Leviticus 11:15 — Word Study
WLCאֵ֥ת כָּל־ עֹרֵ֖ב לְמִינֽוֹ׃
BSAanykôl kindmîyn [according to their likeness, after its kind] of ravenʻôrêb [including crows, every raven]
| Greek | English | Parsing |
|---|---|---|
| אֵ֥ת | the object marker | Particle |
| כָּל־ | every | Noun common, masculine singular construct |
| עֹרֵ֖ב | raven | Noun common, masculine singular absolute |
| לְמִינֽוֹ׃ | to kind its | Preposition, noun common masculine singular construct, suffix |
Every word in the verse. Click a row to open it in the panel on the left.
| BSB | any kind of raven, |
| KJV | Every raven after his kind; |
| ASV | every raven after its kind, |
| YLT | every raven after its kind, |
| WEB | any kind of raven, |
| BBE | Every raven, and birds of that sort; |
Where they part company is in the translation of עֹרֵב — see How Translations Differ.
The sentence is structured around a main clause with a prepositional phrase providing additional information about the kind of raven.
8 commentators on this verse
Gill, Jamieson, Poole, Trapp & more — read them ›
clause
The sentence as the grammar sees it Open the tree ›
Every word here is used elsewhere in the Old Testament.
Bars are logarithmic — אֵת, the commonest word in the Hebrew Bible, stands about 11,000 times, so a linear scale would leave everything else invisible. Click a row to open that word.
Deep Study — Leviticus 11:15
Sections marked generated are written from the data on this page rather than by a named author. Everything else — the lexicon entries, the cross references, the manuscript readings, the counts — is quoted from its source unchanged.
Context — The Dietary Laws of Leviticusgenerated
Leviticus 11:15 is part of a larger section that outlines the clean and unclean animals for the Israelites. These laws were given to set Israel apart as a holy nation, guiding them in their dietary practices. The mention of the raven, a bird often associated with darkness and scavenging, emphasizes the distinction between clean and unclean animals, a theme throughout this chapter.
Cross References
| Reference | Text (BSB) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Genesis 8:7 | and sent out a raven. It kept flying back and forth until the waters had dried up from the earth. |
| 2 | 1 Kings 17:4–6 | And you are to drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.” |
| 3 | Proverbs 30:17 | As for the eye that mocks a father and scorns obedience to a mother, may the ravens of the valley pluck it out and young vultures devour it. |
| 4 | Luke 12:24 | Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storehouse or barn; yet God feeds them. How much more valuable you are than the birds! |
The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge — 4 references, hung on the phrase they belong to
The Key Word — עֹרֵ֖ב, 'o.Revgenerated
The word עֹרֵב ('o.Rev) means 'raven' and is derived from a root that indicates its dark color. It is used specifically to denote this type of bird, which is known for its scavenging behavior and is often seen as unclean in the biblical context.
In this verse, the raven is included among other unclean birds, highlighting its status in the dietary laws. The classification of animals as clean or unclean serves a significant purpose in the Israelite community, as it reflects their relationship with God and adherence to His commandments.
How Translations Differ — measured against the Berean Standard Biblegenerated
This study reads the verse in the Berean Standard Bible, so the BSB is the wording every comparison below is made against.
Sentence Structuregenerated
The main clause is structured around the noun phrase עֹרֵ֖ב, raven, which is the subject of the verse. The phrase כָּל־ (kol-) meaning 'every' modifies the noun, indicating all types of ravens are included.
The prepositional phrase לְמִינֽוֹ׃ (le.mi.No), meaning 'according to their kind', adds specificity to the type of raven being referenced, indicating that it is categorized according to its species.
Septuagint Backgroundgenerated
In the Septuagint, the Hebrew word עֹרֵב is translated as κόρακα (koraka), which also means 'raven'. This choice maintains the identification of the bird while presenting it in the Greek language.
