What was the purpose of the food laws?

[expos4ever]

Were they to make the Jews a distinct people?

Yes, I think so. In Leviticus 20, the role of the food laws is rather clearly stated as being to set the Jew apart from the rest of the world.

 

[expos4ever]

To keep them healthy.

I see no Biblical evidence for this position.

 

[expos4ever]

The idea that it had to do with health is a purely modern anachronistic idea that has no support in either Scripture, or historic Jewish teaching.

Agree - curious why people think otherwise.

 

[expos4ever]

'And He said, "If you will give earnest heed to the voice of the LORD your God, and do what is right in His sight, and give ear to His commandments, and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have put on the Egyptians; for I, the LORD, am your healer."'

You cannot simply assume a connection between the food laws and this promise about protection from disease. God could have made the very same promise in the complete absence of the food laws.

 

[Semper-Fi]

What was the purpose of
the “water of purification”
God’s Soap Recipe

 

[YesMe]

I see no Biblical evidence for this position.

That's what you see, but, in my opinion, this is the explanation, the best explanation, they were given to keep them healthy, those were primitive times, not like in our time when we know so much about how to eat "safe" food.

 

[expos4ever]

That's what you see, but, in my opinion, this is the explanation, the best explanation, they were given to keep them healthy, those were primitive times, not like in our time when we know so much about how to eat "safe" food.

I think the best explanation is the one that is actually given in the Scriptures. And that is that the food laws were given to mark out the Jews as a distinct people. See Leviticus 20:25 as one example.

 

[timothyu]

And that is that the food laws were given to mark out the Jews as a distinct people.

Like every heritage has a dish unique to their culture?

 

[ViaCrucis]

Like every heritage has a dish unique to their culture?

As in God marked the children of Jacob as a special, called, covenant people to be His nation among the nations, through which would come the Messiah, the Savior and Redeemer of all men.

-CryptoLutheran

 

[YesMe]

As in God marked the children of Jacob as a special, called, covenant people to be His nation among the nations, through which would come the Messiah, the Savior and Redeemer of all men.

-CryptoLutheran

The problem with this is that the jews got it all wrong and they could not understand this, God was welcoming all humanity from the early beginning, not only the Jews, in fact, even in the time of the Jews, God was already revealing Himself to other tribes, hence the coming of the wise man when Christ was born, the mags, they were not Jews, that was not a Jewish title.

 

[ViaCrucis]

That's what you see, but, in my opinion, this is the explanation, the best explanation, they were given to keep them healthy, those were primitive times, not like in our time when we know so much about how to eat "safe" food.

One would need to explain how all non-kosher foods are objectively less healthy than kosher ones. For example, what makes horse meat less healthy than cow meat? The answer is, well, nothing. Horse meat is actually significantly better. The reason we don't eat horse, generally, here in the West is because historically in Europe horses were sacrificed as part of Pagan practice, and so the Church in the West in trying to stamp out the vestiges of pagan practice spoke out against the slaughter and consumption of horse meat. This, in addition to a culture which sees horses as companion animals, not food animals, has made horse meat very rare in the West--but it continues to form a basic food source in many cultures around the world.

Yet horses are unclean animals, why? Because it neither ruminates nor has split hooves, the two conditions which must be met in order for a non-avian/non-piscine animal to be considered kosher. It is therefore trayf.

Pigs are not trayf because they are "dirty" animals, they are trayf because they do not ruminate. Again, the conditions for kosher is that the animal both ruminate and have split hooves.

-CryptoLutheran

 

[ViaCrucis]

The problem with this is that the jews got it all wrong and they could not understand this, God was welcoming all humanity from the early beginning, not only the Jews, in fact, even in the time of the Jews, God was already revealing Himself to other tribes, hence the coming of the wise man when Christ was born, the mags, they were not Jews, that was not a Jewish title.

Deuteronomy 5:1-4
"And Moses summoned all Israel and said to them, 'Hear, O Israel, the statutes and the rules that I speak in your hearing today, and you shall learn them and be careful to do them. The Lord our God made a covenant with us in Horeb. Not with our fathers did the Lord make this covenant, but with us, who are all of us here alive today. The Lord spoke with you face to face at the mountain, out of the midst of the fire,'"

Psalm 147:19-20
"He declares His word to Jacob, His statutes to Israel. He has not dealt thus with any other nation; they do not know His rules. Praise the LORD!"

-CryptoLutheran

 

[YesMe]

Deuteronomy 5:1-4
"And Moses summoned all Israel and said to them, 'Hear, O Israel, the statutes and the rules that I speak in your hearing today, and you shall learn them and be careful to do them. The Lord our God made a covenant with us in Horeb. Not with our fathers did the Lord make this covenant, but with us, who are all of us here alive today. The Lord spoke with you face to face at the mountain, out of the midst of the fire,'"

Psalm 147:19-20
"He declares His word to Jacob, His statutes to Israel. He has not dealt thus with any other nation; they do not know His rules. Praise the LORD!"

-CryptoLutheran

So how was Hammurabi able to predict the law "an eye for an eye..." even before being given by Moses which according to the scriptures was given by Yahweh? It's quite interesting when you think that even Hammurabi received his laws from a spiritual being if I remember correctly. What's more interesting is that Jesus said no thing that this law was given by Yahweh, He said "you heard it was said.." and then He gave the true law, one of love and forgiveness. If Yahweh and Jesus are one, why He used "you heard it was said" when it was said by Him, either Yahweh and Jesus are not one, or else Yahweh never gave that law and it was added, hence why Christ said "you have heard it was said..".

 

[expos4ever]

Like every heritage has a dish unique to their culture?

Not really, in my opinion. The kosher laws were more significant than a “national dish”

 

[timothyu]

As in God marked the children of Jacob as a special, called, covenant people to be His nation among the nations, through which would come the Messiah, the Savior and Redeemer of all men.

Must have been quite the traditional recipe.

 

[hedrick]

I agree with VIaCrucis that it’s not health. I’m also not convinced that it was to set off the Jewish people. By the time of Jesus most of the laws were understood as applying only to Jews, but I think there are signs in Lev. that it was thought to be the right way to live.

Unfortunately there’s no explanation about why the laws exist, so we have to guess. But there are some indications.

The laws in Lev as known as the holiness code, but I'd call it the purity code. They basically define categories and demand that people hold them pure. There are certain features of an acceptable animal, and of an acceptable fish. You aren’t allow to mix crops or types of fabric. Sex is supposed to be of one specific kind. The underlying concept seems to be maintaining the purity of specific things.

You can decide whether that’s a consideration fo Christians. I don’t think so. I think Jesus rejected purity, and looked instead at what helps people.

 

[HARK!]

Why where certain animals unclean? For example, Camels. What exactly made them "unclean"?

Walter Veith breaks it down scientifically:

 

[HARK!]

I see no Biblical evidence for this position.

(CLV) Dn 1:12
I pray, try out your servants for ten days. Let them give us of the seed-foods of the land that we may eat, and water that we may drink.

(CLV) Dn 1:13
Let our appearance be seen before you, and the appearance of the boys who are eating the king's dainties. According to what you shall see, do with your servants.

(CLV) Dn 1:14
Now he hearkened to them in this matter and tried them out for ten days.

(CLV) Dn 1:15
And fat the end of the ten days their appearance was seen to be better and plumper in flesh than any of the boys who were eating the king's dainties.

 

[timothyu]

I agree with VIaCrucis that it’s not health. ......................

Unfortunately there’s no explanation about why the laws exist, so we have to guess.

Why did God say to not take of the fruit of the tree of knowledge? He said they would die. Did he stipulate that about the other laws?

 

[hedrick]

Why did God say to not take of the fruit of the tree of knowledge? He said they would die. Did he stipulate that about the other laws?

Gen 3 doesn't really say why the fruit was prohibited. The snake gives an explanation, but it could be a lie. However Gen 3:22 sort of makes it look like the snake was right. If so, the purpose was to keep people from becoming like God.

I'm not aware of any explanations for the holiness code though.