Leviticus 11:23 Meaning and Explanation
“But all other flying creeping things, which have four feet, shall be an abomination unto you.”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →The food section closes by returning directly to the general prohibition after the leaping exception and its four specifically permitted examples. All other flying creeping things described with four feet remain in the serious prohibited covenant food category for Israel.
All other flying creeping creatures described with four feet remain clearly prohibited as food for Israel under this specific covenant law.
The Context of Leviticus 11:23
Verse 20 begins with a broad prohibition concerning fowls that creep and go upon all four. Verse 21 creates a limited exception for those with legs above their feet for leaping on the earth. Verse 22 identifies four permitted names after their kinds: locust, bald locust, beetle, and grasshopper. Verse 23 begins with but and closes the unit by excluding all other members of the broader category. Verse 24 then shifts from eating classifications to uncleanness associated with carcass contact. Deuteronomy 14:19-20 gives a compressed parallel concerning flying creeping things. The end of Leviticus 11 explains that the food distinctions serve Israel's holiness before the LORD who delivered the people from Egypt.
What Does Leviticus 11:23 Mean?
But signals that the permitted list has ended and the general boundary resumes. All other prevents the four examples of verse 22 from becoming an open-ended permission for anything that flies, creeps, jumps, or receives a similar modern name. The phrase which have four feet repeats the descriptive language of the section and identifies the group addressed in the KJV wording. The conclusion shall be an abomination unto you carries the same serious covenant force used for other prohibited foods throughout the chapter.
This closing line is best explained through the unit's logic rather than through a speculative anatomical scheme. Leviticus gives a broad movement category, an exception with a leaping feature, named permitted kinds, and a final exclusion of the remainder. That is enough to understand the food-law structure. The text does not provide a comprehensive drawing or a modern scientific key. Readers should admit where present-day identification is uncertain and avoid using the word four to manufacture either a forced scientific defense or a dismissive accusation unrelated to the passage's purpose.
The category is an abomination unto Israel for covenant food practice. It does not make living creatures morally guilty, and it cannot be transferred to people. Peter later learns through a vision involving many creatures and through meeting Cornelius that he must not call any person common or unclean. Christian readers should carry that lesson into meals and relationships. Following Jesus excludes mockery of cultures, bodies, occupations, or diets. It welcomes honest conscience, protects people from unsafe or unwanted foods, and locates moral defilement where Christ places it: in the sinful intentions and actions that arise from the heart.
Bible Verses Related to Leviticus 11:23
“All fowls that creep, going upon all four, shall be an abomination unto you. Yet these may ye eat of every flying creeping thing that goeth upon all four, which have legs above their feet, to leap withal upon the earth; Even these of them ye may eat; the locust after his kind, and the bald locust after his kind, and the beetle after his kind, and the grasshopper after his kind. But all other flying creeping things, which have four feet, shall be an abomination unto you.”
- Leviticus 11:20-23
“And every creeping thing that flieth is unclean unto you: they shall not be eaten. But of all clean fowls ye may eat.”
- Deuteronomy 14:19-20
“And there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter; kill, and eat. But Peter said, Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten any thing that is common or unclean. And the voice spake unto him again the second time, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common. This was done thrice: and the vessel was received up again into heaven.”
- Acts 10:13-16
“And he said unto them, Ye know how that it is an unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to keep company, or come unto one of another nation; but God hath shewed me that I should not call any man common or unclean. Therefore came I unto you without gainsaying, as soon as I was sent for: I ask therefore for what intent ye have sent for me?”
- Acts 10:28-29
Where Leviticus 11:23 Echoes in Scripture
Deuteronomy 14:19 says every creeping thing that flies is unclean to Israel and shall not be eaten, providing a compressed parallel. Leviticus 11:20-23 supplies the fuller internal structure and therefore carefully governs any explanation of its specifically named leaping exception.
How to Apply Leviticus 11:23 Today
When a passage states an exception, do not expand it past the named examples and qualifying features. Summarize the entire unit before debating individual terms. Avoid turning unfamiliar foods into jokes about a culture or tests imposed on children, guests, employees, or ministry participants. Obtain informed consent, list ingredients, account for allergies, and follow current food rules. If you teach the anatomical wording, distinguish direct textual observations from scientific proposals. Most importantly, refuse to apply an animal's covenant food label to a human being whom God commands you to treat with truth and dignity.
Reflection & Prayer
Do we respect the limits of a permission and the dignity of people whose practices differ? We might pray: 'Holy LORD, keep us within your meaning, cleanse contempt from our hearts through Jesus, and make our boundaries truthful, safe, and hospitable.'