The use of κόρακα reflects the same understanding of the raven as an unclean bird, consistent with the dietary laws outlined in the Hebrew text.
In plain words — the whole versegenerated
Leviticus 11:15 states that any kind of raven is unclean for the Israelites to eat. This verse is part of the laws that outline which animals are permissible for consumption, emphasizing the importance of dietary practices in maintaining holiness.
Frequently Asked Questionsgenerated
Certain birds, like the raven, are considered unclean due to their scavenging nature and association with death or decay, which is reflected in the dietary laws of Leviticus.
Eating clean animals means consuming those that are permitted by the dietary laws, while unclean animals are prohibited, symbolizing a distinction in holiness and obedience to God's commands.
While the specific dietary laws may not apply to Christians today, they can still offer insights into the importance of obedience and the concept of being set apart for God.
Other unclean birds mentioned in Leviticus include the kite, ostrich, and various types of owls and hawks, illustrating a broader category of birds that are not to be consumed.
Reflection Questionsgenerated
- What significance do the dietary laws have in the context of holiness for the Israelites?
- How do the characteristics of the raven reflect its classification as unclean?
- In what ways can we apply the principles of cleanliness and uncleanliness in our lives today?
- Why do you think God provided such specific guidelines regarding what to eat?
Commentators on this verse — 8 expositors, verse by verse
Each of these wrote on Leviticus 11:15 itself, not merely on the chapter around it.
John Gill1697–1771Gill's Exposition of the Entire BibleEvery raven after his kind. The red raven, night raven, the water raven, river raven, wood raven, c. this also includes crows, rooks, pies, jays, and jackdaws, c.
Read John Gill on Leviticus 11 →Robert Jamieson1802–1880Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's CommentaryAnd these are they which ye shall have in abomination among the fowls; they shall not be eaten, they are an abomination: the eagle, and the ossifrage, and the ospray, These are they ... abomination among the fowls.
Read Robert Jamieson on Leviticus 11 →Matthew Poole1624–1679Matthew Poole's Commentary on the Holy Biblei.e. According to the several kinds of birds, known by this general name, which includes, besides ravens properly so called, crows, rooks, pies, &c.
Read Matthew Poole on Leviticus 11 →John Trapp1601–1669Trapp's Complete Commentary on the Old and New TestamentsLeviticus 11:15 Every raven after his kind;Ver. 15. Every raven.] Unnatural to his young, whom God himself heareth and feedeth, though they cry with a harsh note, and cry to God by implication only; and though the raven be an inauspicate bird, and a sign both of man’ s punishment and God’ s curse.
Read John Trapp on Leviticus 11 →Charles John Ellicott1819–1905Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(15) And every raven.—The raven or the black bird (Son 5:11), the bird of the night, as its name denotes in Heb., like the eagle, occurs frequently in the Bible. It preys upon putrid corpses (Proverbs 30:17), and is especially eager to pick out the eyes of the dead, and sometimes even attacks the eyes of the living. So great is its gluttony that it fills the air with its wild shrieks when searching for food (Psalms 147:9; Job 38:41). Its rapacity makes the raven expel its own offspring from their nest and from the surrounding places as soon as they are able to fly, and before they are quite able to procure their own food. Indeed, the ancients believed that it forsook its young immediately…
Read Charles John Ellicott on Leviticus 11 →AdamClarkeAdam Clarke's Commentary on the BibleVerse 15. Every raven] ערב oreb, a general term comprehending the raven, crow, rook, jackdaw, and magpie.
