Leviticus 11:20 (ASV)

Passage

All winged creeping things that go upon all fours are an abomination unto you.

Nearby Context

Leviticus 11:18 and the horned owl, and the pelican, and the vulture,

Leviticus 11:19 and the stork, the heron after its kind, and the hoopoe, and the bat.

Leviticus 11:20 All winged creeping things that go upon all fours are an abomination unto you.

Leviticus 11:21 Yet these may ye eat of all winged creeping things that go upon all fours, which have legs above their feet, wherewith to leap upon the earth.

Leviticus 11:22 Even these of them ye may eat: the locust after its kind, and the bald locust after its kind, and the cricket after its kind, and the grasshopper after its kind.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "winged", "creeping", "things", "upon", "fours", and "abomination". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "winged" and "creeping", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 19's "and the stork the heron after its..." into verse 21's "Yet these may ye eat of all...", so "winged" and "creeping" 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 "winged" and "creeping" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.