LEV 11

Leviticus 11:36

WEB

Nevertheless a spring or a cistern in which water is gathered shall be clean, but that which touches their carcass shall be unclean.

BSB

Nevertheless, a spring or cistern containing water will remain clean, but one who touches a carcass in it will be unclean.

KJV

Nevertheless a fountain or pit, wherein there is plenty of water, shall be clean: but that which toucheth their carcase shall be unclean.

Matthew Henry

Verses 20–42

Leviticus 11:20–42

Here is the law, 1. Concerning flying insects, as flies, wasps, bees, etc.; these they might not eat (Lev 11:20), nor indeed are they fit to be eaten; but there were several sorts of locusts which in those countries were very good meat, and much used: John Baptist lived upon them in the desert, and they are here allowed them, Lev 11:21, Lev 11:22. 2. Concerning the creeping things on the earth; these were all forbidden (Lev 11:29, Lev 11:30, and again, Lev 11:41, Lev 11:42); for it was the curse of the serpent that upon his belly he should go, and therefore between him and man there was an enmity put (Gen 3:15), which was preserved by this law. Dust is the meat of the creeping things, and therefore they are not fit to be man's meat. 3. Concerning the dead carcasses of all these unclean animals. (1.) Every one that touched them was to be unclean until the evening, Lev 11:24-28. This law is often repeated, to possess them with a dread of every thing that was prohibited, though no particular reason for the prohibition did appear, but only the will of the Law-maker. Not that they were to be looked upon as defiling to the conscience, or that it was a sin against God to touch them, unless done in contempt of the law: in many cases, somebody must of necessity touch them, to remove them; but it was a ceremonial uncleanness they contracted, which for the time forbade them to come into the tabernacle, or to eat of any of the holy things, or so much as to converse familiarly with their neighbours. But the uncleanness continued only till the evening, to signify that all ceremonial pollutions were to come to an end by the death of Christ in the evening of the world. And we must learn, by daily renewing our repentance every night for the sins of the day, to cleanse ourselves from the pollution we contract by them, that we may not lie down in our uncleanness. Even unclean animals they might touch while they were alive without contracting any ceremonial uncleanness by it, as horses and dogs, because they were allowed to use them for service; but they might not touch them when they were dead, because they might not eat their flesh; and what must not be eaten must not be touched, Gen 3:3. (2.) Even the vessels, or other things they fell upon, were thereby made unclean until the evening (Lev 11:32), and if they were earthen vessels they must be broken, Lev 11:33. This taught them carefully to avoid every thing that was polluting, even in their common actions. Not only the vessels of the sanctuary, but every pot in Jerusalem and Judah, must be holiness to the Lord, Zac 14:20, Zac 14:21. The laws in these cases are very critical, and the observance of them would be difficult, we should think, if every thing that a dead mouse or rat, for instance, falls upon must be unclean; and if it were an oven, or ranges for pots, they must all be broken down, Lev 11:35. The exceptions also are very nice, Lev 11:36, etc. All this was designed to exercise them to a constant care and exactness in their obedience, and to teach us, who by Christ are delivered from these burdensome observances, not to be less circumspect in the more weighty matters of the law. We ought as industriously to preserve our precious souls from the pollutions of sin, and as speedily to cleanse them when they are polluted, as they were to preserve and cleanse their bodies and household goods from those ceremonial pollutions.

Cross-references: Lev 11:20 · Lev 11:21 · Lev 11:22 · Lev 11:29 · Lev 11:30 · Lev 11:41 · Lev 11:42 · Gen 3:15 · Lev 11:24 · Gen 3:3 · Lev 11:32 · Lev 11:33 · Zech 14:20 · Zech 14:21 · Lev 11:35 · Lev 11:36

Hebrew interlinear

H389

אַךְʼak/ak/

adv — affirmation, surely, only

Derivation: akin to 403;

a particle of affirmation, surely; hence (by limitation) only

KJV: also, in any wise, at least, but, certainly, even, howbeit, nevertheless, notwithstanding, only, save, surely, of a surety, truly, verily, wherefore, yet (but).

אַךְ

adv — surely

אַךְ 159 adv. 1. surely. 2. with a restrictive force, emphasizing what follows

H4599

מַעְיָןmaʻyân/mah-yawn'/

n-m — fountain, source

Derivation: or מַעְיְנוֹ; (Psalm 114:8), or (feminine) מַעְיָנָה; from 5869 (as a denominative in the sense of a spring);

a fountain (also collectively), figuratively, a source (of satisfaction)

KJV: fountain, spring, well.

מַעְיָן

n.m — spring

מַעְיָן n.m. spring

H953

בּוֹרbôwr/bore/

n-m — hole

Derivation: from 952 (in the sense of 877);

a pit hole (especially one used as a cistern or a prison)

KJV: cistern, dungeon, fountain, pit, well.

בּוֹר

n.m — pit

בּוֹר n.m. pit, cistern, well

1. cistern, containing water, made by digging

2. later appar. well

3. pit

4. dungeon

5. (poet. & late; never c. art.) pit of the grave

בּוֹר הַסִּרָה

n.pr.loc — Sirah. See also

בּוֹר הַסִּרָה n.pr.loc. 2 S 3:26 (cistern of Sirah)

H4723

מִקְוֶהmiqveh/mik-veh'/

n-pr-m n-m — waited, confidence, collection, pond, caravan, drove

Derivation: or מִקְוֵה; (1 Kings 10:28), or מִקְוֵא; (2 Chronicles 1:16), from 6960;

something waited for, i.e. confidence (objective or subjective); also a collection, i.e. (of water) a pond, or (of men and horses) a caravan or drove

KJV: abiding, gathering together, hope, linen yarn, plenty (of water), pool.

