Deuteronomy 14:1-21

Cleanness and uncleanness (14:1-21)

God’s people were not to follow the superstitious practices of the heathen (14:1-2; see notes on Leviticus 19:26-28). They were to be ‘holy to the Lord’, which meant they had to be careful concerning even the food they ate (3-20; see notes on Leviticus 11:1-23). An animal that died of itself probably contained blood and therefore Israelites were not allowed to eat it; but non-Israelites, to whom blood did not have the same ritual significance, were allowed. Boiling a young animal in its mother’s milk was a superstitious practice to be avoided (21; cf. Exodus 23:19).