Leviticus 11:6
New International Version
The rabbit, though it chews the cud, does not have a divided hoof; it is unclean for you.

New Living Translation
The hare chews the cud but does not have split hooves, so it is unclean.

English Standard Version
And the hare, because it chews the cud but does not part the hoof, is unclean to you.

Berean Standard Bible
The rabbit, though it chews the cud, does not have a divided hoof; it is unclean for you.

King James Bible
And the hare, because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof; he is unclean unto you.

New King James Version
the hare, because it chews the cud but does not have cloven hooves, is unclean to you;

New American Standard Bible
The rabbit also, for though it chews cud, it does not have a divided hoof; it is unclean to you.

NASB 1995
the rabbit also, for though it chews cud, it does not divide the hoof, it is unclean to you;

NASB 1977
the rabbit also, for though it chews cud, it does not divide the hoof, it is unclean to you;

Legacy Standard Bible
the rabbit also, for though it chews cud, it does not divide the hoof; it is unclean to you;

Amplified Bible
And the hare, because it chews the cud but does not divide the hoof; it is unclean to you.

Christian Standard Bible
hares, though they chew the cud, do not have hooves—they are unclean for you;

Holman Christian Standard Bible
the hare, though it chews the cud, does not have hooves—it is unclean for you;

American Standard Version
And the hare, because she cheweth the cud but parteth not the hoof, she is unclean unto you.

English Revised Version
And the hare, because she cheweth the cud but parteth not the hoof, she is unclean unto you.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
You must never eat rabbits. (Rabbits are unclean because they chew their cud but do not have divided hoofs.)

International Standard Version
the hare (because it chews its cud, but its hooves aren't divided, it is to be unclean for you),

Majority Standard Bible
The rabbit, though it chews the cud, does not have a divided hoof; it is unclean for you.

NET Bible
The hare is unclean to you because it chews the cud even though its hoof is not divided.

New Heart English Bible
The hare, because she chews the cud but doesn't part the hoof, she is unclean to you.

Webster's Bible Translation
And the hare, because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof: he is unclean to you.

World English Bible
The hare, because it chews the cud but doesn’t have a parted hoof, is unclean to you.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
and the hare, though it is bringing up the cud, yet the hoof has not divided—it [is] unclean to you;

Young's Literal Translation
and the hare, though it is bringing up the cud, yet the hoof hath not divided -- unclean it is to you;

Smith's Literal Translation
And the hare, for this bringing up rumination, and cleaving not the cloven hoof; it is unclean to you.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
The hare also: for that too cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof.

Catholic Public Domain Version
and so also is the hare, for it too chews over again, yet its hoof is not divided,

New American Bible
the hare, which indeed chews the cud, but does not have hoofs and is therefore unclean for you;

New Revised Standard Version
The hare, for even though it chews the cud, it does not have divided hoofs; it is unclean for you.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
And the hare, because it chews the cud but it does not divide the hoof; it is unclean to you.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
And the hare that chews cud and its foot does not cleave is defiled to you.
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
And the hare, because she cheweth the cud but parteth not the hoof, she is unclean unto you

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And the hare, because it does not chew the cud, and does not divide the hoof, this is unclean to you.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Clean and Unclean Animals
5The rock badger, though it chews the cud, does not have a divided hoof; it is unclean for you. 6 The rabbit, though it chews the cud, does not have a divided hoof; it is unclean for you. 7And the pig, though it has a split hoof completely divided, does not chew the cud; it is unclean for you.…

Cross References
Deuteronomy 14:7
But of those that chew the cud or have a completely divided hoof, you are not to eat the following: the camel, the rabbit, or the rock badger. Although they chew the cud, they do not have a divided hoof. They are unclean for you,

Matthew 23:24
You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.

Acts 10:14
“No, Lord!” Peter answered. “I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.”

Acts 11:8
‘No, Lord,’ I said, ‘for nothing impure or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’

Hebrews 9:10
They consist only in food and drink and special washings—external regulations imposed until the time of reform.

Mark 7:18-19
“Are you still so dull?” He asked. “Do you not understand? Nothing that enters a man from the outside can defile him, / because it does not enter his heart, but it goes into the stomach and then is eliminated.” (Thus all foods are clean.)

Romans 14:14
I am convinced and fully persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for him it is unclean.

Colossians 2:16-17
Therefore let no one judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a feast, a New Moon, or a Sabbath. / These are a shadow of the things to come, but the body that casts it belongs to Christ.

1 Timothy 4:3-5
They will prohibit marriage and require abstinence from certain foods that God has created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. / For every creation of God is good, and nothing that is received with thanksgiving should be rejected, / because it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.

Genesis 7:2
You are to take with you seven pairs of every kind of clean animal, a male and its mate; a pair of every kind of unclean animal, a male and its mate;

Genesis 8:20
Then Noah built an altar to the LORD. And taking from every kind of clean animal and clean bird, he offered burnt offerings on the altar.

Isaiah 66:17
“Those who consecrate and purify themselves to enter the groves—to follow one in the center of those who eat the flesh of swine and vermin and rats—will perish together,” declares the LORD.

Ezekiel 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.”

Ezekiel 22:26
Her priests do violence to My law and profane My holy things. They make no distinction between the holy and the common, and they fail to distinguish between the clean and the unclean. They disregard My Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them.

Hosea 9:3
They will not remain in the land of the LORD; Ephraim will return to Egypt and eat unclean food in Assyria.


Treasury of Scripture

And the hare, because he chews the cud, but divides not the hoof; he is unclean to you.

the hare

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.

Jump to Previous
Cheweth Chews Cloven Cud Divide Divided Divideth Foot Hoof Hoofs Horn Part Parted Parteth Rabbit Split Unclean
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Cheweth Chews Cloven Cud Divide Divided Divideth Foot Hoof Hoofs Horn Part Parted Parteth Rabbit Split Unclean
Leviticus 11
1. What animals may be eaten
4. and what may not be eaten
9. What fishes
13. What fowls
29. The creeping things which are unclean














The rabbit
The Hebrew word used here is "אַרְנֶבֶת" (arnevet), which is traditionally understood to refer to a rabbit or hare. In ancient Israel, the rabbit was a common animal, and its mention here reflects the everyday life and environment of the Israelites. Rabbits were known for their prolific breeding and were often seen as symbols of fertility. However, in the context of Leviticus, the focus is on dietary laws and ritual purity, not symbolism.

though it chews the cud
The phrase "chews the cud" is translated from the Hebrew "מַעֲלֵה גֵּרָה" (ma'aleh gerah). This refers to the process of regurgitating food and re-chewing it, a characteristic of ruminant animals. Rabbits do not technically chew the cud in the same way as ruminants like cows or sheep. However, they do engage in a process called refection, where they re-ingest partially digested food. This distinction highlights the ancient understanding of animal behavior and the importance of observable characteristics in determining dietary laws.

does not have a split hoof
The Hebrew phrase "וּפַרְסָה לֹא יַפְרִיס" (u'parsa lo yafris) refers to the lack of a divided hoof. In Levitical law, animals that are considered clean must both chew the cud and have split hooves. The split hoof is a physical characteristic that is easily observable, making it a practical criterion for distinguishing clean from unclean animals. This requirement underscores the importance of external, visible signs in the ritual purity laws of ancient Israel.

it is unclean for you
The term "unclean" is translated from the Hebrew "טָמֵא" (tamei), which denotes ritual impurity. In the context of Leviticus, being unclean is not necessarily a moral judgment but a state that affects one's ability to participate in religious activities. The dietary laws served to set the Israelites apart from other nations, reinforcing their identity as God's chosen people. The distinction between clean and unclean animals is a reminder of the call to holiness and the need for discernment in daily life.

(6) And the hare, because he cheweth the cud, but.--Better, though he cheweth the cud, yet. Other nations, too, shunned the flesh of hares. The Parsees considered the hare as the most unclean of all animals, and the ancient Britons abstained from eating it because of the loathsome disorders to which the hare is subject. Like the rabbit, or the hyrax, the hare has not the peculiar stomach of the true ruminant; but, like the rabbit, the hare, when sitting at rest, so moves its jaws that it appears to masticate. As the object of the legislator was to furnish the people with marks by which they were to distinguish the clean from the unclean animals, he necessarily adopted those which were in common vogue, and which alone were intelligible in those days.

Verse 6. - The hare, because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof, There is little doubt that the same animal as our hare is meant. Neither the hare, however, nor the hyrax chews the cud in the strict sense of the words. But they have the appearance of doing so. The rule respecting chewing the cud was given to and by Moses as a legislator, not as an anatomist, to serve as a sign by which animals might be known to be clean for food. Phenomenal not scientific language is used here, as in Joshua 10:12, "as we might speak of whales and their congeners as fish, when there is no need of scientific accuracy" (Clark). "All these marks of distinction in the Levitical law are wisely and even necessarily made on the basis of popular observation and belief, not on that of anatomical exactness. Otherwise the people would have been continually liable to error. Scientifically, the camel would be said to divide the hoof, and the hare does not chew the cud. But laws for popular use must necessarily employ terms as they are popularly understood. These matters are often referred to as scientific errors; whereas they were simply descriptions, necessarily popular, for the understanding and enforcement of the law" (Gardiner).

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
The rabbit,
הָאַרְנֶ֗בֶת (hā·’ar·ne·ḇeṯ)
Article | Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 768: The hare

though
כִּֽי־ (kî-)
Conjunction
Strong's 3588: A relative conjunction

it
הִ֔וא (hî)
Pronoun - third person feminine singular
Strong's 1931: He, self, the same, this, that, as, are

chews
מַעֲלַ֤ת (ma·‘ă·laṯ)
Verb - Hifil - Participle - feminine singular construct
Strong's 5927: To ascend, in, actively

the cud,
גֵּרָה֙ (gê·rāh)
Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 1625: The cud

does not
לֹ֣א (lō)
Adverb - Negative particle
Strong's 3808: Not, no

have a split
הִפְרִ֑יסָה (hip̄·rî·sāh)
Verb - Hifil - Perfect - third person feminine singular
Strong's 6536: To break in pieces, to split, distribute

hoof;
וּפַרְסָ֖ה (ū·p̄ar·sāh)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 6541: A claw, split hoof

it
הִ֖וא (hî)
Pronoun - third person feminine singular
Strong's 1931: He, self, the same, this, that, as, are

is unclean
טְמֵאָ֥ה (ṭə·mê·’āh)
Adjective - feminine singular
Strong's 2931: Unclean

for you.
לָכֶֽם׃ (lā·ḵem)
Preposition | second person masculine plural
Strong's Hebrew


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OT Law: Leviticus 11:6 The hare because she chews the cud (Le Lv Lev.)
Leviticus 11:5
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