Leviticus 11:44-47

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Leviticus 11:43-47

Here is, I. The exposition of this law, or a key to let us into the meaning of it. It was not intended merely for a bill of fare, or as the directions of a physician about their diet, but God would hereby teach them to sanctify themselves and to be holy, Lev. 11:44. That is, 1. They must hereby learn to put a difference between good and evil, and to reckon that it could not be all alike what they did, when it was not all alike what they ate. 2. To maintain a constant observance of the divine... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Leviticus 11:44

For I am the Lord your God ,.... Their Lord, and therefore had a right to enjoin them what laws he pleased concerning their food; and their God, their covenant God, and therefore would consult their good, and direct them to what was most proper, convenient, and wholesome for them: ye shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and ye shall be holy, for I am holy ; that is, separate themselves from all other people, and be distinct from them, by using a different diet from theirs, as their... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Leviticus 11:45

For I am the Lord that bringeth you up out of the land of Egypt ,.... He had brought them out of it, and was now bringing them on in the wilderness towards Canaan's land, in order to settle them there; and this is observed, to show what obligations they lay under to him to observe his commands; for since he had done such great things for them, it became them to be obedient to him in all things: and the more, since his end herein was, as he observes to them, to be your God ; to make it... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Leviticus 11:46

This is the law of the beasts ,.... Clean and unclean, what were to be eaten, and what not, and of the fowl ; Leviticus 11:2 the unclean ones, which are particularly mentioned that they might be avoided, all others excepting them being allowed:, Leviticus 11:13 . and of every living creature that moveth in the waters ; all sorts of fish in the sea, rivers, ponds, and pools, such as have fins and scales, these were to be eaten, but, if they had neither, were forbidden:, ... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Leviticus 11:47

To make a difference between the unclean and the clean ,.... 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,... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Leviticus 11:44

Ye shall - sanctify yourselves - Ye shall keep yourselves separate from all the people of the earth, that ye may be holy; for I am holy. And this was the grand design of God in all these prohibitions and commands; for these external sanctifications were only the emblems of the internal purity which the holiness of God requires here, and without which none can dwell with him in glory hereafter. See at the conclusion of this chapter. The contents of this chapter must furnish many profitable... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Leviticus 11:1-47

PART III UNCLEANNESS , CEREMONIAL AND MORAL : ITS REMOVAL OR ITS PUNISHMENT SECTION I The second section deals with the uncleanness contracted every year by the whole congregation, to be annually atoned for on the great Day of Atonement ( Leviticus 16:1-34 ), followed by a parenthetical chapter as to the place in which sacrifice is to be offered—sacrifice being the means by which purification from uncleanness is to be effected ( Leviticus 17:1-16 ). The... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Leviticus 11:44-47

These concluding verses give a religious sanction to the previous regulations, and make them matters of sacred, not merely sanitary or political, obligation. They were to sanctify themselves , that is, to avoid uncleanness, because God is holy, and they were God's. They were thus taught that ceremonial cleanness of the body was a symbol of holiness of heart, and a means of attaining to the latter. For I am the Lord that bringeth you up out of the land of Egypt. It is possible that Egypt... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Leviticus 11:44-47

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... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Leviticus 11:44

Leviticus 11:44. Ye shall be holy By this he gives them to understand, that all these cautions about eating or touching these creatures was not for any real uncleanness in them, but only that by the diligent observation of these rules they might learn with greater care to avoid all moral pollutions, and to keep themselves from all filthiness of flesh and spirit, and from all familiar and intimate converse with notorious sinners. read more

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