Exodus 22:31
in Exodus 22You are to be My holy people. You must not eat the meat of a mauled animal found in the field; you are to throw it to the dogs.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And ye shall be holy men unto me: therefore ye shall not eat any flesh that is torn of beasts in the field; ye shall cast it to the dogs.
KJV
And ye shall be holy men unto me: neither shall ye eat any flesh that is torn of beasts in the field; ye shall cast it to the dogs.
⋯
This verse in Exodus 22
Commentary
7 notes on this verseYe shall be holy unto me - And one mark of that honourable distinction is appointed in their diet, which was, that they should not eat any flesh that was torn of beasts - Both because the blood was not duly taken out of it, and because the clean beast was ceremonially defiled, by the touch of the unclean.
This site's exposition
And ye shall be holy men unto me
A chapter of oxen, fires, pledges and dowries ends on holiness, and the mark given for it is what a man will and will not eat. Flesh torn by beasts is refused for the same reason verse 13 accepted it as evidence, since the blood was never drawn off and the carcass had lain with an unclean animal, and Leviticus 17:15 and 22:8 repeat the rule. The summons itself returns at Leviticus 19:2 and Peter quotes it to scattered believers at 1 Peter 1:16.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
2 If a thief be found breaking up, and be smitten that he die, there shall no blood be shed for him. 3 If the sun be risen upon him, there shall be blood shed for him; for he should make full restitution; if he have nothing, then he shall be sold for his theft.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-scripture
), not only because it was unwholesome, but because it was paltry, and base, and covetous, and a thing below those who were holy men unto God, to eat the leavings of the beasts of prey. We that are sanctified to God must not be curious in our diet; but we must be conscientious, not feeding ourselves without fear, but eating and drinking by rule, the rule of sobriety, to the glory of God.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
And ye shall be holy men unto me,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
Neither shall ye eat - flesh - torn of beasts in the field - This has been supposed to be an ordinance against eating flesh cut off the animal while alive, and so the Syriac seems to have understood it. If we can credit Mr. Bruce, this is a frequent custom in Abyssinia; but human nature revolts from it. The reason of the prohibition against eating the flesh of animals that had been torn, or as we term it worried in the field, appears to have been simply this: That the people might not eat the blood, which in this case must be coagulated in the flesh; and the blood, being the life of the beast, and emblematical of the blood of the covenant, was ever to be held sacred, and was prohibited from the days of Noah. See Clarke’s note on Gen 9:4. In the conclusion of this chapter we see the grand reason of all the ordinances and laws which it contains. No command was issued merely from the sovereignty of God. He gave them to the people as restraints on disorderly passions, and incentives to holiness; and hence he says, Ye shall be holy men unto me. Mere outward services could neither please him nor profit them; for from the very beginning of the world the end of the commandment was love out of a pure heart and good conscience, and faith unfeigned, 1Ti 1:5. And without these accompaniments no set of religious duties, however punctually performed, could be pleasing in the sight of that God who seeks truth in the inward parts, and in whose eyes the faith that worketh by love is alone valuable. A holy heart and a holy, useful life God invariably requires in all his worshippers. Reader, how standest thou in his sight?
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
The sanctification of the nation was emphatically symbolized by strictness of diet as regards both the kind of animal, and the mode of slaughtering. See Lev. 11; 17.
The words behind it
12 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְאַנְשֵׁי־ | veanshei- | and people of | H582 → | 566 times |
| קֹ֖דֶשׁ | kodesh | holiness | H6944 → | 469 times |
| תִּהְי֣וּן | tihyun | you will be ! | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| לִ֑י | li | of me | ||
| וּבָשָׂ֨ר | uvasar | and flesh | H1320 → | 270 times |
| בַּשָּׂדֶ֤ה | basadeh | in the field | H7704 → | 334 times |
| טְרֵפָה֙ | terefah | a torn animal | H2966 → | |
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תֹאכֵ֔לוּ | tokhelu | you must eat | H398 → | 810 times |
| לַכֶּ֖לֶב | lakelev | to the dog[s] | H3611 → | |
| תַּשְׁלִכ֥וּן | tashlikhun | you will throw ! | H7993 → | 125 times |
| אֹתֽוֹ׃ ס | ʾoto | <obj.> it | H853 → | 10935 times |
וְאַנְשֵׁי־and people of
veanshei-H582 →566 times
קֹ֖דֶשׁholiness
kodeshH6944 →469 times
תִּהְי֣וּןyou will be !
tihyunH1961 →3559 times
לִ֑יof me
li
וּבָשָׂ֨רand flesh
uvasarH1320 →270 times
בַּשָּׂדֶ֤הin the field
basadehH7704 →334 times
טְרֵפָה֙a torn animal
terefahH2966 →
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
תֹאכֵ֔לוּyou must eat
tokheluH398 →810 times
לַכֶּ֖לֶבto the dog[s]
lakelevH3611 →
תַּשְׁלִכ֥וּןyou will throw !
tashlikhunH7993 →125 times
אֹתֽוֹ׃ ס<obj.> it
ʾotoH853 →10935 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Leviticus 19:2“Speak to the whole congregation of Israel and tell them: Be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy.
it leads to
- Leviticus 11:44–45
For I am the LORD your God; consecrate yourselves, therefore, and be holy, because I am holy. You must not defile yourselves by any creature that crawls along the ground.
- Leviticus 20:7
Consecrate yourselves, therefore, and be holy, because I am the LORD your God.
- 1 Peter 1:15–16
But just as He who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do,
- 2 Corinthians 6:14–16
Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership can righteousness have with wickedness? Or what fellowship does light have with darkness?
- Matthew 5:48
Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
- Leviticus 11:44–45
Through
Deuteronomy 14:21You are not to eat any carcass; you may give it to the foreigner residing within your gates, and he may eat it, or you may sell it to a foreigner. For you are…
it leads to
- Exodus 23:19
Bring the best of the firstfruits of your soil to the house of the LORD your God. You must not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.
- Exodus 34:26
Bring the best of the firstfruits of your soil to the house of the LORD your God. You must not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.”
- Exodus 23:19
Through
Ezekiel 4:14“Ah, Lord GOD,” I said, “I have never defiled myself. From my youth until now I have not eaten anything found dead or mauled by wild beasts. No unclean meat has ever entered my…
it leads to
- Acts 10:14
“No, Lord!” Peter answered. “I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.”
- Acts 10:14
Where this verse is studied
About Exodus
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.