You may eat any animal that has a divided hoof and that chews the cud. The two criteria for clean land animals — divided hoof and cud-chewing — must both be present for an animal to be clean and therefore edible. The divided hoof and the cud-chewing together identify the ruminant domesticated animals that were the primary livestock of ancient Israel: cattle, sheep, and goats. The double requirement communicates the covenant principle of completeness: partial qualification is not sufficient. An animal with one characteristic but not the other is not clean. The covenant's standards are not met partially.

COMMUNITY REFLECTIONS

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