A Biblically Clean Diet

What is a clean diet? What is "kosher?" Many people wonder what these are and often use the terms interchangeably. They are not the same.

A rabbinically "kosher" diet's main restriction is not mixing meat and dairy products at the same time. Often a person who adheres to this restriction will ensure three to four hours pass before eating meat or cheese (whichever was not consumed at the last meal). There is no biblical scripture to support this diet, although has been widely taugh through traditional oral law since before the time of Yeshua.

A biblically clean diet, on the other hand is exactly that -- biblical and supported by the following.

“This is the law regarding the animal and the bird, and every living thing that moves in the waters and everything that swarms on the earth, to make a distinction between the unclean and the clean, and between the edible creature and the creature which is not to be eaten.” (Lev. 11:46-47)

Of the "beasts of the earth" (which basically refers to land mammals with the exception of swarming rodents), you may eat any animal that has cloven hooves and chews its cud (Lev. 11:3; Deut. 14:3-6). Any land mammal that does not have both of these qualities is forbidden. Scripture specifies that the camel, the rock badger, the hare and the pig are not considered clean because each lacks one of these two qualifications (Lev. 11:4-8; Deut. 14:7-8). Sheep, cattle and goats are examples of clean animals.

Of the things that are in the waters, you may eat anything that has fins and scales (Lev. 11:9; Deut. 14:9). Thus, shellfish such as lobsters, oysters, shrimp, clams and crabs are all unclean (Lev. 11:10-12; Deut. 14:10). Fish like tuna, carp, salmon and herring are all clean and permitted.

For birds, Scripture lists forbidden birds (Lev. 11:13 -19; Deut. 14:11 -18), and all of the birds on the list are birds of prey or scavengers, so that is the basis for the distinction. Some birds which are clean are chicken, geese, ducks and turkeys.

Of the "winged swarming things" (winged insects), a few are specifically permitted (Lev. 11:20-23; Deut. 14:19). Those which have above their feet jointed legs with which to jump on the earth are clean, such as the locust, cricket and grasshopper.

Rodents, reptiles, amphibians, and insects (except as mentioned above) are all forbidden. Anything that swarms on the earth is not to be eaten (Lev. 11:29 -30, 41-43).

Scripture prohibits consumption of blood ( Lev. 7:26 -27; 17:10 -15).