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Leviticus 11:47

Old Testament Law (Torah) ASV (1901)

What does Leviticus 11:47 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “to make a distinction between the unclean and the clean, and between the living thing that may be eaten and the living thing that may not be eaten.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

to make a distinction between the unclean and the clean, and between the living thing that may be eaten and the living thing that may not be eaten.
Leviticus 11:47 — American Standard Version

Context — Leviticus 11

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
44For I am Jehovah your God: sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy; for I am holy: neither shall ye defile yourselves with any manner of creeping thing that moveth upon the earth.
45For I am Jehovah that brought you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: ye shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.
46This is the law of the beast, and of the bird, and of every living creature that moveth in the waters, and of every creature that creepeth upon the earth;
47to make a distinction between the unclean and the clean, and between the living thing that may be eaten and the living thing that may not be eaten.
← Leviticus 11:46Leviticus 12:1 →
← Full Chapter 11 Leviticus Overview

What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“To make a difference between the unclean and the clean, etc.] Whether of beasts, fish, fowl, and flying creeping things: and between the beast that may be eaten, and the beast that may not be eaten; the former clause takes in all in general, this instances in a particular sort of creatures; and the first mentioned of which, that might be eaten, are, that part the hoof, are cloven footed, and chew the cud; and that might not, that chew the cud, but divide not the hoof, or divide the hoof, but chew not the cud; and now, by such like descriptions and distinctions of the creatures treated of, the Israelites would be able to make a difference between the one and the other, and know what was to be…”
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Jamieson, Fausset & Brown
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“make a difference between the unclean and the clean--that is, between animals used and not used for food. It is probable that the laws contained in this chapter were not entirely new, but only gave the sanction of divine enactment to ancient usages. Some of the prohibited animals have, on physiological grounds, been everywhere rejected by the general sense or experience of mankind; while others may have been declared unclean from their unwholesomeness in warm countries or from some reasons, which are now imperfectly known, connected with contemporary idolatry. Next: Leviticus Chapter 12”
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Barnes' Notes
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · Notes on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“These verses set forth the spiritual ground on which the distinction between clean and unclean is based. Compare the marginal references and Leviticus 10:10; Leviticus 20:25-26; 1 Peter 1:15-16. The basis of the obligation to maintain the distinction was the call of the Hebrews to be the special people of Yahweh. It was to he something in their daily life to remind them of the covenant which distinguished them from the nations of the world. By Jesus Christ it was revealed Matthew 15:11 to the elect people that they were no longer to he tied by the letter of the Law in regard to their food, but were to be left to the exercise of a regenerated judgment. They were to learn that the kingdom of…”
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Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“Lev 10:10; Eze 44:23; Mal 3:18; Rom 14:2, Rom 14:3, Rom 14:13-23 Next: Leviticus Chapter 12”
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Related study paths

Read Leviticus 11 in contextBrowse Hebrew word studiesOpen this verse in the study reader

Sources and verification