מִקְוֶה

n.[m.] — hope

מִקְוֶה n.[m.] hope

מִקְוֶה

n.[m.] — collection

[מִקְוֶה] n.[m.] collection, collected mass

קֹוֶה

n.pr.terr — Kue

קֹוֶה, or קֹוֵא n.pr.terr. Ḳuë in Cilicia

H4325

מַיִםmayim/mah'-yim/

n-m — water, juice, urine, semen

Derivation: dual of a primitive noun (but used in a singular sense);

water; figuratively, juice; by euphemism, urine, semen

KJV: piss, wasting, water(-ing, (-course, -flood, -spring)).

מַי

n.m — waters

[מַי] 580 n.m. only pl. מַ֫יִם waters, water

H1961

הָיָהhâyâh/haw-yaw/

v — exist, be, become, come to pass

Derivation: a primitive root (compare 1933);

to exist, i.e. be or become, come to pass (always emphatic, and not a mere copula or auxiliary)

KJV: beacon, × altogether, be(-come), accomplished, committed, like), break, cause, come (to pass), do, faint, fall, follow, happen, × have, last, pertain, quit (one-) self, require, × use.

הָיָה

vb — fall out

הָיָה 3570 vb. fall out, come to pass, become, be

Qal

I.

1.

a. Fall out, happen

b. occur, take place, come about, come to pass

2. esp. & very oft., come about, come to pass

a.

(1). וַיְהִי and it came to pass that, most often (c. 292 t.)

(2). rarely also Pf. c. וְ conj. וְהָיָה

b. less oft. וְהָיָה Pf. consec. and it shall come to pass, or frequentat. came to pass (repeatedly, etc.)

II. Come into being, become

1.

a. abs., in lively narrative, arise, appear, come

b. sq. prep.

2. become

a. sq. pred. noun (to be viewed as implicit accus.)

b. sq. pred. adj.

c. become like

d. sq. pred. לְ pers.

e. sq. לְ pred.

f. oft. c. לְ pred. לְ pers.

g. with עַל and לְ

h. sts. c. לְ pers. only = became the property of, come into the possession of

III. Be (often with subbordinate idea of becoming)

1. exist, be in existence

2. abide, remain, continue

3. with word of locality, be in or at a place, be situated, stand, lie

4. as copula, joining subj. & pred.

5. periphrastic conjug.

Niph.

1. either be done, be brought about, or occur, come to pass

2. be done, finished, gone

H2889

טָהוֹרṭâhôwr/taw-hore'/

a — pure

Derivation: or טָהֹר; from 2891;

pure (in a physical, chemical, ceremonial or moral sense)

KJV: clean, fair, pure(-ness).

טָהוֹר

adj — clean

טָהוֹר adj. clean, pure

H5060

נָגַעnâgaʻ/naw-gah'/

v — touch, lay the hand upon, reach, arrive, acquire, strike

Derivation: a primitive root;

properly, to touch, i.e. lay the hand upon (for any purpose; euphemistically, to lie with a woman); by implication, to reach (figuratively, to arrive, acquire); violently, to strike (punish, defeat, destroy, etc.)

KJV: beat, (× be able to) bring (down), cast, come (nigh), draw near (nigh), get up, happen, join, near, plague, reach (up), smite, strike, touch.

נָגַע

vb — touch

נָגַע 150 vb. touch, reach, strike

Qal

1.

a. touch

b. of י׳ touching earth, mountains, etc.

2. nearly = strike, pass. stricken

3. touch = harm

4. reach, extend to

Niph. be stricken, defeated (in battle), i.e. feign to be so

Pi. strike (with leprosy, 2 acc.)

Pu. be stricken by diseases

Hiph. cause to touch; reach, approach, arrive

H5038

נְבֵלָהnᵉbêlâh/neb-ay-law'/

n-f — flabby, carcase, carrion, idol

Derivation: from 5034;

a flabby thing, i.e. a carcase or carrion (human or bestial, often collectively); figuratively, an idol

KJV: (dead) body, (dead) carcase, dead of itself, which died, (beast) that (which) dieth of itself.

נְבֵלָה

n.f — carcass

נְבֵלָה n.f. carcass, corpse

H2930

טָמֵאṭâmêʼ/taw-may'/

v — be foul

Derivation: a primitive root;

to be foul, especially in a ceremial or moral sense (contaminated)

KJV: defile (self), pollute (self), be (make, make self, pronounce) unclean, × utterly.

טָמֵא

vb — be unclean

טָמֵא vb. be or become unclean

Qal be or become unclean

Niph. defile oneself, be defiled

Pi. defile

Pu. myself is not polluted

Hithp.—reflexive, defile oneself

Hothp. after that she has been defiled

טָמְאָה

n.f — uncleanness

טָמְאָה n.f. uncleanness Mi 2:10

Bible49 app

Get translation compare, commentary, and interlinear study — offline, on iPhone and Mac.

See Bible49