Was Noah's allowed to eat unclean animals?

[tonychanyt]

Probably not. Genesis 7:

1 The Lord then said to Noah, “Go into the ark, you and your whole family, because I have found you righteous in this generation. 2 Take with you seven pairs of every kind of clean animal, a male and its mate, and one pair of every kind of unclean animal, a male and its mate,

Those were the first mentions of clean and unclean animals. There were no definitions until Moses (Leviticus 11). Probably, only clean animals were allowed to be offered as sacrifices. If Moses had penned those words in Gen, he probably used the definitions in Lev.

Genesis 9:

3 Everything that lives and moves about will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything.

God gave Noah clean animals for food. That's probably what Moses meant.

 

[Bumble Bee]

I had never thought of clean and unclean as being pre-levitical before, but now that you point it out, I am interested. I always just assumed that God was discussing animals clean and unclean for sacrifice rather than for consumption.

 

[AV1611VET]

God gave Noah animals for food, but not the unclean animals.

My pet theory is that God fed Noah, much like He fed the widow of Zarephath.

1 Kings 17:15 And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah: and she, and he, and her house, did eat many days.
16 And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake by Elijah.

Or perhaps as Jesus fed the multitudes.

Matthew 16:9 Do ye not yet understand, neither remember the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets ye took up?
16:10 Neither the seven loaves of the four thousand, and how many baskets ye took up?

 

[Bumble Bee]

Yes, I am sure He did. He could have used the animals, though. It’s interesting to ponder when clean vs unclean animals came into play.

 

[AV1611VET]

It’s interesting to ponder when clean vs unclean animals came into play.

I wonder if it stems back to Cain & Abel?

 

[Diamond7]

My pet theory is that God fed Noah, much like He fed the widow of Zarephath.

That happens all the time here. 90% of something is gone and the 10% seems to last forever. It is not unusual that we will throw it away so we can start off with a new full container.