Chronological

Clean and Unclean Animals^(A)

11 The Lord told Moses and Aaron,^{[a] 2} “Tell the Israelis that these are the living creatures that you may eat among the animals of the earth: ³ You may eat any animal that has divided hooves with cloven feet and that ruminates its cud, ⁴ except you are not to eat the following animals that have divided hooves or ruminate their cud: the camel (because it chews the cud but doesn’t have divided hooves, it is to be unclean for you), ⁵ the rock badger (because it chews its cud but its hooves aren’t divided, it is to be unclean for you), ⁶ the hare (because it chews its cud, but its hooves aren’t divided, it is to be unclean for you), ⁷ and the pig (because it has divided hooves and is therefore cloven-footed, but it doesn’t ruminate its cud, it is to be unclean for you). ⁸ You are not to eat their flesh or even touch their carcasses. They are to be unclean for you.”

Clean and Unclean Seafood

⁹ “You may eat anything that lives in the water—that is, you may eat anything that has fins and scales either from the seas or from the rivers. ¹⁰ But anything that doesn’t have fins or scales—whether from the seas or the rivers—any of the swarming creatures and living creatures in the waters are detestable for you. ¹¹ They are to remain detestable for you. You are not to eat of their meat and you are to detest their carcasses. ¹² Anything that doesn’t have fins or scales in the waters is a detestable thing for you.”

Clean and Unclean Winged Creatures

¹³ “These are detestable things for you among winged creatures that you are not to eat, because they are detestable for you: the eagle, vulture, osprey, ¹⁴ red kite, falcons of any kind, ¹⁵ every kind of raven, ¹⁶ ostrich, nighthawk, seagull, hawks of every kind, ¹⁷ owls, cormorants, the ibis, ¹⁸ water-hens, pelicans, carrion, ¹⁹ storks, herons of every kind, the hoopoe, bata, ²⁰ and any winged insect that crawls on four legs is detestable for you. ²¹ However, you may eat winged creatures that crawl on four legs that extend over its head and by which it hops on the ground. ²² These creatures that you may eat include the locust of any kind, the bald locust of any kind, the cricket of any kind, and the grasshopper of any kind. ²³ But any other winged insect that has four legs is detestable for you ²⁴ and is unclean. Anyone who touches their carcasses becomes unclean until evening. ²⁵ And anyone who carries their carcasses is to wash his clothes, since he will remain unclean until evening.”

Summary of Clean and Unclean

²⁶ “Any animal that has divided hooves and is cloven-footed but doesn’t chew the cud is unclean for you. Anyone who touches them is unclean. ²⁷ Among the animals, anything that walks on their paws and on four legs is unclean for you. Anyone who touches their carcasses becomes unclean until evening. ²⁸ Whoever carries their carcass is to wash their clothes, because they’ve become unclean until evening. They’re unclean for you.

²⁹ “These are unclean for you among the swarming creatures that crawl over the land: the rat,^[b] mouse, lizards of every kind, ³⁰ the gecko, crocodile, lizard, sand lizard, and chameleon. ³¹ These are unclean for you among the swarming creatures, so anyone who touches them when they’re dead becomes unclean until evening. ³² Furthermore, anything on which they fall when they’re dead becomes unclean, whether on an article of wood, clothing, skin, or a sack. And any vessel used for any work is to be washed in water, because it has become unclean until evening. ³³ Any earthen vessel into which any of these things fall becomes unclean, along with everything in it. You are to destroy it, along with all its contents.”

Clean and Unclean Vessels

³⁴ “Any food that may be eaten, but into which water has soaked, becomes unclean. Any drink that may be drunk in any of these vessels becomes unclean, ³⁵ and anything into which their carcass falls becomes unclean. An oven or stove is to be broken in pieces. They’re unclean and therefore unclean for you.

³⁶ “A spring or a cistern that holds water is clean, but whoever touches the carcass of an unclean animal will be unclean. ³⁷ If their carcass falls on a seed, which is for sowing, what is to be sown is clean. ³⁸ But if water is put on the seed and part of their carcass falls on it, then it has become unclean for you.

³⁹ “If any of the animals that you may eat dies, the one who touches its carcass becomes unclean until evening. ⁴⁰ The one who eats from its carcass is to wash his clothes, because he has become unclean until evening. Even the one who carries the carcass is to wash his clothes, because he has become unclean until evening.”

Unclean Swarming Animals

⁴¹ “Every swarming thing that swarms the land is detestable for you. It is not to be eaten. ⁴² You are not to eat anything that crawls on its belly, anything that walks on four legs, anything that has many legs, or any of the swarming creatures that swarm the land, because they’re detestable. ⁴³ You are not to make yourselves detestable on account of any swarming creature that swarms the land, and you are not to defile yourselves and become unclean due to them, ⁴⁴ because I, the Lord, am your God. Set yourselves apart and be holy, because I am holy. You are not to defile yourselves with any of the swarming creatures that swarm the earth. ⁴⁵ I am the Lord, who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God. You are to be holy, because I am holy. ⁴⁶ This is the law concerning animals, every living creature that moves on the waters or swarms^[c] on land. ⁴⁷ You are to differentiate between the clean and unclean, between the living creature that can be eaten and the living creature that is not to be eaten.”

