Clean and Unclean Animals

Humpback Whale: subject to the same criteria as fishThis brings us to a clear starting point for biblical dietary laws: the list of clean and unclean animals. This list is given in two places in the Torah: Leviticus chapter 11 and Deuteronomy chapter 14.

The Torah groups animals into the following categories:

• large, four-footed land animals
• water animals
• flying animals
• teeming creatures that fly or crawl.

You may notice that the Bible classifies animals in a different manner from modern biology. For example, whales fit into the same category as fish, while bats fit together with birds. Biblical taxonomy seems to place more focus on the domain in which the creature lives, rather than its physical characteristics.

With most classifications, the Torah lists physical traits that identify clean animals, as well as offering examples of some that are clean and unclean. With birds, the Torah does not indicate any physical characteristics, but only presents a list.