14:3–21 This section and Num. 5:1–4 are the main references to the clean-and-unclean legislation outside of Lev. 11–15. The only ground given for the prohibitions is that Israel is to be holy to the Lord. Several reasons, ranging from religious to medical, have been suggested for these laws. In many cases the prohibitions require what would be good public health procedure, but the distinction of clean and unclean was not entirely a matter of health. Rather, it teaches an important moral and spiritual truth: separation from the specified foods and diseases portrayed the holiness of God and of His people. See notes Lev. 11–15.