Every raven after his kind;
Parallel translations
- WEB any kind of raven,
- BSB any kind of raven,
- NKJV every raven after its kind,
- NASB every raven in its kind,
- NLT ravens of all kinds,
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Every kind of raven is unclean. Ravens, as scavengers, are excluded from Israel's diet.
Overview
Ravens were widespread carrion-eaters, consistent with the category of forbidden birds associated with death. Notably, God elsewhere uses ravens to feed Elijah (1 Kings 17:4-6), showing his sovereign care even through creatures Israel could not eat. The dietary boundary remained a mark of Israel's set-apart life under the old covenant.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 5
- Luke 12:24Consider the ravens: for they neither sow nor reap; which neither have storehouse nor barn; and God feedeth them: how much more are ye better than the fowls?
- Gen 8:7And he sent forth a raven, which went forth to and fro, until the waters were dried up from off the earth.
- 1 Kgs 17:4And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there.
- 1 Kgs 17:6And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening; and he drank of the brook.
- Prov 30:17The eye that mocketh at his father, and despiseth to obey his mother, the ravens of the valley shall pick it out, and the young eagles shall eat it.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Every sacrifice, every priest, and every day of atonement points beyond itself to the one perfect offering and the great High Priest who, by his own blood, makes the unclean holy once for all.
How Leviticus 11:15 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.