Verse Lens · Concise explanation
Leviticus 11:12 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 12. 12Whatsoever hath no fins nor scales in the waters, that shall be an abomination unto you.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
This verse summarizes the fins-and-scales boundary for aquatic life.
Water creatures are food with fins and scales
This verse is one part of that explanation in Leviticus 11:9-12. The complete section carries the connected meaning and how it should shape life.
Read It With
- Leviticus 11:9-12
Use 11:9-12 as the reading frame for Leviticus 11:12. The verse summarizes the fins-and-scales boundary for aquatic life, while the complete unit shows that Sea and river creatures with fins and scales may be eaten; those without are prohibited and their carcasses are avoided.
Why This Verse Appears Here
Placed here, the verse summarizes the fins-and-scales boundary for aquatic life; Leviticus 11:9-12 supplies the actors, category, and outcome needed to interpret it.
What Remains True
Summarizes the fins-and-scales boundary for aquatic life. Within Leviticus 11:9-12, this contributes to the larger claim that sea and river creatures with fins and scales may be eaten; those without are prohibited and their carcasses are avoided.
How It Can Shape Life
- When teaching Leviticus 11:12, keep the verse inside Leviticus 11:9-12. Hold this boundary: KJV 'abomination' describes the prohibited category and must not become disgust toward cultures or persons. Apply only the noncoercive truth the complete unit supports.
Continue in Context
Read the complete section for the connected explanation and how it should shape life. This verse is a doorway into that passage, not a saying that stands alone.
Read Leviticus 11:9-12 — Water creatures require fins and scalesSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? strong
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
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 11:9-12, 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 11:9-12
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 11:9-12
Open source ↗