Leviticus 11:11
in Leviticus 11They shall be an abomination to you; you must not eat their meat, and you must detest their carcasses.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
and they shall be an abomination unto you; ye shall not eat of their flesh, and their carcasses ye shall have in abomination.
KJV
They shall be even an abomination unto you; ye shall not eat of their flesh, but ye shall have their carcases in abomination.
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This verse in Leviticus 11
Commentary
5 notes on this verseThey shall be even an abomination to you,.... This is repeated again and again, to deter from the eating of such fishes, lest there should be any desire after them: ye shall not eat of their flesh, here mention is made of the flesh of fishes, as is by the apostle, 1Co 15:39. Aben Ezra observes, that their wise men say, this is according to the usage of words in those ages: but you shall have their carcasses in abomination; not only abstain from eating them and touching them, but to express the utmost aversion to them.
This site's exposition
Of all the creatures that live in the water
on Leviticus 11:9-12
Water creatures get the shortest rule in the chapter, only fins and scales. Land beasts were called unclean, while the creatures of the water are called an abomination, four times in three verses. The chapter makes that difference in grade and gives no ground for it.
This site's exposition
you must detest their carcasses
John Wesley draws weight from the words to you in verses 10 to 12. They are detestable to Israel alone. He concludes that when the partition wall between Jews and Gentiles was taken away, these distinctions of food were to cease.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Unto you - This clause is added to shew that they were neither abominable in their own nature, nor for the food of other nations; and consequently when the partition-wall between Jews and Gentiles was taken away, these distinctions of meat were to cease.
Thus God's spiritual Israel, as they are dignified above others by the gospel-covenant of adoption and friendship, so they must be mortified more than others by the gospel-commands of self-denial and bearing the cross.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
“This includes [in the category of forbidden food] yavchushin which have been filtered [through water]. Yavchushin are insects called mousclions. In our Rashi: moucherons. — A native of France, Rashi explained many Scriptural and Talmudic terms in the French language of his times.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 6 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
9 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְשֶׁ֖קֶץ | vesheketz | and detestable thing[s] | H8263 → | 11 times |
| יִהְי֣וּ | yihyu | they will be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| לָכֶ֑ם | lakhem | to <the> you | ||
| מִבְּשָׂרָם֙ | mibesaram | any of meat their | H1320 → | 270 times |
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תֹאכֵ֔לוּ | tokhelu | you must eat | H398 → | 810 times |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| נִבְלָתָ֖ם | nivlatam | carcass their | H5038 → | 48 times |
| תְּשַׁקֵּֽצוּ׃ | teshaketzu | you will consider detestable | H8262 → | 7 times |
וְשֶׁ֖קֶץand detestable thing[s]
vesheketzH8263 →11 times
יִהְי֣וּthey will be
yihyuH1961 →3559 times
לָכֶ֑םto <the> you
lakhem
מִבְּשָׂרָם֙any of meat their
mibesaramH1320 →270 times
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
תֹאכֵ֔לוּyou must eat
tokheluH398 →810 times
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
נִבְלָתָ֖םcarcass their
nivlatamH5038 →48 times
תְּשַׁקֵּֽצוּ׃you will consider detestable
teshaketzuH8262 →7 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Leviticus
This page draws on John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.