Ye shall therefore put difference between clean beasts and unclean, and between unclean fowls and clean: and ye shall not make your souls abominable by beast, or by fowl, or by any manner of living thing that creepeth on the ground, which I have separated from you as unclean.

LEVITICUS 20:25KJV
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Leviticus 20:25 (KJV)

What does Leviticus 20:25 mean?

Leviticus 20:25 instructs the Israelites to carefully distinguish between animals that are considered clean and those that are unclean, according to God's commands. The verse warns them not to defile themselves by eating or coming into contact with animals that God has identified as unclean.

In this verse, God is speaking to the people of Israel through Moses, giving them specific guidelines about which animals they may eat or use. The context is about maintaining ritual and spiritual purity as part of their covenant with God. The verse emphasizes that these distinctions are not arbitrary but are set by God, and following them is a way for the Israelites to remain set apart from other nations.

The Hebrew behind Leviticus 20:25

  • The word "difference" (בָּדַל, badal) means to separate or distinguish. This highlights that the Israelites are to make intentional choices about what they interact with, based on God's instructions.
  • "Clean" (טָהוֹר, tahor) and "unclean" (טָמֵא, tame) refer to ritual categories, not just physical cleanliness. These words show that the rules are about spiritual status, not just hygiene.
  • "Abominable" (שָׁקַץ, shaqats) means to make detestable or to pollute. This word underlines the seriousness of becoming ritually impure by ignoring these distinctions.
  • "Souls" (נֶפֶשׁ, nefesh) here refers to the whole person, not just the inner self. The verse uses this word to stress that defilement affects the entire person, not just their body.

Why Leviticus 20:25 matters

  • This verse clarifies that the food laws were about more than diet—they were about identity and obedience to God’s commands, setting Israel apart from other peoples.
  • The emphasis on God having "separated" (בָּדַל, badal) certain animals as unclean shows that these rules are rooted in divine authority, not human reasoning.
  • Understanding these categories helps explain the broader context of Leviticus, where holiness and separation from impurity are central themes for the people of Israel.

Where else these words appear

“abominable” Hebrew H8262 · used in 6 verses

  • Leviticus 11:11 They shall be even an abomination unto you; ye shall not eat of their flesh, but ye shall have their carcases in abomination.
  • Leviticus 11:13 And these are they which ye shall have in abomination among the fowls; they shall not be eaten, they are an abomination: the eagle, and the ossifrage, and the ospray,
  • Deuteronomy 7:26 Neither shalt thou bring an abomination into thine house, lest thou be a cursed thing like it: but thou shalt utterly detest it, and thou shalt utterly abhor it; for it is a cursed thing.

“creepeth” Hebrew H7430 · used in 17 verses

  • Genesis 1:21 And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good.
  • Genesis 7:14 They, and every beast after his kind, and all the cattle after their kind, and every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind, and every fowl after his kind, every bird of every sort.
  • Leviticus 11:44 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.

“difference” Hebrew H914 · used in 40 verses

  • Genesis 1:4 And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.
  • Numbers 16:9 Seemeth it but a small thing unto you, that the God of Israel hath separated you from the congregation of Israel, to bring you near to himself to do the service of the tabernacle of the LORD, and to stand before the congregation to minister unto them?
  • Ezra 8:24 Then I separated twelve of the chief of the priests, Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten of their brethren with them,

“fowls” Hebrew H5775 · used in 70 verses

  • Genesis 1:20 And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.
  • Leviticus 7:26 Moreover ye shall eat no manner of blood, whether it be of fowl or of beast, in any of your dwellings.
  • Psalms 104:12 By them shall the fowls of the heaven have their habitation, which sing among the branches.