Limitless Word
every raven after its kind,
Leviticus 11:15 · New King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB any kind of raven,
  • KJV Every raven after his kind;
  • BSB any kind of raven,
  • 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: they don’t sow, they don’t reap, they have no warehouse or barn, and God feeds them. How much more valuable are you than birds!
  • Gen 8:7and he sent out a raven. It went back and forth, until the waters were dried up from the earth.
  • 1 Kgs 17:4You shall drink from the brook. I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.”
  • 1 Kgs 17:6The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening; and he drank from the brook.
  • Prov 30:17“The eye that mocks at his father, and scorns obedience to his mother: the ravens of the valley shall pick it out, the young eagles shall eat it.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (4)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Leviticus videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Leviticus 11:15YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on LeviticusMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

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.