Does anyone know why the animals in the Bible were considered clean or unclean??

Answer 1

Some animals were made by God to be eaten by Man. Out of the mammals, this would include all the two-toed ungulates who chew their cud. It's probably because these animals have multiple stomachs that "purify" the food they eat. Animals with simple stomachs (unclean) do not. Among fish, only fish with fins and scales are "clean"; all others are scavengers or predators. What they eat is what makes them unclean. Among birds, only foraging birds like chickens, turkeys, pheasants, and quail are "clean". All others are fish-eaters, predators or scavengers.
These rules were not just given to the Jews. God made a distinction between clean and unclean animals all the way back at the Flood, about 500 years before the first Jew ever appeared. He commanded Noah to bring seven of every clean and two of every unclean animal onto the ark. This was so they could have 3 breeding pairs (to produce more food) and one sacrifice.
Even today, science tells us that pork is one of the unhealthiest meats we can eat. There's a reason why a pig can be bitten by a rattlesnake and survive - their meat and fat is so toxic that they have a natural immunity to the venom. Their meat also contains trichina larva, carcinogens and other toxins. The pig is simply not an animal that God designed for us to eat, no matter how "good" it tastes. The pig is nature's "garbage collector". What it eats goes into its flesh. So when we eat the pig, we are really eating garbage.

Answer 2

Rumination is chewing of cud. Jews can eat beef, Kosher killed, but no further back on the cow than the 6th rib. That is because the animal cannot be bled totally after the 6th rib.

As for hogs and other things on the list, they are classified as unclean either because they eat the feces of other animals, or they live quite well in their own feces, such as hogs.

Killing hogs prior to the refrigerator had to be done under certain conditions. Usually they were killed when there was a freeze so that the meat could be preserved before the heat of the day (on warmer days) started causing spoilage. Everything was cut and preserved quickly. Exess fat was cooked down into lard whcih was used as a lubricant, cooking oil, and in making soap. The soaps on the market today in bar form are made from lard and lye and perfumed.

The kosher laws were set aside with Christ.

Answer 3

For one, pork was dangerous, there was no refrigeration, and we all know what happens when you eat bad pork, and it aint pretty. As for shellfish, look at how many people are allergic to shellfish, there was no hospital, no cure, you just died. They have one thing in common, pigs are scavengers, they eat anything, even nasty bacterial stuff that kills humans. Shellfish are bottom feeders, meaing they eat poop, which would be considered unclean. Many birds eat this kind of nasty stuff too, don't even want to consider what rats were eating, so I think it was a health concern. God couldn't tell these people biologal reasons, these were the people who forgot about making golden idols days after being told not to, so they didn't work well with common sense concepts. He had to simply give them lists of what they could and couldn't eat, because they were simply too dimwitted to understand the why part. That's where evolution comes in, we get it, but at that time in our history, they weren't reall sharp in the brain matter department.

Answer 4

any animal or fish that was created to clean up the world is considered unclean. Pigs ,wolves, buzzards,bears etc. carp, catfish,etc. These creatures keep from having too many rotting carcasses around which are nothing more than breeding places for fly larvae, flys spread disease

Answer 5

Judaism
In Judaism, Kashrut (kosher) is the set of dietary laws governing what can or cannot be consumed. These laws are based upon the Torah and the Talmud. According to Jewish law, many animals considered clean have cloven hooves and ruminate. Jews are forbidden from eating pork, as swine are considered to be unclean. In the context of Judaism, the books of Leviticus and Deuteronomy from the Hebrew Bible specify what must not be consumed.

The Book of Leviticus states:

"Nevertheless these shall ye not eat of them that chew the cud, or of them that divide the hoof: as the camel, because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof; he is unclean unto you." – Leviticus 11:4

Mice are forbidden "crawling creatures" (Leviticus 11:29).
Bats are forbidden "flying creeping things"(Leviticus 11:23).These are the animals considered to be unclean according to Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14.

It should be noted that the translations of some of the aforementioned animals from the Hebrew are a matter of dispute in classical Jewish commentaries. With respect to birds the Torah only specifies ones which may NOT be eaten and the translations of these are also a matter of contention in traditional Jewish texts so it is common practice to eat only birds with a clear tradition of being kosher, eg. domestic fowl:

Bat
Camel
Chameleon
Coney
Cormorant
Cuckow
Eagle
Ferret
Gier Eagle
Glede
Great Owl
Hare
Hawk
Heron
Kite
Lapwing
Little Owl
Lizard
Mole
Mouse
Night Hawk
Osprey
Ostrich
Ossifrage
Owl
Pelican
Raven
Snail
Stork
Swan
Swine
Tortoise
Vulture
Weasel

Clean animals in Judaism
The term clean animals in the Hebrew bible is a misnomer as the actual term refers to the 'purity' and 'impurity' of the animal, which itself is a reference to the status the animal has in terms of Kashrut and its eligibility for sacrifice. Hence all pure or clean animals are allowed to be eaten [are Kosher] while the unclean or impure animals may not be eaten. These land, sea, or air creatures are listed in the book of Leviticus in the Torah and have different criteria for kosher consumption as follows: All animals that have the characteristics of having completely divided hooves and also chew their cud are by definition clean. All fish that have both scales and fins are clean. There are no biblical signs for poultry as the bible simply delineates 24 specific species of bird as being non-kosher with all other birds being by default, kosher.

Answer 6

I wonder why God commanded Noah to bring unclean animals onto the Ark.

Answer 7

here's my theory:
The ancient texts of the bible captured the stories and some wisdom of the day. Those that paid attention, noticed that certain cleanliness practices seemed to reduce the prevalence of disease and sickness. For instance one passage in the bible talks about washing your hands after touching a dead animal. Some animals- pigs for instance, carried trichinosis. Not common today, but quite nasty nevertheless.

So- some wise men thought- hey, we don't know what's causing the problems, but we know how to fix it. Since we cannot explain 'why' (virus, bacteria and such) to the common man, we'll just tell them that it's god's law. And- at the end of the passage- that's just what it says. you shall follow these rules because god says so.

makes perfect sense to me.

Answer 8

Simply because God said that they were clean or unclean. That's why He created laws on how to prepare and consume food.

Answer 9

I think the story was told to make sure that the poor people wouldn't want the unclean meat. ..Then the rich people would have that meat as their delicacy and after a time the meat would be too expensive for the poor people to buy anyway.

Answer 10

It started as a good bit of common sense. Animlas like pigs carry a lot of parasites, which can be passed on to humns.

Similar with shellfiah (filter or detritus feeders). Same goes for ritual slaughter, to ensure meant was fresh (very useful in a hot climate)

Then religion gets hold of it, and uses it a rules to control people, and create sins and criminals. Pathetic really.