Old Testament Food Recommendations

[ursidae]

"Leviticus 17:14​

For the life of every creature is its blood: its blood is its life. Therefore I have said to the people of Israel, You shall not eat the blood of any creature, for the life of every creature is its blood. Whoever eats it shall be cut off."

"Deuteronomy 14:1-29
These are the animals you may eat: the ox, the sheep, the goat, (...) Every animal that parts the hoof and has the hoof cloven in two and chews the cud, among the animals, you may eat. Yet of those that chew the cud or have the hoof cloven you shall not eat these: the camel, the hare, and the rock badger, because they chew the cud but do not part the hoof, are unclean for you. And the pig, because it parts the hoof but does not chew the cud, is unclean for you. Their flesh you shall not eat, and their carcasses you shall not touch."

"Of all that are in the waters you may eat these: whatever has fins and scales you may eat. And whatever does not have fins and scales you shall not eat; it is unclean for you."
“You may eat all clean birds. But these are the ones that you shall not eat: the eagle, the bearded vulture, the black vulture (..) And all winged insects are unclean for you; they shall not be eaten. All clean winged things you may eat."

“You shall not eat anything that has died naturally."

"You shall not boil a young goat in its mother's milk."

"Hebrews 5:12-14
For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil."

"Leviticus 7:23 ESV​

“Speak to the people of Israel, saying, You shall eat no fat, of ox or sheep or goat."

"The fat that covers the entrails and all the fat that is on the entrails, the two kidneys and the fat that is on them by the flanks, and the fatty lobe attached to the liver above the kidneys, he shall remove; and the priest shall burn them on the altar as food, an offering made by fire for a sweet aroma; all the fat is the LORD’s. This shall be a perpetual statute throughout your generations in all your dwellings: you shall eat neither fat nor blood.”

"Acts 21:25 ESV
But as for the Gentiles who have believed, we have sent a letter with our judgment that they should abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled, and from sexual immorality.”

"Leviticus 3:4 ESV​

And the two kidneys with the fat that is on them at the loins, and the long lobe of the liver that he shall remove with the kidneys."

"Romans 14:2 ESV
One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables."

"Genesis 1:29
And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. This food will be for you, for all the wildlife of the earth, for every bird of the sky, and for every creature that crawls on the earth — everything having the breath of life in it. I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so. God saw all that He had made, and it was very good."

 

[Nfinkelstein]

Not sure your point. Are you saying OT dietary laws are normative for today?

 

[ursidae]

key points:

-ruminant meats with a cloven hoof such as beef, lamb, goat
-no blood -> avoiding iron overload?
-no pork, horse or rabbit
-fish with fins and scales
-no shellfish-> heavy metals accumulation?
-no scavenger or predator flesh
-plants with seeds (fruits), greens
-possibly excludes mushrooms
-no dairy served in the same meal as meat -> digests poorly?
-no animal fat, especially internal fats surrounding organs such as suet

 

[InChristAlone]

Culture is very key when analyzing biblical text. Back then laws were king, everyone followed laws because they thought it brought them closer to God, Jesus came and said it is not by following laws you are saved. His greatest commandment was to love the Lord your God will all your heart and all your mind and all your soul. Second greatest was to love your neighbor as yourself. That is the law. Jesus fulfilled the law by dying on the cross. No more need to be legalistic like the Pharisees.

I do think pork and shellfish can be unclean though.

 

[ursidae]

Not sure your point. Are you saying OT dietary laws are normative for today?

I think these have practical reasons, some of them were made as rules due to hygiene back in the day but I think some are accurate even for today with regards to toxin accumulation and over the centuries people noticed a detrimental effect from consuming things a certain way. For instance a lot of people have problems with pork and with digesting meat and dairy together. I'm not religious at all just interested in dissecting these rules

 

[Nfinkelstein]

I think these have practical reasons, some of them were made as rules due to hygiene back in the day but I think some are accurate even for today with regards to toxin accumulation and over the centuries people noticed a detrimental effect from consuming things a certain way. For instance a lot of people have problems with pork and with digesting meat and dairy together. I'm not religious at all just interested in dissecting these rules

Makes sense. It seems like many of the OT dietary laws could have a hygiene or digestive (ie practical) health aspect. Yet others do not have that. But I agree with Sugarbabe, that OT dietary laws are not a requirement for Christians.

 

[HighT]

@ursidae​

You forgot that for those still believing covid

11 Of all clean birds ye shall eat.
12 But these are they of which ye shall not eat: ....
18 And the stork, and the heron after her kind, and the lapwing, and the BAT.



There was something, I can't recall it now, in the way they prepared the bread back then, which is still valid today from the health perspective.



Following are the most important verses about eating:

Romans 14

14 I know, and am persuaded by the Lord Jesus, that there is nothing unclean of itself: but to him that esteemeth any thing to be unclean, to him it is unclean.

