In the uncertainty of identifying these four creatures, it has been suggested that some of the names may belong to locusts in an imperfect state of development. Most modern versions have taken a safer course than our translators, by retaining the Hebrew names. read more
Leviticus 11:20-21. All fowls that creep The original word signifies any animal or moving creature, especially of the reptile or insect kind, (Genesis 1:20; Genesis 7:21,) and ought to be rendered every winged reptile, or, every flying, creeping thing that goeth upon four, as in Leviticus 11:21, upon four legs, or upon more than four, which is all one as to the present purpose. Which have legs above their feet to leap withal This is a description of the locusts, which, besides four... read more
Leviticus 11:22. The locust after his kind The Hebrew word ארבה arbeh, is sometimes a common name for all locusts, but here signifies a peculiar sort of them The name derived from רבה rabah, to multiply, imports a multitude, no animal being more prolific. The bald locust As it is not easy to determine what species of locust this is, and as it has not any name in modern languages, it might be better, in a translation, to retain the original name סלעם solgnam, which, in the... read more
11:1-15:33 CLEANNESS AND UNCLEANNESSSince Israel’s God was holy, Israel itself had to be holy (11:44-45). One duty of the priests was to distinguish between what was holy and unholy, clean and unclean (10:10). This holiness was to extend to every part of the people’s lives, including the food they ate and their bodily cleanliness. Those who broke any of the laws of cleanliness were considered unclean and had to be ceremonially cleansed before they could join again in the full religious life of... read more
these: being all "after his kind", are probably four different species of the same, viz.: locust = swarming locust. bald locust = devouring locust. beetle = chargol (or wingless) locust. grasshopper = chargab locust, Numbers 13:33 . 2 Chronicles 7:13 .Ecclesiastes 12:5 .Isaiah 40:22 . read more
Leviticus 11:20-22. All fowls that creep, going upon all four— Or, All flying things that creep, &c. Houbigant renders it, every winged reptile. Dr. Shaw observes, that " ףּהעו שׁרצ sheretz ha-oph, which we render fowls that creep, may be more properly translated breeding fowls, or fowls that multiply, from the infinitely greater number of eggs that are produced by insects, than by volatiles of any other kind. It may be farther observed, says he, that insects do not properly walk upon four,... read more
20. All fowls that creep, &c.—By "fowls" here are to be understood all creatures with wings and "going upon all fours," not a restriction to animals which have exactly four feet, because many "creeping things" have more than that number. The prohibition is regarded generally as extending to insects, reptiles, and worms. read more
21, 22. Yet these may ye eat of every flying creeping thing that goeth upon all four, which have legs above their feet—Nothing short of a scientific description could convey more accurately the nature "of the locust after its kind." They were allowed as lawful food to the Israelites, and they are eaten by the Arabs, who fry them in olive oil. When sprinkled with salt, dried, smoked, and fried, they are said to taste not unlike red herrings. read more
Distinctions between clean and unclean animals 11:1-23We have here the same threefold division of animals that inhabit the land, sea, and air as the one that appears in the story of creation (Genesis 1:20-23)."It has long been recognized . . . that the order of the purity laws in Leviticus 11 follows that of the creation of animal life in Genesis 1 (Rashi). Moreover, just as in Genesis 1 God distinguished ’good’ and ’evil’ in his new creation, so also in Leviticus 11 God distinguished the... read more
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Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Leviticus 11:21
Legs above their feet, to leap withal upon the earth - The families of the Saltatoria, of which the common cricket, the common grasshopper, and the migratory locust, may be taken as types. read more