This list is strictly followed by Judaism being the Kosher list of food governed by Jewish law.
The instruction from the old testament comes clearly from God. Many of the items on the list we will have no issues with abstaining from but many of us will find it hard to avoid that yummy crab or lobster and for the more carnivorous, pork ribs!
According to Leviticus 11 (full text reproduced below at end of this post);
What we CAN eat:
(vs. 1-8) Eating mammals
- Among the animals, whatever divides the hoof, having cloven hooves and chewing the cud; that you may eat: The rule was simple. If an animal had a divided hoof (not a single hoof as a horse has), and chewed its cud, it could be eaten.
(vs. 9-12) Water animals
- These you may eat of all that are in the water: The rule again was simple: Any water creature having both fins and scales was kosher and could be eaten.
(vs. 13- 19) Birds
- These you shall regard as an abomination among the birds: There is no rule given to determine if a bird is clean or unclean; only specific birds (twenty in all) are mentioned as being unclean.
(vs. 20-23) Insects
- "Yet these you may eat of every flying insect that creeps on all fours: those which have jointed legs above their feet with which to leap on the earth. These you may eat: the locust after its kind, the destroying locust after its kind, the cricket after its kind, and the grasshopper after its kind." All other kinds of four feet insects may not be eaten
What we CANNOT eat:
(1-8) Mammals that cannot be eaten
- These you shall not eat among those that chew the cud or those that have cloven hooves: For example, the camel, the rock hyrax, and the hare all chew the cud, but do not have divided hooves - instead, they have paws - they are considered unkosher.
- And the swine, though it divides the hoof, having cloven hooves, yet does not chew the cud, is unclean to you: Additionally, the swine has a divided hoof, but it does not chew the cud - so it is considered unkosher
- It is now known that the pig is the intermediate host for several parasitic organisms, some of which can result in tapeworm infestation. One of these worms, the Taenia solium, grows to about 2.5 m in length, and is found in poorly cooked pork.
- Their flesh you shall not eat, and their carcasses you shall not touch: If an animal was considered unclean, one obviously could not eat it. Yet additionally, one could not touch an unclean animal, whether living or dead.
- God was not making up new rules for Israel. Noah knew about clean and unclean animals (Genesis 7:2, 8:20). God simply codified what was already in the traditions of Israel.
(vs. 9-12) Water animals that cannot be eaten
- Whatever in the water has fins and scales, whether in the seas or in the rivers; that you may eat: On this principle, most fishes were considered clean - except a fish like the catfish, which has no scales. Shellfish would be unclean, because clams, crabs, oysters, and lobster all do not have fins and scales.
(vs. 13-19) Birds that cannot be eaten
- The eagle, the vulture, the buzzard . . .: The common thread through most of these birds is that they are either predators or scavengers; these were considered unclean.
(vs. 20-23) Insects
- All flying insects that creep on all fours shall be an abomination to you: except the locust, cricket and the grasshopper. Interesting enough, insects have 6 legs!
- "These also shall be unclean to you among the creeping things that creep on the earth: the mole, the mouse, and the large lizard after its kind; the gecko, the monitor lizard, the sand reptile, the sand lizard, and the chameleon."
(vs. 39-40) Carcasses of clean animals (ie. dead animals)
(vs. 41-43) Creeping animals considered unclean
- "And every creeping thing that creeps on the earth shall be an abomination. It shall not be eaten. Whatever crawls on its belly, whatever goes on all fours, or whatever has many feet among all creeping things that creep on the earth; these you shall not eat, for they are an abomination. You shall not make yourselves abominable with any creeping thing that creeps; nor shall you make yourselves unclean with them, lest you be defiled by them."
Explicit List of CANNOT EAT:
Good News! Thanks to Jesus (The dietary restrictions are 'lifted')
Jesus is quoted in Mark 7:14–23 as saying "There is nothing from without a man, that entering into him can defile him [...] whatsoever
thing from without entereth into the man, it cannot defile him; because
it entereth not into his heart, but into the belly"; and also in Matthew 15:10–11. "Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man."
These statements are often cited for support of the view that Christianity does not include dietary restrictions. The majority of Christians agree that the dietary restriction of the Old Testament were lifted with Christ's New Covenant.
Supporters of the liberal view also point to Peter's vision reported in Acts 10:10-16 and Acts 11:5-10
in which God invited him to eat "fourfooted beasts of the earth, and
wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air". They also draw
support from the writings of apostles Timothy (1 Timothy 4:3–5, "For
every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be
received with thanksgiving; for it is sanctified by the word of God and
prayer") and Paul (Colossians 2:8–16}, "Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days").
Paul affirms that any created thing in the food line is acceptable as
long as it meets two tests -it must be sanctified (or set apart as
holy) by the Bible, and it should be prayed over with thanksgiving. Pork
has been a particularly disputed topic, since it is explicitly
forbidden in the Old Testament, where it is compared to idolatry.
There is debate over this text as the New Testament never directly
declares pork as holy, but rather God refers to as an abomination and
therefore not sanctified.
Frequently asked questions:
- Can we eat food at a Muslim festival or if we attend a Muslim's friend's wedding banquet?