17 For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.

23 And he that doubteth is damned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith: for whatsoever is not of faith is sin.

But these like many things in the Bible are maybe not to be interpret literally. For example:

One maybe sees through covid bs and saying muh gates muh vaccines, but when one goes in the grocery store is putting on a muzzle or thinks of bribing
a nurse. -> "And he that doubteth is damned if he eat"

 

[JudiBlueHen]

"Genesis 1:29
And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. This food will be for you, for all the wildlife of the earth, for every bird of the sky, and for every creature that crawls on the earth — everything having the breath of life in it. I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so. God saw all that He had made, and it was very good."

I think this is supposed to be read as if there were a semicolon here: "...This food will be for you; for all the wildlife...". In other words, we are to eat the fruits, grains, and seeded vegetables. The wildlife, birds, animals are to eat the green plants - leaves and such.

The ruminant animals have 4 stomachs and can digest cellulose, oxalates, lectins, etc of the plants. We don't do so well with those.

 

[youngsinatra]

What Types of Food Did People Eat in the Bible?

Explore a complete list of spices, fruits, vegetables, grains, meats, and other exotic foods of the Bible. Scripture references are included for each.

www.learnreligions.com

 

[aliml]

Why I Don’t Eat Pig Meat

Pig products may not be good for our long-term health. This article describes several reasons why we should reconsider consuming pig meat.

drjockers.com

 

[Perry Staltic]

Diets changed as the world changed. In the garden, the two humans ate only what the ground produced. After the world was destroyed by the flood, every living thing that moved was added to humanity's diet sans blood. Numerous restrictions were imposed via law on the kingdom of Israel. but after the cross, all things became permitted.

 

[changeling188]

read The Sacred Cow and The Abominable Pig by Marvin Harris. I'll link the article about pig meat

 

[changeling188]

https://etnologija.etnoinfolab.org/dokumenti/82/2/2009/harris_1521.pdf

 

[ursidae]

Why I Don’t Eat Pig Meat

Pig products may not be good for our long-term health. This article describes several reasons why we should reconsider consuming pig meat.

drjockers.com

thanks for the link, this part answers a lot of questions about the lower toxic load of ruminants


"Animals that “chew the cud” as it says in the bible are called ruminants. These animals hardly chew their food when it is first swallowed. But they have four stomachs that digest and regurgitate food through a special process that allows complete digestion. The major ruminants are cows, sheep and goats (9).

The digestive system of a pig is unique in that it metabolizes food very quickly through one stomach in a process that takes about four hours. A cow takes twenty four hours to digest what’s eaten and it is able to get rid of excess toxins during the digestive process. The pig’s digestive system doesn’t allow for this and the toxins are carried into the fat cells and organs of the pig itself.

Pigs also do not have sweat glands. Perspiration is a key method the body uses to for detoxification and the pig is not designed to perspire. When we consume pig meat we get all of these pathogenic microorganisms and environmental toxins into our system."

 

[HighT]

Pigs also do not have sweat glands. Perspiration is a key method the body uses to for detoxification and the pig is not designed to perspire. When we consume pig meat we get all of these pathogenic microorganisms and environmental toxins into our system."

Actually they do have sweat glands, although they don't sweat. Perspiration is not a key method for detox, but kidneys and liver. A cow has less sweat glands than pig and a chick has zero.

 

[ursidae]

https://etnologija.etnoinfolab.org/dokumenti/82/2/2009/harris_1521.pdf

Great article, I read it

 

[charlie]

But I agree with Sugarbabe, that OT dietary laws are not a requirement for Christians.

These are health laws and while you are indeed correct it is not required, if anyone cares about their health they will follow them. The only thing that was done away with was the blood ordinances as Yeshua became the Sacrifice. Everything else stands, every jot, every tittle.

 

[aliml]

Why I Don't Eat Shellfish

Shellfish are one of the most popular foods worldwide but are they healthy for us to consume. Here are the reasons why I don't eat shellfish.

drjockers.com

 

[Perry Staltic]

These are health laws and while you are indeed correct it is not required, if anyone cares about their health they will follow them. The only thing that was done away with was the blood ordinances as Yeshua became the Sacrifice. Everything else stands, every jot, every tittle.

Every jot and tittle still stands, but those who have died to the law are freed from it's dominion into the dominion of a greater law (Romans 7:4). The righteousness demanded by every jot and tittle of the law is accomplished through faith and love (Romans 8:4, Romans 13:10).

 

[Nfinkelstein]

Every jot and tittle still stands, but those who have died to the law are freed from it's dominion into the dominion of a greater law (Romans 7:4). The righteousness demanded by every jot and tittle of the law is accomplished through faith and love (Romans 8:4, Romans 13:10).

agreed. And this has always been the prevailing view of Christianity. Still, there are some (Adventists, even some Orthodox, etc) who disagree and feel the OT laws (minus sacrificial) including dietary are for today. I have friends who feel this way, so we just don't talk about it.