Leviticus Dietary Laws — Vocabulary

Vocabulary flashcards covering the key terms and concepts from the Leviticus lecture notes on dietary laws, purity, ritual practices, and their modern relevance.

Divided hoof and cud-chewing

Criteria for land animals to be considered clean: the animal must have a split hoof and chew the cud.

Chewing the cud (rumination)

A digestive process in which ruminant animals regurgitate and re-chew partially digested food; linked to kosher status.

Camel

An animal that chews the cud but does not have a divided hoof; classified as ceremonially unclean.

Hyrax

An animal that chews the cud but does not have a divided hoof; classified as unclean.

Rabbit

An animal that chews the cud but does not have a divided hoof; classified as unclean.

Pig

An animal with a divided hoof that does not chew the cud; classified as unclean.

Unclean meat and carcasses

Meat from unclean animals must not be eaten, and touching their carcasses renders a person unclean.

Fins and scales rule

For fish, only those with fins and scales are considered clean; creatures without fins and scales are unclean.

Kosher fish examples

Clean fish with fins and scales; examples given include salmon, tuna, flounder, and herring.

Non-kosher aquatic creatures

Shellfish and crustaceans (e.g., crabs, lobsters) and some listed fish like swordfish are not kosher in the notes.

Unclean birds (bat noted)

Birds listed as unclean; the bat is specifically noted in the passage as appearing among birds.

Clean insects (hoppers)

Insects that hop with jointed legs (e.g., locusts and crickets) are clean; other four-legged flying insects are unclean.

Ground-dwelling unclean animals

Animals such as geckos, lizards, and rats are unclean; contact renders ritual impurity.

Purification and evenings

Ritual impurity typically lasts until the evening; purification occurs at sunset or after cleansing rites.

Breaking of vessels

If an unclean animal contaminates a clay pot, the pot must be broken and cannot be cleansed; other vessels may be purified.

Authority over purity

Purity laws are enforced by male priests and elders, shaping daily life and social order.

Mary Douglas on Leviticus

Scholarship linking purity rules and abominations to social boundaries and identity formation.

Kosher slaughter (shechita)

Religious slaughter performed by a certified slaughterer (choket) with a traverse cut.

Choket

A certified kosher slaughterer who performs the traverse-cut method required in kosher slaughter.

Halal slaughter

Islamic slaughter method that typically involves a cut directed toward Mecca and invocation of God’s name (bismillah).

Halal and kosher in modern practice

Contemporary certification and meat-production practices (e.g., Halal in Australia) show ongoing religious influence on meat markets.