Post-Natal Purification

12 The Lord told Moses, ² “Tell the Israelis that a woman who conceives and bears a son is unclean for seven days. Just like the days of her menstruation,^[d] she is unclean. ³ On the eighth day, the flesh of the baby’s foreskin is to be circumcised. ⁴ For 33 days after this, she is to remain in purification due to her blood loss.^[e] She is not to touch any sacred thing or enter the sanctuary until the days of her purification have been completed.

⁵ “If she gives birth to a female, then she is to remain unclean for two weeks, just like her menstruation. She is to remain in purification for 66 days due to her blood loss.^{[f] 6} When the days of her purification have been completed, whether for her son or daughter, she is to bring to the priest at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting a one year old lamb for a whole burnt offering or a young dove for a sin offering. ⁷ He is to offer it in the Lord’s presence and make atonement for her so that she becomes clean from her blood loss. This is the law concerning the bearing of a male or female child. ⁸ If she cannot afford a goat, then two turtledoves or two young doves—one for a burnt offering and the other for a sin offering—will serve for him to make atonement for her, so that she becomes clean.”

Diagnosing Skin Diseases

13 The Lord said this to Moses and Aaron: ² “When a person^[g] has a swelling or a scab in the skin on his body^[h] that turns white in appearance and appears to be more extensive than skin deep, he is to be brought to Aaron the priest or to one of his sons among the priests. ³ The priest is to examine the skin rash on the body. If the hair on the skin rash has turned white and its appearance is deeper than the skin of his body, it’s an infectious skin disease. When the priest has examined it, then he is to declare him unclean.

⁴ “If the light spot in the skin of his body is white but the appearance of the skin rash isn’t deeper than the skin of his body and its hair has not become white, then the priest is to isolate^[i] the one who is infected for seven days. ⁵ On the seventh day, the priest is to examine him again. If, in his opinion, the skin rash remained the same and it^[j] did not spread, then he is to isolate^[k] him for another seven days.

⁶ “On the next^[l] seventh day, the priest is to examine him again. If the skin rash didn’t become dull and it^[m] didn’t spread in the skin, then the priest is to pronounce him clean: it’s a scab. He is to wash his clothes and be clean. ⁷ But if the scab did spread in the skin after he presented himself to the priest for cleansing, then he is to show himself a second time to the priest. ⁸ When the priest examines him and determines that the scab did, in fact, spread in his skin, then the priest is to pronounce him unclean, since it’s an infectious skin disease.”

Infectious Skin Diseases

⁹ “When a person has a skin rash that’s infectious, he is to be brought to the priest. ¹⁰ The priest is to examine it. If it is, indeed, a white swelling in the skin that has turned the hair white, and yet it sustains live flesh on the swelling, ¹¹ it’s a festering skin disease in his body. The priest is to declare him unclean. The man need not be confined, since he’s already unclean. ¹² If the infectious skin disease spreads in the skin so that it covers his entire body from head to foot (as the priest examines it), ¹³ when the priest’s examination reveals that the infectious skin disease has covered his entire body, then he is to declare him clean, even though he still has the skin infection. He has turned entirely white, so he’s clean. ¹⁴ But if, one day, infected flesh appears again in him, he is unclean. ¹⁵ The priest is to examine the infected flesh and declare him unclean. The raw flesh is unclean; it’s an infectious skin disease. ¹⁶ If the raw flesh recurs and turns white, then he is to go to the priest. ¹⁷ When the priest examines him and finds that the skin rash has indeed turned white, then the priest is to declare the one with the skin rash clean, and he will be clean.”

On Boils

¹⁸ “When someone is infected with a boil, but after it’s healed, ¹⁹ in place of the boil there remains a white swelling or a bright, white-reddish spot, he is to present himself to the priest. ²⁰ When the priest undertakes his examination and finds that it appears more extensive than skin deep and that its hair has turned white, then the priest is to declare him unclean, since an infectious skin disease has flourished in the boil. ²¹ If the priest undertakes an examination, but there’s no white hair in it and it’s not more extensive than skin deep, but it’s dull, then the priest is to isolate^[n] him for seven days. ²² But if the infection has spread in the skin, then the priest is to declare him unclean. It’s a skin rash. ²³ If the scab remains in place and doesn’t spread, then it’s the scab from the boil. The priest is to declare him clean.”

Burn Scars

²⁴ “When a person has a burn scar in the skin that turns bright, white-reddish, or white, ²⁵ if the priest examines it and indeed the hair has turned white with a white spot appearing more extensive than skin deep, it’s an infectious skin disease with a burn scar that has spread. The priest is to declare him unclean. It’s an infectious skin disease. ²⁶ But if the priest examines it and discovers that there’s no bright area or white hair, or if he discovers that^[o] it’s not more extensive than skin deep and it’s dull, then the priest is to isolate^[p] him for seven days. ²⁷ When the priest examines it on the seventh day and finds that it has indeed spread on the skin, then the priest is to declare him unclean. It’s an infectious skin disease. ²⁸ But if the bright spot remains in place, doesn’t spread in the skin, and it’s dull, it’s the swelling of the burned area. The priest is to declare him clean, since it’s the scar from a burn.”

