This sheet on Deuteronomy 14 was written by Eve Levavi Feinsteini for 929 and can also be found here
If you’ve made it to this chapter, you may be experiencing déjà vu. That’s because you read almost exactly the same thing in Leviticus 11! Just like Leviticus 11, Deuteronomy 14 contains a list of animals that may not be eaten. Even the wording is almost identical.
But there is a key difference between the two chapters: Leviticus 11 comes within a larger unit of chapters on ritual purity, and its discussion of prohibited animals fits into that context. The term used to describe prohibited animals, “unclean,” is also used to describe things that cause ritual impurity, such as dead bodies, semen, menstrual blood, and leprosy. And in fact, Leviticus 11 follows up its main discussion of dietary prohibitions with a discussion of the ritual impurity caused by touching certain animals or carrying their carcasses. Its precise use of language also relates to this topic: the term “unclean” refers only to animals that cause ritual impurity from touching (such as pigs), whereas those that may not be eaten but don’t cause ritual impurity (such as shellfish) are called “abomination.”
Deuteronomy 14 also uses “unclean” to describe animals that may not be eaten, and there is one reference to touching carcasses in verse 8. But the other connections to ritual impurity are absent. There is no discussion of ritual impurity caused by touching or carrying the carcasses of animals. And there is no terminological distinction between animals that cause ritual impurity and those that don’t—they are all “unclean.”
When texts this similar appear in the Bible, scholars naturally assume some sort of historical connection. Either the author(s) of Deuteronomy 14 copied and modified the text from Leviticus or the reverse—or perhaps the authors of the two chapters drew on a third text that we no longer have. In terms of its language, our passage seems to fit the Leviticus context better. But there are also reasons to think that the parts of Leviticus 11 on ritual purity were added at a later stage.
What we can say is that in presenting the dietary laws in a context unrelated to ritual purity, Deuteronomy is bringing them closer to what they are today: a set of rules about what Jews may or may not eat, unrelated to temple-based laws of purity and purification.
But there is a key difference between the two chapters: Leviticus 11 comes within a larger unit of chapters on ritual purity, and its discussion of prohibited animals fits into that context. The term used to describe prohibited animals, “unclean,” is also used to describe things that cause ritual impurity, such as dead bodies, semen, menstrual blood, and leprosy. And in fact, Leviticus 11 follows up its main discussion of dietary prohibitions with a discussion of the ritual impurity caused by touching certain animals or carrying their carcasses. Its precise use of language also relates to this topic: the term “unclean” refers only to animals that cause ritual impurity from touching (such as pigs), whereas those that may not be eaten but don’t cause ritual impurity (such as shellfish) are called “abomination.”
Deuteronomy 14 also uses “unclean” to describe animals that may not be eaten, and there is one reference to touching carcasses in verse 8. But the other connections to ritual impurity are absent. There is no discussion of ritual impurity caused by touching or carrying the carcasses of animals. And there is no terminological distinction between animals that cause ritual impurity and those that don’t—they are all “unclean.”
When texts this similar appear in the Bible, scholars naturally assume some sort of historical connection. Either the author(s) of Deuteronomy 14 copied and modified the text from Leviticus or the reverse—or perhaps the authors of the two chapters drew on a third text that we no longer have. In terms of its language, our passage seems to fit the Leviticus context better. But there are also reasons to think that the parts of Leviticus 11 on ritual purity were added at a later stage.
What we can say is that in presenting the dietary laws in a context unrelated to ritual purity, Deuteronomy is bringing them closer to what they are today: a set of rules about what Jews may or may not eat, unrelated to temple-based laws of purity and purification.
Dr. Eve Levavi Feinstein is a writer and editor in the San Francisco Bay Area
929 is the number of chapters in the Tanakh, the Hebrew Bible, the formative text of the Jewish heritage. It is also the name of a cutting-edge project dedicated to creating a global Jewish conversation anchored in the Hebrew Bible. 929 English invites Jews everywhere to read and study Tanakh, one chapter a day, Sunday through Thursday together with a website with creative readings and pluralistic interpretations, including audio and video, by a wide range of writers, artists, rabbis, educators, scholars, students and more. As an outgrowth of the web-based platform, 929 English also offers classes, pop-up lectures, events and across North America. We invite you to learn along with us and be part of our dynamic community.
To join 929's listserv for new and dynamic content each week click here
To join 929's listserv for new and dynamic content each week click here
