Leviticus 11:47 Meaning and Explanation
“To make a difference between the unclean and the clean, and between the beast that may be eaten and the beast that may not be eaten.”
King James Version (KJV)
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Read Full Chapter →The chapter ends by clearly stating its practical covenant purpose: Israel is to learn and consistently make faithful distinctions. The detailed law differentiates unclean from clean and identifies which animals may be eaten by the people and which may not be eaten.
Leviticus 11 trains the people of Israel to distinguish unclean from clean and animals permitted for covenant food from those specifically prohibited.
The Context of Leviticus 11:47
Leviticus 11 begins with the LORD instructing Moses and Aaron to speak to the children of Israel about animals they may eat. The chapter gives paired criteria, named examples, broad creature categories, and detailed rules for dead-animal contact with people and household resources. Verses 44 and 45 ground holiness in the character of the LORD and in his deliverance of Israel from Egypt. Verse 46 summarizes the law's reach across beasts, fowls, water creatures, and creeping things. Verse 47 completes that sentence with the law's purpose: making a difference between unclean and clean and between an animal that may be eaten and one that may not be eaten.
What Does Leviticus 11:47 Mean?
To make a difference explains why the chapter provides so many observable categories and conditional cases. Israel is to distinguish rather than guess. The first pair concerns unclean and clean, and the second applies the distinction to animals that may or may not be eaten. These are related categories, yet the repeated between keeps both sides visible. Holy practice requires knowing the difference and acting accordingly. The law equips households, priests, and teachers with a shared framework instead of leaving food decisions to disgust, appetite, wealth, or private invention.
The verse also sets boundaries around interpretation. Its stated purpose concerns covenant distinction and food permission, not a secret moral code assigned to every animal's personality. The chapter's clean and unclean statuses must not be converted into a ranking of human ethnicities, bodies, jobs, or cultures. Nor should the distinctions be dismissed as trivial. They train a delivered people in careful obedience to the holy LORD. Good study honors the original function, acknowledges identification limits, and refuses applications that the final purpose statement cannot support.
In Acts 10, Peter's deeply formed concern about common and unclean food meets a direct command from God, and he later says he must not call any person common or unclean. Christian readers should follow both the seriousness of his prior obedience and the clarity of God's new direction. Jesus calls his followers to holiness of heart, confronting deceit, pride, greed, and violence. The enduring formation is careful discernment under God's word, practiced with humility and welcome. We distinguish without dehumanizing and eat together without coercing conscience or erasing Israel's history.
Bible Verses Related to Leviticus 11:47
“And the LORD spake unto Aaron, saying, Do not drink wine nor strong drink, thou, nor thy sons with thee, when ye go into the tabernacle of the congregation, lest ye die: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations: And that ye may put difference between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean; And that ye may teach the children of Israel all the statutes which the LORD hath spoken unto them by the hand of Moses.”
- Leviticus 10:8-11
“For I am the LORD your God: ye shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and ye shall be holy; for I am holy: neither shall ye defile yourselves with any manner of creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. For I am the LORD that bringeth you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: ye shall therefore be holy, for I am holy. This is the law of the beasts, and of the fowl, and of every living creature that moveth in the waters, and of every creature that creepeth upon the earth: To make a difference between the unclean and the clean, and between the beast that may be eaten and the beast that may not be eaten.”
- Leviticus 11:44-47
“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 11:47 Echoes in Scripture
Leviticus 10:10 had already named the priestly responsibility to distinguish carefully between holy and unholy and between unclean and clean. Leviticus 11:47 brings that disciplined and teachable difference-making into the animal and food law taught to the entire covenant people.
How to Apply Leviticus 11:47 Today
Build interpretations from the chapter's stated purpose. Before teaching a case, identify what is being distinguished, who is addressed, and what action follows. Do not turn clean and unclean animal categories into labels for people. For shared meals, use accurate ingredient lists, separate equipment where necessary, and provide equivalent options for allergies and convictions. Teach children that difference need not produce disgust or superiority. Christians should read Acts 10 carefully, welcome people without calling them unclean, and preserve respect for neighbors who continue dietary practices. Discernment is faithful when it serves holiness, truth, safety, and love together.
Reflection & Prayer
Are all our distinctions genuinely disciplined by God's stated purpose and consistently expressed through patient love? We might pray: 'Holy LORD, teach us to discern faithfully, follow Jesus without contempt or coercion, honor each conscience carefully, and recognize every neighbor's God-given dignity.'