Whatever dies naturally or is torn by beasts he shall not eat, to defile himself with it: I am the Lord.
Parallel translations
- WEB That which dies of itself, or is torn by animals, he shall not eat, defiling himself by it. I am Yahweh.
- KJV That which dieth of itself, or is torn with beasts, he shall not eat to defile himself therewith: I am the LORD.
- BSB He must not eat anything found dead or torn by wild animals, which would make him unclean. I am the LORD.
- NASB He shall not eat an animal which dies or is torn by animals, becoming unclean by it; I am the Lord.
- NLT He may not eat an animal that has died a natural death or has been torn apart by wild animals, for this would defile him. I am the Lord.
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
Priests must not eat any animal that died naturally or was killed by beasts, since doing so would defile them.
Overview
Carrion carried ritual defilement, so priests devoted to handling holy things were forbidden it. The repeated 'I am Yahweh' grounds the command in God's own character rather than mere hygiene. Such laws cultivated a people set apart, and ultimately point to the perfect purity God's own Son would embody and impart to His people.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- Lev 17:15“‘Every person that eats what dies of itself, or that which is torn by animals, whether he is native-born or a foreigner, he shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the evening: then he shall be clean.
- Exod 22:31“You shall be holy men to me, therefore you shall not eat any meat that is torn by animals in the field. You shall cast it to the dogs.
- Lev 7:24The fat of that which dies of itself, and the fat of that which is torn of animals, may be used for any other service, but you shall in no way eat of it.
- Deut 14:21You shall not eat of anything that dies of itself. You may give it to the foreigner living among you who is within your gates, that he may eat it; or you may sell it to a foreigner; for you are a holy people to Yahweh your God. You shall not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.
- Ezek 44:31The priests shall not eat of anything that dies of itself, or is torn, whether it is bird or animal.
- Lev 11:39–40“‘If any animal, of which you may eat, dies; he who touches its carcass shall be unclean until the evening.
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 22:8 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.