Leviticus 11:3 (WEB)

Passage

Whatever parts the hoof, and is cloven-footed, and chews the cud among the animals, that you may eat.

Nearby Context

Leviticus 11:1 Yahweh spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying to them,

Leviticus 11:2 “Speak to the children of Israel, saying, ‘These are the living things which you may eat among all the animals that are on the earth.

Leviticus 11:3 Whatever parts the hoof, and is cloven-footed, and chews the cud among the animals, that you may eat.

Leviticus 11:4 “‘Nevertheless these you shall not eat of those that chew the cud, or of those who part the hoof: the camel, because he chews the cud but doesn’t have a parted hoof, he is unclean to you.

Leviticus 11:5 The cony, because he chews the cud but doesn’t have a parted hoof, he is unclean to you.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "whatever", "parts", "hoof", "cloven-footed", "chews", and "animals". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "whatever" and "parts", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 2's "Speak to the children of Israel saying..." into verse 4's "Nevertheless these you shall not eat of...", so "whatever" and "parts" 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 "whatever" and "parts" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.