“Ye shall not make yourselves abominable with any creeping thing that creepeth, neither shall ye make yourselves unclean with them, that ye should be defiled thereby.”
Do not defile yourselves by any of these creatures. Do not make yourselves unclean by means of them or be made unclean by them. The dual warning against both active defilement (making yourselves unclean) and passive contamination (being made unclean by them) communicates the comprehensive concern of the dietary laws. The clean/unclean regulations protect the community from defilement both through what they intentionally eat and through what they inadvertently contact. The covenant community's cleanness is both actively maintained (by avoiding the prohibited foods) and passively protected (by managing contact with unclean animals).
COMMUNITY REFLECTIONS
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