The fat of an animal found dead or mauled by wild beasts may be used for any other purpose, but you must not eat it.
Parallel translations
- WEB The 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.
- KJV And the fat of the beast that dieth of itself, and the fat of that which is torn with beasts, may be used in any other use: but ye shall in no wise eat of it.
- NKJV And the fat of an animal that dies naturally, and the fat of what is torn by wild beasts, may be used in any other way; but you shall by no means eat it.
- NASB Also the fat of an animal which dies and the fat of an animal torn by animals may be put to any other use, but you certainly are not to eat it.
- NLT The fat of an animal found dead or torn to pieces by wild animals must never be eaten, though it may be used for any other purpose.
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 fat of an animal that died naturally or was torn may be used for other purposes but never eaten. Even non-sacrificial fat was set apart from the diet.
Overview
While such fat could serve practical uses, eating it remained forbidden, reinforcing the special status of fat in Israel. This preserved the consistent teaching that the fat symbolically belonged to God. It cultivated a habitual reverence that distinguished Israel's life from the surrounding nations.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- Exod 22:31You are to be My holy people. You must not eat the meat of a mauled animal found in the field; you are to throw it to the dogs.
- Lev 22:8He must not eat anything found dead or torn by wild animals, which would make him unclean. I am the LORD.
- Lev 17:15And any person, whether native or foreigner, who eats anything found dead or mauled by wild beasts must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will be unclean until evening; then he will be clean.
- Deut 14:21You are not to eat any carcass; you may give it to the foreigner residing within your gates, and he may eat it, or you may sell it to a foreigner. For you are a holy people belonging to the LORD your God. You must not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.
- Ezek 4:14“Ah, Lord GOD,” I said, “I have never defiled myself. From my youth until now I have not eaten anything found dead or mauled by wild beasts. No unclean meat has ever entered my mouth.”
- Ezek 44:31The priests may not eat any bird or animal found dead or torn by wild beasts.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
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 7:24 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.