Birds or Insects עוֹף

We are in chapter eleven of Leviticus with our word for today which is a phrase. עוֹף everything that flies, flying creatures, fowl, birds, insects. It is used 71 times in the Old Testament, 5 times in our chapter. Our word is a good example of how the context helps us understand the meaning. Since our word is a general word for everything that flies the context help us understand the specific way the word is being used. We our word translated a couple of different ways in our chapter for today. The first way is in the sense of winged animals or birds. Leviticus 1:14 If his offering to the Lord is a burnt offering of הָע֛וֹף birds, then he shall bring his offering of turtledoves or pigeons. This is the first way our word is used in our chapter. Leviticus 11:1-2, 13-19 And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying to them, “Speak to the people of Israel, saying … And these you shall detest among הָע֔וֹף the birds; they shall not be eaten; they are detestable: the eagle, the bearded vulture, the black vulture, the kite, the falcon of any kind, every raven of any kind, the ostrich, the nighthawk, the sea gull, the hawk of any kind, the little owl, the cormorant, the short-eared owl, the barn owl, the tawny owl, the carrion vulture, the stork, the heron of any kind, the hoopoe, and the bat. And in this use and the other use of our word in our chapter they both are part of the list of unclean creatures that God instructed his people at that time not to eat. The second way our word is used is in the sense of winged insects. Deuteronomy 14:19 And all winged הָע֔וֹף insects are unclean for you; they shall not be eaten. This is also how our word is used in our chapter today. Leviticus 11:20-24 All winged הָע֔וֹף insects that go on all fours are detestable to you. Yet among the winged הָע֔וֹף insects that go on all fours you may eat those that have jointed legs above their feet, with which to hop on the ground. Of them you may eat: the locust of any kind, the bald locust of any kind, the cricket of any kind, and the grasshopper of any kind. But all other winged הָע֔וֹף insects that have four feet are detestable to you. “And by these you shall become unclean. Then we see our word used in both senses in our chapter to sum up all that the chapter has been talking about. Leviticus 11:46-47 This is the law about beast וְהָע֔וֹף and [literally winged creatures which would include birds and insects] bird and every living creature that moves through the waters and every creature that swarms on the ground, to make a distinction between the unclean and the clean and between the living creature that may be eaten and the living creature that may not be eaten. The whole point is that all flying creatures (birds and insects), along with land and sea creatures that are on God’s list as unclean is given to give the people a distinction. That is so they understand what it means to be holy, separated, or different. Again these laws were for God’s people at that time. Once Jesus declared all foods clean, which we have been looking at over the last few days, we better understand all of these things. It took the early Christians who were originally all Jewish time to understand what God was doing now through His church. This caused conflict especially with the new Gentile Christians coming into the church. The Holy spirit speaking through Paul instructs the believers in this. Romans 14:17 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. 1 Corinthians 8:8 Food will not commend us to God. We are no worse off if we do not eat, and no better off if we do. It’s wrong to judge other Christians on the basis of what they eat because our connection with God is not based on how we follow the rules but rather on our relationship with Christ. I’ll close with this great section. Colossians 2:16–23 Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ. Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, going on in detail about visions, puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind, and not holding fast to the Head, from whom the whole body, nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God. If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations— “Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch” (referring to things that all perish as they are used)—according to human precepts and teachings? These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh.