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Deuteronomy 14:21
You shall not eat anything that has died naturally. You may give it to the sojourner who is within your towns, that he may eat it, or you may sell it to a foreigner. For you are a people holy to the LORD your God.
"In a protein-starved area such as ancient Israel, it would have been almost criminal to let good meat go to waste. However, since the carcass would not have been drained of its blood, Israelites might not eat it. The meat could be distributed as charity to resident aliens. It could also be sold to foreigners who were not settlers in Israel."
Victor Harold Matthews, Mark W. Chavalas, and John H. Walton, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: Old Testament, electronic ed. (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2000), Dt 14:21.
Looking at dietary references in other parts of the Mosaic Law, it is clear that eating an animal that had not been properly killed - either dying naturally or torn by wild beast, rendered a Jew unclean (Leviticus 7:24, Leviticus 22:8, Exodus 22:30, Ezekiel 44:31). What is not clear is if eating such meat was always unclean or sinful for a non-Israelite.
There appears to be a contradiction.
Leviticus 17:15-16
And every person who eats what dies of itself or what is torn by beasts, whether he is a native or a sojourner, shall wash his clothes and bathe himself in water and be unclean until the evening; then he shall be clean. But if he does not wash them or bathe his flesh, he shall bear his iniquity.
"In Leviticus 17:13-16 both Israelite and alien were not to eat meat with blood in it; if either Israelite or alien ate anything found dead, he was to cleanse himself. Yet [in Deuteronomy 14:21] an Israelite was allowed to give such meat to an alien, and he could eat it. The variation in the prohibition could be due to the changed situation. In Deuteronomy Moses prepared the people for the situation in Canaan, where they would be in a head-on clash with pagan culture in which the alien would not yet be integrated into Israelite culture. In Leviticus the alien comes within the culture of Israel and has the benefits of adhering to that culture. However, even during the period of conquest, the Israelites were always to be kind to the alien, remembering that they were aliens in Egypt. Yet in the Deuteronomic messages Moses emphasized over and over again (as in v.21) the unique relationship of Israel as holy to the Lord. This is the basis for even ritualistic stipulations."
Earl S. Kalland, “Deuteronomy,” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 & 2 Samuel, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein, vol. 3 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1992), 101.
If this is the resolution to this contradiction, the implication is that Israel's purity law is contextual and not universal. What does everyone else think?
You shall not eat anything that has died naturally. You may give it to the sojourner who is within your towns, that he may eat it, or you may sell it to a foreigner. For you are a people holy to the LORD your God.
"In a protein-starved area such as ancient Israel, it would have been almost criminal to let good meat go to waste. However, since the carcass would not have been drained of its blood, Israelites might not eat it. The meat could be distributed as charity to resident aliens. It could also be sold to foreigners who were not settlers in Israel."
Victor Harold Matthews, Mark W. Chavalas, and John H. Walton, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: Old Testament, electronic ed. (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2000), Dt 14:21.
Looking at dietary references in other parts of the Mosaic Law, it is clear that eating an animal that had not been properly killed - either dying naturally or torn by wild beast, rendered a Jew unclean (Leviticus 7:24, Leviticus 22:8, Exodus 22:30, Ezekiel 44:31). What is not clear is if eating such meat was always unclean or sinful for a non-Israelite.
There appears to be a contradiction.
Leviticus 17:15-16
And every person who eats what dies of itself or what is torn by beasts, whether he is a native or a sojourner, shall wash his clothes and bathe himself in water and be unclean until the evening; then he shall be clean. But if he does not wash them or bathe his flesh, he shall bear his iniquity.
"In Leviticus 17:13-16 both Israelite and alien were not to eat meat with blood in it; if either Israelite or alien ate anything found dead, he was to cleanse himself. Yet [in Deuteronomy 14:21] an Israelite was allowed to give such meat to an alien, and he could eat it. The variation in the prohibition could be due to the changed situation. In Deuteronomy Moses prepared the people for the situation in Canaan, where they would be in a head-on clash with pagan culture in which the alien would not yet be integrated into Israelite culture. In Leviticus the alien comes within the culture of Israel and has the benefits of adhering to that culture. However, even during the period of conquest, the Israelites were always to be kind to the alien, remembering that they were aliens in Egypt. Yet in the Deuteronomic messages Moses emphasized over and over again (as in v.21) the unique relationship of Israel as holy to the Lord. This is the basis for even ritualistic stipulations."
Earl S. Kalland, “Deuteronomy,” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 & 2 Samuel, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein, vol. 3 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1992), 101.
If this is the resolution to this contradiction, the implication is that Israel's purity law is contextual and not universal. What does everyone else think?
cheap meat and a free bath.
