Deuteronomy 14:7

Nevertheless these ye shall not eat of them that chew the cud, or of them that divide the cloven hoof; as the camel, and the hare, and the coney: for they chew the cud, but divide not the hoof; therefore they are unclean unto you.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

14:1-21 Moses tells the people of Israel how God had given them three distinguishing privileges, which were their honour, and figures of those spiritual blessings in heavenly things, with which God has in Christ blessed us. Here is election; The Lord hath chosen thee. He did not choose them because they were by their own acts a peculiar people to him above other nations, but he chose them that they might be so by his grace; and thus were believers chosen, Eph 1:4. Here is adoption; Ye are the children of the Lord your God; not because God needed children, but because they were orphans, and needed a father. Every spiritual Israelite is indeed a child of God, a partaker of his nature and favour. Here is sanctification; Thou art a holy people. God's people are required to be holy, and if they are holy, they are indebted to the grace God which makes them so. Those whom God chooses to be his children, he will form to be a holy people, and zealous of good works. They must be careful to avoid every thing which might disgrace their profession, in the sight of those who watch for their halting. Our heavenly Father forbids nothing but for our welfare. Do thyself no harm; do not ruin thy health, thy reputation, thy domestic comforts, thy peace of mind. Especially do not murder thy soul. Do not be the vile slave of thy appetites and passions. Do not render all around thee miserable, and thyself wretched; but aim at that which is most excellent and useful. The laws which regarded many sorts of flesh as unclean, were to keep them from mingling with their idolatrous neighbours. It is plain in the gospel, that these laws are now done away. But let us ask our own hearts, Are we of the children of the Lord our God? Are we separate from the ungodly world, in being set apart to God's glory, the purchase of Christ's blood? Are we subjects of the work of the Holy Ghost? Lord, teach us from these precepts how pure and holy all thy people ought to live!

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The "pygarg" is a species of gazelle, and the "wild ox" and "chamois" are swift types of antelope.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

5. The hart—(see on [131]De 12:15).

fallow deer—The Hebrew word (Jachmur) so rendered, does not represent the fallow deer, which is unknown in Western Asia, but an antelope (Oryx leucoryx), called by the Arabs, jazmar. It is of a white color, black at the extremities, and a bright red on the thighs. It was used at Solomon's table.

wild goat—The word akko is different from that commonly used for a wild goat (1Sa 24:2; Ps 104:18; Pr 5:19), and it is supposed to be a goat-deer, having the body of a stag, but the head, horns, and beard of a goat. An animal of this sort is found in the East, and called Lerwee [Shaw, Travels].

pygarg—a species of antelope (Oryx addax) with white buttocks, wreathed horns two feet in length, and standing about three feet seven inches high at the shoulders. It is common in the tracks which the Israelites had frequented [Shaw].

wild ox—supposed to be the Nubian Oryx, which differs from the Oryx leucoryx (formerly mentioned) by its black color; and it is, moreover, of larger stature and more slender frame, with longer and more curved horns. It is called Bekkar-El-Wash by the Arabs.

chamois—rendered by the Septuagint Cameleopard; but, by others who rightly judge it must have been an animal more familiar to the Hebrews, it is thought to be the Kebsch (Ovis tragelaphus), rather larger than a common sheep, covered not with wool, but with reddish hair—a Syrian sheep-goat.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

No text from Poole on this verse.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

And every beast that parted the hoof,.... In this and the two following verses two general rules are given, by which it might be known what beasts were fit for food and what not; one is if they parted the hoof, and the other if they chewed the cud, such might be eaten; but such that only chewed the cud, but did not divide the hoof, as the camel, hare, and coney, might not be eaten; and so if they divided the hoof, and did not chew the cud, as the swine, they were alike unlawful; See Gill on Leviticus 11:3; see Gill on Leviticus 11:4; see Gill on Leviticus 11:5; see Gill on Leviticus 11:6; see Gill on Leviticus 11:7; see Gill on Leviticus 11:8.

Geneva Study Bible

Nevertheless these ye shall not eat of them that chew the cud, or of them that divide the cloven hoof; as the camel, and the hare, and the coney: for they chew the cud, but divide not the hoof; therefore they are unclean unto you.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

7. Nevertheless] Not raḳ with which qualifications to laws are introduced by D (see on Deuteronomy 10:15, Deuteronomy 12:15 f.) but ’ak, Deuteronomy 16:5, Deuteronomy 18:20, cp. Deuteronomy 12:22.

camel, hare, rock-badger] In Leviticus 11:4-6 taken separately and each with a repetition of the formula because it cheweth the cud but parteth not the hoof. The camel chews the cud but its hoof is only partly cloven (see on Deuteronomy 14:6): sacrificed and eaten by Nabateans and ancient Arabs (Wellhausen, Reste Arab. Heid. 112, W. R. Smith, Rel. Sem. 201, 263, 320) though forbidden to Christian Arabs because of its use in heathen rites (id. 265), the camel is still eaten in Arabia (Burton, Pilgr. to Med. and Mecca, ii. 217, Doughty, ii. 209, 345, Musil, Edom, i. 247, Ethn. Ber. 71, 150, 423, 453 f.); taking the place of the ox of the settled Semites (see on Deuteronomy 14:4).—The hare, ’arnebeth, Ar. ’arnob, does not chew the cud and its feet are neither hoofed nor cleft; there are several species in and round Syria (Tr. 8 f., who singles out the lepus syriacus), and the beast is common in Arabia, where it is eaten (Doughty, i. 70, 567, ii. 238); hare’s bone, foot and head were used as amulets (W. R. Smith, Rel. Sem. 362, G. Jacob, op. cit. 20).—The rock-badger, shaphan, Ar. wabr and ṭubsun; procavia (hyrax) syriaca (Tristram, 1) does not chew the cud. It seems, however, to the observer to chew the cud: ‘both the jerboa and the wabr ruminate, say the hunters, because they are often shot with the cud in their mouth’ (Doughty, ii. 238). It is eaten by all the nomads (id. i. 127); ‘about the size of a small rabbit and has a superficial resemblance to that rodent.… The zoological position of the order is obscure, there are 14 species’ (Shipley, E.B. ‘Coney,’ which see for further information). A.V. and R.V. coney, Old Eng. for rabbit. Driver (Deuteronomy 3 p. xxii) suggests the translation rock-rabbit, a name given to an allied species of the Hyrax (H. Capensis) about the Cape of Good Hope.

Deuteronomy 14:7

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

With reference to food, the Israelites were to eat nothing whatever that was abominable. In explanation of this prohibition, the laws of Leviticus 11 relating to clean and unclean animals are repeated in all essential points in vv. 4-20 (for the exposition, see at Leviticus 11); also in Deuteronomy 14:21 the prohibition against eating any animal that had fallen down dead (as in Exodus 32:30 and Leviticus 17:15), and against boiling a kid in its mother's milk (as in Exodus 23:19).