Leviticus 11:13-23, King James Version
Italic words were supplied in the English translation for clarity.
Leviticus 11:13-23
Named flying creatures and jumping insects are distinguished
A list of flying creatures is not to be eaten
Among fowls these are an abomination and are not to be eaten: eagle, ossifrage, ospray, vulture, kite after its kind, every raven after its kind, owl, nighthawk, cuckow, hawk after its kind, little owl, cormorant, great owl, swan, pelican, gier eagle, stork, heron after its kind, lapwing, and bat. Several of these English names are uncertain as species identifications. The list is a prohibited group of flying hunters, scavengers, and the bat. Uncertain names should stay uncertain. They are not a platform for claiming scientific precision.
Most winged swarmers are barred; four jointed jumpers are allowed
All flying creeping things that go on all four are an abomination, with a stated exception: those that have legs above their feet to leap with may be eaten—the locust after its kind, the bald locust, the beetle, and the grasshopper after their kinds. Other four-footed winged swarmers remain prohibited. The exception is mechanical: jointed jumping legs, named kinds. It is not an invitation to guess every insect into or out of the pot.
How this should shape us
When a biblical creature-name is doubtful, say so. Teach the clear principle—named prohibited birds, generally barred swarmers, specified jumpers permitted—without pretending the KJV list is a field guide.
Teach it back
Explain Leviticus 11:13-23 in your own words. Include its ritual, legal, narrative, or calendar movement; one source-supported detail; one uncertainty; and one use the context rules out.
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Go deeper
The explanation above is meant to stand on its own. Open these notes only if you want language, history, disagreements, or source locations.
Where careful interpreters disagreeThe strongest options and their difficulties
Where do careful interpreters disagree?
Best judgment: Interpreters disagree over the system's symbolic logic, compositional layers, health effects, ancient practice, species and condition identifications, sanctuary-contamination models, and the relation of removable ritual status to wrongdoing. No one model explains every rule without remainder.
How certain? probableResearch trail and exact locationsThe source record behind this section
Supports: Exact reader-facing KJV wording, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage for this thought unit.
Leviticus 11:13-23, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Supports: Hebrew wording, morphology, ritual and legal vocabulary, names, clause relationships, KJV language controls, and translation limits.
Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Lev.xml, Masoretic words and morphology for 11:13-23
Supports: Unit-bounded translator notes on Hebrew, syntax, ritual vocabulary, measures, textual questions, and older-English wording; silence is not treated as evidence.
NET Bible Leviticus PDF, complete PDF pp. 1-99, translation and translator notes for 11:13-23
Supports: Open critical orientation to sacrifice, priestly portions, sacred space, holiness, purity, and sanctuary protection in Leviticus 1-15.
Yale Bible Study, 'Leviticus Part 1,' complete guide sections 'What is Sacred About Sacrifice?', 'Thanksgiving, Pleas, and Devotion,' and 'Purity & Impurity,' applied to Leviticus 11:13-23
Supports: A modern critical comparison of purity models and their compositional implications, used only within the accessible publisher evidence.
Baden, Two Models of Biblical Purity, Oxford University Press 2026, publisher chapter previews and contents for the sanctuary-contamination and ritual-status models
Supports: Publisher-visible framing of scholarly disagreement about Hebrews and supersessionism, used as a restraint on Christian canonical claims rather than as a complete solution.
Church, 'Hebrews and the Question of Supersessionism,' Oxford 2024 official abstract and metadata, pp. 167-180
Sources for This Section
These records identify the source, the claim it supports, and the exact location used. A source remains evidence to evaluate; it does not replace the biblical text.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact reader-facing KJV wording, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage for this thought unit.
Exact location: Leviticus 11:13-23, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Leviticus
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Hebrew wording, morphology, ritual and legal vocabulary, names, clause relationships, KJV language controls, and translation limits.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Lev.xml, Masoretic words and morphology for 11:13-23
Open source ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible: Leviticus with translators' notes
Biblical Studies Press
eBible.org distribution of the NET Bible, PDF generated 2025-12-31
Supports: Unit-bounded translator notes on Hebrew, syntax, ritual vocabulary, measures, textual questions, and older-English wording; silence is not treated as evidence.
Exact location: NET Bible Leviticus PDF, complete PDF pp. 1-99, translation and translator notes for 11:13-23
Open source ↗modern critical open study guide
Leviticus Part 1: Sacrifice, Purity, and Holiness
Joel S. Baden and Yale Bible Study
Yale Divinity School, 2023 course edition
Supports: Open critical orientation to sacrifice, priestly portions, sacred space, holiness, purity, and sanctuary protection in Leviticus 1-15.
Exact location: Yale Bible Study, 'Leviticus Part 1,' complete guide sections 'What is Sacred About Sacrifice?', 'Thanksgiving, Pleas, and Devotion,' and 'Purity & Impurity,' applied to Leviticus 11:13-23
Open source ↗modern scholarly monograph open chapter previews
Two Models of Biblical Purity: The Science of Ritual
Joel S. Baden
Oxford University Press, 2026
Supports: A modern critical comparison of purity models and their compositional implications, used only within the accessible publisher evidence.
Exact location: Baden, Two Models of Biblical Purity, Oxford University Press 2026, publisher chapter previews and contents for the sanctuary-contamination and ritual-status models
Open source ↗modern christian scholarly handbook chapter abstract
Hebrews and the Question of Supersessionism
Philip Church
The Oxford Handbook of Hebrews and the Catholic Epistles, Oxford University Press, 2024
Supports: Publisher-visible framing of scholarly disagreement about Hebrews and supersessionism, used as a restraint on Christian canonical claims rather than as a complete solution.
Exact location: Church, 'Hebrews and the Question of Supersessionism,' Oxford 2024 official abstract and metadata, pp. 167-180
Open source ↗