Rashes

²⁹ “Now when a man or a woman has a skin rash on the head or the man develops a skin rash under his beard,^{[q] 30} if when the priest examines the skin rash and indeed it appears more extensive than skin deep, and it’s accompanied by fine, yellowish hair, then the priest is to declare him unclean. The scales on the head or the beard are an infectious skin disease. ³¹ But when the priest examines the scales of the skin rash and it doesn’t appear more extensive than skin deep and there’s no black hair in it, then the priest is to isolate^[r] him for seven days. ³² When the priest examines the skin rash on the seventh day and finds that indeed the scab did not spread, there’s no yellowish hair on it, and the scales don’t appear more extensive than skin deep, ³³ then he is to be shaven, but the scab is not to be shaved off. The priest is to isolate^[s] him a second time for seven days. ³⁴ The priest is to examine the scab on the seventh day. If, indeed, the scab hasn’t spread on the skin and it doesn’t appear more extensive than skin deep, then the priest is to declare him clean. He is to wash his garments and be clean.

³⁵ “But if the scales spread on the skin after his cleansing, ³⁶ and the priest examines it and finds the scale to have spread on the skin, the priest need not look for yellowish hair, since he is clean. ³⁷ If, in his opinion, the scab remained the same and a black hair grew in it, then the scab has healed. He’s clean. The priest is to declare him clean. ³⁸ If a man or a woman has a light or whitish spot in the skin of their body, ³⁹ when the priest examines it and finds that there is a light or dull white patch of skin on the body, it’s a harmless skin eruption that has spread on the skin. The person is clean.”

Baldness vs. Head Rashes

⁴⁰ “When a man’s head becomes bare, he’s bald, but he’s clean. ⁴¹ When his head becomes bare on the side corner of his face, he has a bald forehead, but he’s clean. ⁴² But when in the baldness of his head or his forehead there develops a skin rash that’s white or reddish, it’s an infectious skin disease that has spread to his bald head or forehead. ⁴³ When the priest examines it and finds that the swelling of the skin rash is white or reddish on his bald head or forehead, similar in appearance to an infectious disease in the skin of the body, ⁴⁴ he’s a man with an infectious skin disease. He’s unclean. The priest is to declare him unclean on account of the skin rash in his head. ⁴⁵ The person with the infectious skin disease is to tear his garments and loosen his hair.^[t] He is to cover his mustache and shout out, ‘Unclean! Unclean!’ ⁴⁶ The whole time that the skin rash infects him, he will be unclean. He is to live by himself in a home outside the encampment.”

Infected Clothing

⁴⁷ “When clothing becomes infected with a contagion—whether the clothing is wool or linen— ⁴⁸ in woven or knitted material, in leather, or with any article containing leather, ⁴⁹ if the contagion is greenish or reddish in the clothing, leather, woven material, knitted material, or with any article containing leather, it’s a fungal infection and is to be shown to the priest.

⁵⁰ “The priest is to examine the contagion and isolate^[u] the clothing^[v] for seven days. ⁵¹ The priest is to examine the contagion on the seventh day. If the infection has spread on the clothing, in the woven material, the knitted material, or in the leather, no matter the purpose for which the leather material had been manufactured, the contagion is a chronic fungal infection. It’s unclean.

⁵² “Incinerate the clothing, the woven material, the knitted material (whether wool or linen), or any of the leather articles on which the contagion is found, because it’s a chronic fungal infection. It is to be incinerated.

⁵³ “But if the priest examines it and the infection did not spread on the clothing, either in the woven or knitted material or on anything made of leather, ⁵⁴ then the priest is to command that they wash whatever has the contagion and then isolate^[w] it for seven days a second time. ⁵⁵ Then the priest is to examine it after the contagion has been washed. If the contagion hasn’t changed in appearance,^[x] even though the contagion hasn’t spread, it’s unclean. Incinerate it. It’s a fungal infection, especially if the infection is on its exposed side.

⁵⁶ “If the priest examines the item and determines that the contagion has become dull after it has been washed, tear it away from the garment, leather, woven material, or knitted material. ⁵⁷ But if it recurs on the clothing (whether woven or knitted material) or on any article made of leather, it’s a breakout, so incinerate it with fire wherever the contagion is found. ⁵⁸ Then the clothing (whether it is woven or knitted material) or any article made of leather that you’ve washed, if the contagion has been removed from it and it’s washed a second time, then it’s clean.

⁵⁹ “This is the law concerning fungal contagions on clothing of wool or linen (whether woven or knitted material) or in any of the articles made of leather, for determining whether it is clean or unclean.”