Leviticus 11:2 (ASV)

Passage

Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, These are the living things which ye may eat among all the beasts that are on the earth.

Nearby Context

Leviticus 11:1 And Jehovah spake unto Moses and to Aaron, saying unto them,

Leviticus 11:2 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, These are the living things which ye may eat among all the beasts that are on the earth.

Leviticus 11:3 Whatsoever parteth the hoof, and is clovenfooted, [and] cheweth the cud, among the beasts, that may ye eat.

Leviticus 11:4 Nevertheless these shall ye not eat of them that chew the cud, or of them that part the hoof: the camel, because he cheweth the cud but parteth not the hoof, he is unclean unto you.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "speak", "children", "israel", "saying", "living", "things", "beasts", and "earth". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "speak" and "children", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 1's "And Jehovah spake unto Moses and to..." into verse 3's "Whatsoever parteth the hoof and is clovenfooted...", so "speak" and "children" belong inside that flow. In Leviticus context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "speak" and "children" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.