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The rabbit also, for though it chews cud, it does not have a divided hoof; it is unclean to you.
Leviticus 11:6 · New American Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB The hare, because she chews the cud but doesn’t part the hoof, she is unclean to you.
  • KJV And the hare, because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof; he is unclean unto you.
  • BSB The rabbit, though it chews the cud, does not have a divided hoof; it is unclean for you.
  • NKJV the hare, because it chews the cud but does not have cloven hooves, is unclean to you;
  • NLT The hare chews the cud but does not have split hooves, so it is unclean.

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

The hare is unclean because it seems to chew the cud but does not have a split hoof. Another familiar animal is declared off-limits.

Overview

As with the cony, the classification rests on observable characteristics as the Israelites perceived them. The repetition drives home the consistent standard and the seriousness of keeping it. These tangible boundaries marked Israel as holy to the LORD, a separation later transcended in Christ while its call to holiness endures.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 1

  • Deut 14:7Nevertheless these you shall not eat of them that chew the cud, or of those who have the hoof cloven: the camel, the hare, and the rabbit. Because they chew the cud but don’t part the hoof, they are unclean to you.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (6)

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 11:6YouTube · 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 11:6 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.