CLEAN & UNCLEAN IN SCRIPTURE ARE NOT ONLY ABOUT HYGIENE, BUT MAINLY TO DO WITH THE SET-APARTNESS OF YAHUSHA’S CHOSEN PEOPLE.
Then YAHUSHA said to Moses and Aaron, “Give the following instructions to the people of Israel regarding the living creatures that YOU MAY EAT:
THIS WAS THE FIRST TIME IN HUMAN HISTORY THAT YAHUSHA BEGAN SETTING RESTRICTIONS ON EXACTLY WHAT TYPES OF “LIVING CREATURES” COULD BE EATEN, FOR SINCE THE TIME OF NOAH THE ONLY REAL INSTRUCTION WAS NOT TO EAT THE BLOOD OF A LIVING CREATURE.
CLEAN: All the LAND ANIMALS that have completely split hooves AND chews the cud, (such as the ox, sheep, goat, deer, gazelle, roebuck, wild goat, mountain goat, antelope, and mountain sheep). (SEE DEUT 14)
UNCLEAN: However you MUST NOT EAT the following animals because even if they have split hooves or they chew the cud, THEY DON’T DO BOTH, such as the camel, rabbit (SOME VERSIONS SAY ‘CONEY, HYDRAX OR ROCK BADGER’) and the hare (they chew the cud but don’t have split hooves) so they’re all unclean. And the pig is unclean too (even though it has evenly split hooves it doesn’t chew the cud). So you MUST NOT EAT the meat of these animals or EVEN TOUCH THEIR CARCASSES as they are unclean for you.WE MAY TOUCH UNCLEAN ANIMALS WHILE THEY ARE STILL ALIVE, SUCH AS RABBITS, DOGS, CATS, PIGS, TURTLE, RIDE A HORSE OR A CAMEL ETC, HOWEVER WE ARE FORBIDDEN TO TOUCH THEIR DEAD CORPSES . . .
AND Of all the MARINE ANIMALS (from the water) YOU MAY EAT anything that has both fins and scales, whether taken from salt or fresh water. But you MUST NOT EAT marine animals that don’t have both fins and scales for THEY ARE AN ABOMINATION TO YOU.
WHENEVER WE COME ACROSS SOMETHING YAHUSHA CALLS AN ‘ABOMINATION’ OR ‘DETESTABLE’ WE SHOULD REALLY SIT UP AND TAKE NOTICE BECAUSE IT’S THE WORST SORT OF UNCLEANLINESS FROM HIS PERSPECTIVE.
This applies both to little creatures that live in shallow water and to all creatures that live in deep water. THEY WILL ALWAYS BE DETESTABLE TO YOU. You must never eat their meat or even touch their dead bodies. Any marine animal that does not have both fins and scales IS AN ABOMINATION TO YOU.
THESE ARE THE BIRDS THAT ARE AN ABOMINATION TO YOU AND YOU MUST NEVER EAT THEM: the eagle, vulture, kite, hawk, the falcon after its kind, every kind of raven, the ostrich, nighthawk, seagull, all kinds of owls, the pelican, carrion vulture, the stork, heron, hoopoe and the bat.
You MUST NOT EAT winged insects that walk along the ground for THEY ARE AN ABOMINATION TO YOU. However You may eat winged insects that walk along the ground and have jointed legs so they can jump. The insects you are permitted to eat include all kinds of locusts, bald locusts, crickets, and grasshoppers, but all other winged insects that walk along the ground are AN ABOMINATION TO YOU.
The following creatures will make you unclean (so if any of you touch their dead carcasses, you must wash your clothes and you’ll remain unclean until evening): A NEW DAY STARTS AT EVENING Any animal that has split hooves that are not evenly divided or that does not chew the cud, those animals that have paws (of the animals that walk on all fours), the mole rat, rat, large lizards of all kinds, gecko (of the small animals that scurry along the ground).
If such an animal dies and falls on something, that object will be unclean also. This is true whether the object is made of wood, cloth, leather, or burlap. Whatever its use, you must dip it in water, and it will remain unclean until evening. After that, it will be clean and may be used again. If such an animal falls into a clay pot, everything in the pot will be unclean and the pot must be smashed POROUS. If the water from such a container spills on any food of beverage, they will also be unclean. Infact any object on which the carcass of such an animal falls will be unclean. If it’s an oven or hearth, it must be destroyed, for it is unclean and you must treat it accordingly.
THIS SHOWS US HOW UNCLEANLINESS GETS TRANSFERRED FROM ONE THING TO ANOTHER THROUGH TOUCHING, CARRYING, OR CONTAINING (BOWLS, POTS, CONTAINERS).
However, if the carcass of such an animal falls into a spring or a cistern, the water will still be clean, but anyone who touches the carcass will be unclean
WHEN WATER IS ATTACHED TO THE EARTH, IT CANNOT BE MADE UNCLEAN INFACT THE OPPOSITE OCCURS AS THE LIVING WATER IMPARTS PURITY TO THE UNCLEAN. UNDERSTANDING THIS WILL NOT ONLY HELP UNDERSTAND MANY THINGS ABOUT THE HEBREW PURITY RITUALS BUT ALSO SHED MUCH LIGHT BEHIND WHY YAHUSHA DID WHAT HE DID IN SOME SITUATIONS.
THE SAME HEBREW WORD FOR `FOOD’ & `EATING’ IS THE SAME. SOMETHING CANNOT BE CONSIDERED FOOD UNLESS IT IS CLEAN. IF ITS UNCLEAN THEN ITS NOT EVEN CONSIDERED FOOD - just like the leg of a chair is not considered food - neither is anything Yahusha calls unpermitted!
If the carcass falls on seed grain to be planted in the field, the seed will still be considered clean. But if the seed is wet when the carcass falls on it, the seed will be unclean. If an animal YOU ARE PERMITTED TO EAT dies and you touch its carcass, you will be unclean until evening and if you eat any of its meat or carry away its carcass, you must wash your clothes, and you will remain defiled until evening.
A CLEAN ANIMAL THAT IS SLAUGHTERED FOR SACRIFICIAL PURPOSES OR FOR FOOD DOES NOT BECOME UNCLEAN. HOWEVER, IF THE ANIMAL PASSES AWAY DUE TO DISEASE, OR IS KILLED BY A PREDATOR, OR DIES DUE TO SOME UNFORTUNATE ACCIDENT LIKE FALLING OFF OF A CLIFF, THEN IT BECOMES UNCLEAN AND AS A RESULT ITS CORPSE ALSO BECOMES CAPABLE OF TRANSMITTING UNCLEANLINESS.
All small animals that scurry along the ground ARE AN ABOMINATION to you and you must never eat them. This includes all animals that slither along on their bellies, as well as those with four legs and those with many feet. Do not touch them and make yourselves unclean because of them.
DEATH IN GENERAL IS UNCLEAN AND FROM YAHUSHA’S PERSPECTIVE, IT IS THE MOST ABNORMAL THING IN THE UNIVERSE. DEATH SHOULD NOT BE! HUMANS ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO DIE AND ALL MEMBERS OF THE ANIMAL KINGDOM AREN’T SUPPOSED TO DIE EITHER.
For I, Yahuah, am the One who brought you up from the land of Egypt, that I might be your Alahim. Therefore, you must be set-apart as I am set-apart. So these are the instructions regarding land animals, birds, marine creatures, insects and reptiles that scurry along the ground and by these instructions YOU WILL KNOW WHAT IS CLEAN AND UNCLEAN, AND WHICH ANIMALS MAY BE EATEN AND WHICH MAY NOT BE EATEN.”