- Can we eat food prepared by a Buddhist?
- Can we eat the food at a Buddhist festival that we attend (for various reasons) and the food that the Buddhist offered up in prayers?
The answer is YES to all of the above. (based on Mark 7:14-23)
Interesting note: Funny enough many of us often get very excited wondering if we can eat the food at a Buddhist or Muslim festival we attend but fail to notice that our Muslim and Buddhist friends do not have any issues and neither do we care too much when a priest is asked to give the blessing for the food to be eaten at a christian wedding banquet........
The full text of Leviticus 11 is reproduced as follows:
Leviticus 11 : New International Version (NIV)
Clean and Unclean Food
11 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 2 “Say to the Israelites: ‘Of all the animals that live on land, these are the ones you may eat: 3 You may eat any animal that has a divided hoof and that chews the cud.
4 “‘There are some that only chew the cud or only have a divided hoof, but you must not eat them. The camel, though it chews the cud, does not have a divided hoof; it is ceremonially unclean for you. 5 The hyrax, though it chews the cud, does not have a divided hoof; it is unclean for you. 6 The rabbit, though it chews the cud, does not have a divided hoof; it is unclean for you. 7 And the pig, though it has a divided hoof, does not chew the cud; it is unclean for you. 8 You must not eat their meat or touch their carcasses; they are unclean for you.9 “‘Of all the creatures living in the water of the seas and the streams you may eat any that have fins and scales. 10 But all creatures in the seas or streams that do not have fins and scales—whether among all the swarming things or among all the other living creatures in the water—you are to regard as unclean. 11 And since you are to regard them as unclean, you must not eat their meat; you must regard their carcasses as unclean. 12 Anything living in the water that does not have fins and scales is to be regarded as unclean by you.
13 “‘These are the birds you are to regard as unclean and not eat because they are unclean: the eagle,[a] the vulture, the black vulture, 14 the red kite, any kind of black kite, 15 any kind of raven, 16 the horned owl, the screech owl, the gull, any kind of hawk, 17 the little owl, the cormorant, the great owl, 18 the white owl, the desert owl, the osprey, 19 the stork, any kind of heron, the hoopoe and the bat.
20 “‘All flying insects that walk on all fours are to be regarded as unclean by you. 21 There are, however, some flying insects that walk on all fours that you may eat: those that have jointed legs for hopping on the ground. 22 Of these you may eat any kind of locust, katydid, cricket or grasshopper. 23 But all other flying insects that have four legs you are to regard as unclean.
24 “‘You will make yourselves unclean by these; whoever touches their carcasses will be unclean till evening. 25 Whoever picks up one of their carcasses must wash their clothes, and they will be unclean till evening.
26 “‘Every animal that does not have a divided hoof or that does not chew the cud is unclean for you; whoever touches the carcass of any of them will be unclean. 27 Of all the animals that walk on all fours, those that walk on their paws are unclean for you; whoever touches their carcasses will be unclean till evening. 28 Anyone who picks up their carcasses must wash their clothes, and they will be unclean till evening. These animals are unclean for you.
29 “‘Of the animals that move along the ground, these are unclean for you: the weasel, the rat, any kind of great lizard, 30 the gecko, the monitor lizard, the wall lizard, the skink and the chameleon. 31 Of all those that move along the ground, these are unclean for you. Whoever touches them when they are dead will be unclean till evening. 32 When one of them dies and falls on something, that article, whatever its use, will be unclean, whether it is made of wood, cloth, hide or sackcloth. Put it in water; it will be unclean till evening, and then it will be clean. 33 If one of them falls into a clay pot, everything in it will be unclean, and you must break the pot. 34 Any food you are allowed to eat that has come into contact with water from any such pot is unclean, and any liquid that is drunk from such a pot is unclean. 35 Anything that one of their carcasses falls on becomes unclean; an oven or cooking pot must be broken up. They are unclean, and you are to regard them as unclean. 36 A spring, however, or a cistern for collecting water remains clean, but anyone who touches one of these carcasses is unclean. 37 If a carcass falls on any seeds that are to be planted, they remain clean. 38 But if water has been put on the seed and a carcass falls on it, it is unclean for you.
39 “‘If an animal that you are allowed to eat dies, anyone who touches its carcass will be unclean till evening. 40 Anyone who eats some of its carcass must wash their clothes, and they will be unclean till evening. Anyone who picks up the carcass must wash their clothes, and they will be unclean till evening.
41 “‘Every creature that moves along the ground is to be regarded as unclean; it is not to be eaten. 42 You are not to eat any creature that moves along the ground, whether it moves on its belly or walks on all fours or on many feet; it is unclean. 43 Do not defile yourselves by any of these creatures. Do not make yourselves unclean by means of them or be made unclean by them. 44 I am the Lord your God; consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy. Do not make yourselves unclean by any creature that moves along the ground. 45 I am the Lord, who brought you up out of Egypt to be your God; therefore be holy, because I am holy.
46 “‘These are the regulations concerning animals, birds, every living thing that moves about in the water and every creature that moves along the ground. 47 You must distinguish between the unclean and the clean, between living creatures that may be eaten and those that may not be eaten.’”
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