Leviticus 11:29
in Leviticus 11The following creatures that move along the ground are unclean for you: the mole, the mouse, any kind of great lizard,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And these are they which are unclean unto you among the creeping things that creep upon the earth: the weasel, and the mouse, and the great lizard after its kind,
KJV
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,
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This verse in Leviticus 11
Commentary
5 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The identification of “the creeping things” here named is not always certain. They are most likely those which were occasionally eaten. For the “Tortoise” read “the great lizard,” for the “ferret” the “gecko” (one of the lizard tribe), for the “chameleon” read the “frog” or the Nile lizard: by the word rendered “snail” is probably meant another kind of lizard, and by the “mole” the “chameleon.”
This site's exposition
shall be unclean unto you among the creeping things
on Leviticus 11:29-35
Eight small creatures are named, and then the rule moves from the animal to whatever it falls on when it is dead. A wooden vessel, a garment, a skin or a sack goes into water and is clean at evening, and an earthen vessel is broken instead. An oven or a set of ranges for pots is broken down on the same ground, so a thing fired out of clay is destroyed where a thing of wood is washed. The chapter states that difference between materials and leaves it unexplained.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
These also shall be unclean unto you among the creeping things that creep upon the earth,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
the weasel--rather, the mole. the mouse--From its diminutive size it is placed among the reptiles instead of the quadrupeds. the tortoise--a lizard, resembling very nearly in shape, and in the hard pointed scales of the tail, the shaketail.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
The weasel - חלד choled, from chalad, Syr., to creep in. Bochart conjectures, with great propriety, that the mole, not the weasel, is intended by the Hebrew word: its property of digging into the earth, and creeping or burrowing under the surface, is well known. The mouse - עחבר achbar. Probably the large field rat, or what is called by the Germans the hamster, though every species of the mus genus may be here prohibited. The tortoise - צב tsab. Most critics allow that the tortoise is not intended here, but rather the crocodile, the frog, or the toad. The frog is most probably the animal meant, and all other creatures of its kind.
The words behind it
11 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְזֶ֤ה | vezeh | and this | H2088 → | 1180 times |
| לָכֶם֙ | lakhem | to <the> you | ||
| הַטָּמֵ֔א | hatame' | [is] the unclean | H2931 → | 88 times |
| בַּשֶּׁ֖רֶץ | basheretz | among the swarming thing[s] | H8318 → | 15 times |
| הַשֹּׁרֵ֣ץ | hashoretz | which swarms | H8317 → | 14 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| הָאָ֑רֶץ | haaretz | the earth | H776 → | 2504 times |
| הַחֹ֥לֶד | hacholed | the weasel | H2467 → | |
| וְהָעַכְבָּ֖ר | vehaakhbar | and the mouse | H5909 → | |
| וְהַצָּ֥ב | vehatzav | and the great lizard | H6632 → | |
| לְמִינֵֽהוּ׃ | leminehu | to kind its | H4327 → | 31 times |
וְזֶ֤הand this
vezehH2088 →1180 times
לָכֶם֙to <the> you
lakhem
הַטָּמֵ֔א[is] the unclean
hatame'H2931 →88 times
בַּשֶּׁ֖רֶץamong the swarming thing[s]
basheretzH8318 →15 times
הַשֹּׁרֵ֣ץwhich swarms
hashoretzH8317 →14 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
הָאָ֑רֶץthe earth
haaretzH776 →2504 times
הַחֹ֥לֶדthe weasel
hacholedH2467 →
וְהָעַכְבָּ֖רand the mouse
vehaakhbarH5909 →
וְהַצָּ֥בand the great lizard
vehatzavH6632 →
לְמִינֵֽהוּ׃to kind its
leminehuH4327 →31 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
Luke 12:15And He said to them, “Watch out! Guard yourselves against every form of greed, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”
it leads to
- Hebrews 13:5
Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, for God has said: “Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you.”
- 1 Timothy 6:6–10
Of course, godliness with contentment is great gain.
- Psalms 119:36–37
Turn my heart to Your testimonies and not to covetous gain.
- Proverbs 16:16
How much better to acquire wisdom than gold! To gain understanding is more desirable than silver.
- Proverbs 15:16
Better a little with the fear of the LORD than great treasure with turmoil.
- Hebrews 13:5
Through
John 6:66From that time on many of His disciples turned back and no longer walked with Him.
it leads to
- Luke 9:62
Then Jesus declared, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and then looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”
- 1 John 2:19
They went out from us, but they did not belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us. But their departure made it clear that none of…
- Hebrews 10:38
But My righteous one will live by faith; and if he shrinks back, I will take no pleasure in him.”
- Luke 9:62
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Leviticus
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch.