Dietary Laws of Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14

Leviticus 11 And YHWH said to Moses and Aaron, “Say to the people of Israel; These are the things which you may eat among all the living creatures that are in the earth. In the Quran we see God changed this law for Israelites in the case of land animals (no changes regarding fish or insects) to mean “only if starvation is imminent”. However, they were to mercifully slaughter certain aged livestock described hereafter to feed those in need. Whatever parts the hoof and is cloven-footed and chews the cud, among the animals, you may eat. Nevertheless among those that chew the cud or part the hoof, you shall not eat these: The camel, because it chews the cud but does not part the hoof, is unclean to you. And the rock badger, because it chews the cud but does not part the hoof, is unclean to you. And the hare, because it chews the cud but does not part the hoof, is unclean to you. And the swine, because it parts the hoof and is cloven-footed but does not chew the cud, is unclean to you. Of their flesh you shall not eat, and their dead carcasses you shall not touch; they are unclean to you. “These you may eat, of all that are in the waters. Everything in the waters that has fins and scales, gilled fish whether in the seas or in the rivers, you may eat. But anything in the seas or the rivers that has not fins and scales, of the swarming creatures i.e. shrimp/brine/plankton in the waters and of the living creatures that are in the waters, is an abomination to you. They shall remain an abomination to you; of their flesh you shall not eat, and their carcasses you shall have in abomination. Everything in the waters that has not fins and scales is an abomination to you. “And these you shall have in abomination among the birds, they shall not be eaten, they are an abomination: the eagle, the vulture, the osprey, the kite, the falcon according to its kind, every raven according to its kind, the ostrich, the nighthawk, the sea gull, the hawk according to its kind, the owl, the cormorant, the ibis, the water hen, the pelican, the carrion vulture, the stork, the heron according to its kind, the hoopoe, and the bat. All winged insects that go upon all fours are an abomination to you. Yet among the winged insects that go on all fours you may eat those which have legs above their feet with which to leap on the earth. Of them you may eat: the locust according to its kind, the bald locust according to its kind, the cricket according to its kind, and the grasshopper according to its kind. But all other winged insects which have four feet are an abomination to you. And by these you shall become unclean; whoever touches their carcass shall be unclean until the evening, and whoever carries any part of their carcass shall wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening. Every animal which parts the hoof but is not cloven-footed or does not chew the cud is unclean to you; every one who touches them shall be unclean. And all that go on their paws, among the animals that go on all fours, are unclean to you; whoever touches their carcass shall be unclean until the evening, and he who carries their carcass shall wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening; they are unclean to you. And these are unclean to you among the lower things that crawl upon the earth: the weasel, the mouse, the great lizard according to its kind, the gecko, the land crocodile, the lizard, the sand lizard, and the chameleon. These are unclean to you among all that crawl; whoever touches them when they are dead shall be unclean until the evening. And anything upon which any of them falls when they are dead shall be unclean, whether it is an article of wood or a garment or a skin or a sack, any vessel that is used for any purpose; it must be cleaned with water, and it shall be unclean until the evening; then it shall be clean. And if any of them falls into any porous earthen vessel, all that is in it shall be unclean, and you shall break it. Any food in it which may be eaten, upon which water may come, shall be unclean; and all drink which may be drunk from every such vessel shall be unclean. And everything upon which any part of their carcass falls shall be unclean; whether oven or stove, it shall be broken in pieces; they are unclean, and shall be unclean to you. Nevertheless a spring or a cistern holding water shall be clean; but whatever touches their carcass shall be unclean. And if any part of their carcass falls upon any seed for sowing that is to be sown, it is clean; but if water is put on the seed and any part of their carcass falls on it, it is unclean to you. Because water causes the hull of the shell to split thereby exposing the plant to bacteria that will multiply with the plant as it grows. And if any animal of which you may eat dies  aside from lawful slaughter he who touches its carcass shall be unclean until the evening, and he who eats of its carcass shall wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening; he also who carries the carcass shall wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening. “Every creeping thing bugs that can’t fly that swarms upon the earth is an abomination; it shall not be eaten. Whatever goes on its belly, and whatever goes on all fours, or whatever has many feet, all the creeping things that crawls upon the earth, you shall not eat; for they are an abomination. You shall not make yourselves abominable with any creeping thing that crawls; and you shall not defile yourselves with them, lest you become unclean. For I am YHWH your God; consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I Am Holy. You shall not defile yourselves with any creeping thing that crawls upon the earth. For I am YHWH who brought you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God; you shall therefore be holy, for I Am Holy. This is the law pertaining to beast and bird and every living creature that moves through the waters and every creature that crawls upon the earth, to make a distinction between the unclean and the clean and between the living creature that may be eaten and the living creature that may not be eaten.”

 

Deuteronomy 14 You are the sons of YHWH your God; you shall not cut yourselves or make any baldness on your foreheads for the dead. a common practice among pagans For you are a people holy to YHWH your God, and YHWH Has Chosen you to be a people for His Own Possession, out of all the peoples that are on the face of the earth. You shall not eat any abominable thing. These are the animals you may eat: if starvation is imminent the ox, the sheep, the goat, the hart, the gazelle, the roebuck, the wild goat, the ibex, the antelope, and the mountain-sheep. Every animal that parts the hoof and has the hoof cloven in two, and chews the cud, among the animals, you may eat. Yet of those that chew the cud or have the hoof cloven you shall not eat these: the camel, the hare, and the rock badger, because they chew the cud but do not part the hoof, are unclean for you. And the swine, because it parts the hoof but does not chew the cud, is unclean for you. Their flesh you shall not eat, and their carcasses you shall not touch. Of all that are in the waters you may eat these: whatever has fins and scales gilled fish you may eat. And whatever does not have fins and scales you shall not eat; it is unclean for you. You may eat all clean birds. loosely meaning birds that survive on plants/grains But these are the ones which you shall not eat: the eagle, the vulture, the osprey, the buzzard, the kite, after their kinds; every raven after its kind; the ostrich, the nighthawk, the sea gull, the hawk, after their kinds;  the little owl and the great owl, the water hen  and the pelican, the carrion vulture and the cormorant, the stork, the heron, after their kinds; the hoopoe and the bat. And all unclean winged insects are unclean for you; they shall not be eaten. All clean winged things you may eat. You shall not eat anything that dies of itself; you may give it to the alien who is within your towns, that he may eat it, or you may sell it to a foreigner; for you are a people holy to YHWH your God. You shall not boil a kid in its mother’s milk. a practice of pagans who would then sprinkle the milk on their fields in a fertility ritual for their gods You shall tithe meaning donate 1/10th of all the yield of your seed, which comes forth from the field year by year. And before YHWH your God, in the place which He Will Choose, to make His Name dwell there due to the peoples’ remembrance of the good things that believers did for them in His Name you shall tithe of your grain, of your wine, and of your oil, and the firstlings of your herd and flock; that you may learn to fear YHWH your God always. And if the way is too long for you, so that you are not able to bring the tithe, when YHWH your God Blesses you, because the place is too far from you, which YHWH your God Chooses, to set His Name there, then you shall turn it into money, and bind up the money in your hand, and go to the place which YHWH your God Chooses, and spend the money to enrich the inhabitants of the town for whatever you desire, oxen, or sheep, or wine or strong drink, whatever your appetite craves; and you shall eat there before YHWH your God and rejoice, you and your household. And you shall not forsake the Levite who is within your towns, for he has no portion or inheritance with you. At the end of every three years you shall bring forth all the tithe of your produce in the same year, and lay it up within your towns; and the Levite, because he has no portion or inheritance with you, and the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, who are within your towns, shall come and eat and be filled; that YHWH your God may bless thee in all the work of thine hand which thou doest.