rugged cliffs, till it drives them over a precipice -- thus obtaining the name of ‘bone-breaker.’ ”

 

 

E) A LIST OF FISH TO BE OR NOT TO BE EATEN

 

 

Leviticus 11:9:  “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.”

Leviticus 11:10:  “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:”

Leviticus 11:11:  “They shall be even an abomination unto you; ye shall not eat of their flesh, but ye shall have their carcases in abomination.”

Leviticus 11:12:  “Whatsoever hath no fins nor scales in the waters, that shall be an abomination unto you.”

 

Deuteronomy 14:9:  “These ye shall eat of all that are in the waters: all that have fins and scales shall ye eat:”

Deuteronomy 14:10:  “And whatsoever hath not fins and scales ye may not eat; it is unclean unto you.”

 

These instructions are quite clear.  Only fish with “fins and scales” may be eaten.  Excluded, to most people’s distain, are shell-fish, crustaceans, and the like.  Bottom feeders if-you-will.

 

 

F) A LIST OF INSECTS TO BE OR NOT TO BE EATEN

 

 

Leviticus 11:20:  “All fowls {and insects} that creep, going upon all four, shall be an abomination unto you. 

Leviticus 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;”

Leviticus 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.”

Leviticus 11:23:  “But all other flying creeping things, which have four feet, shall be an abomination unto you.”

 

Leviticus 11:41:  “And every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth shall be an abomination; it shall not be eaten.”

Leviticus 11:42:  “Whatsoever goeth upon the belly {snakes}, and whatsoever goeth upon all four, or whatsoever hath more feet among all creeping things that creep upon the earth, them ye shall not eat; for they are an abomination.”

 

Deuteronomy 14:19:  “And every creeping thing that flieth is unclean unto you: they shall not be eaten.”

 

Therefore, flying insects were unclean, but hopping insects were clean and edible.  In Deuteronomy 14:20, we would include “bats” as mentioned previously.  They have claws attached to their leathern wings, which serve in the place of feet to crawl by; the feet and legs not being distinct.

 

According to “Adam Clark’s Commentary On The Bible,”  “Going upon all four -- May signify no more than walking regularly or progressively, foot after foot as quadrupeds [four legged] do; for it cannot be applied to insects literally, as they have in general six feet {Which is why I included this comment}, many of them more, some reputed to have a hundred, hence called centipedes; and some a thousand, hence called millipedes; words which often signify no more than that such insects have a great number of feet.”

 

However, “which have legs above their feet,” Deuteronomy 14:21, clarifies that, as an example, Locusts may be eaten.  Therefore, it would be safe to include any insects with more than four feet as being unclean.  However again, the “beetle” of Deuteronomy 14:22, generally has six legs, and therefore God mentions it to preclude the restriction of four (4) legs for this insect.

 

In regards to the more than four feet, Aristotle observes, in his work, “Ut supra.” (see “Hist. Animal.” l. 9. c. 6.):  “most creeping things that fly have six feet, as the locusts themselves, reckoning their leaping legs into the number; though it may be observed, that those creatures that have six feet have but four equal ones, on which they walk or creep; and the two foremost, which are longer, are as hands to them to wipe their eyes with, and protect them from anything that may fall into them and hurt them; they not being able to see clearly because of the hardness of their eyes.”