Read AdamClarke on Leviticus 11 →CambridgeThe Cambridge Bible for Schools and CollegesCh. Leviticus 11:1-23 [51]. The Distinction between Clean and Unclean Food [51] For the sources from which this ch. comes, and its relation from a critical point of view to Deuteronomy 14:3 ff. see App. I (c), pp. 162 f.One principle underlying this distinction appears to have been that animals which were recognised as in any way objects of worship by heathen neighbours, or even supposed by them to be connected with unseen supernatural beings, were to be considered unclean. See Bertholet in KHC., introd. note to this ch. But in other cases the prohibition probably rested on the animal’s repulsive appearance or uncleanly habits, or on sanitary or totemistic grounds. See Driver, Deut. p. 164…
Read Cambridge on Leviticus 11 →Daniel Denison Whedon1808–1885Whedon's Commentary on the Bible15. Every raven — This bird derives his name in Hebrew from his blackness. It is allied to the crow, which is after his kind, only smaller. It abides in solitary valleys. Proverbs 30:17.
Read Daniel Denison Whedon on Leviticus 11 →The verse in English, compared — 17 translations, and where they part company
Every translation on this page is a decision someone had to make and commit to. Read down a column and you see one translator's judgement; read across a row and you see the range the Greek actually allows. The BSB is the wording the rest of this page is measured against, so it is listed first.
Modern formal
any kind of raven,
any kind of raven,
any kind of raven,
every kind of crow,
Tyndale line
Every raven after his kind;
every raven after its kind,
every raven after its kind;
Every raven after his kind;
And all rauens after their kinde:
Strictly literal
every raven after its kind;
every raven after its kind,
every raven after its kind,
Every raven after his kind:
every kind of raven,
From the Latin
And all that is of the raven kind, according to their likeness.
Simplified
any raven or crow,
Every raven, and birds of that sort;
Counted from the translations carried on this site, not from a survey of every English Bible. A rendering shared by many versions is usually inherited rather than independently arrived at — the Tyndale line in particular runs through most of them.
The sentence as the grammar sees it — from the MACULA Hebrew treebank
This is not our own analysis: it is the scholarly syntax tree for the verse, showing how the clause actually holds together.
Boxes are the grammarian's groupings — clause, noun phrase, prepositional phrase.
The four witnesses to this verse — Masoretic, Septuagint, Samaritan, Qumran
The Masoretic Text reads אֵ֥ת כָּל־ עֹרֵ֖ב לְמִינֽוֹ׃, which is largely consistent with the Septuagint's translation. The Samaritan Pentateuch differs slightly, adding the conjunction ו (and), but the core meaning remains intact across these texts.
אֵ֥ת כָּל־ עֹרֵ֖ב לְמִינֽוֹ׃
3 of the 4 words are matched. This is the word-by-word correspondence, not the Septuagint's own sentence — its word order and its articles are its own.
ואת כל ערב למינו
1 word differs from the Masoretic Text: ו (and)
[את] כל ערב למינ׳ו
3 words on the leather — 1 supplied entire by an editor.
Four traditions, not one. “On the leather” means the letters physically survive on the scroll, as against letters an editor has supplied to fill a hole in it — a restoration is a scholar’s reading, not a reading of the manuscript. Words in [square brackets] are supplied; the notes count them apart from what survives.
The map of this verse — what each word keeps company with
This is a map of two things, both counted rather than judged. Company kept: which words stand within three words of each of these, anywhere in the Hebrew Bible — the thicker the line, the more often the pair meet compared with chance. Built from: the words a word is made out of, taken from its own Strong’s entry. It is not a map of meaning: nothing here claims two words mean the same thing. Click any circle to see the numbers behind it.
Lexicons — every word in Leviticus 11:15
One dossier per word, with every reference work grouped by kind — Hebrew lexicons, morphology, Bible dictionaries, topical chains and the English of the translators themselves. The verse sits at the head of each block with the word under study lit, so you never lose your place. The panel above gives the short answer; this is the long one, and it is the part of the page worth indexing.
Every entry below is the lexicographer's own text. On the Hebrew: Brown-Driver-Briggs entire and its gloss set, Strong's Hebrew Dictionary, and Tyndale House's Translators Brief lexicon. Where a cell says a work has no entry, that work genuinely has none for this word.
אֵת (eth) is primarily a grammatical marker in Hebrew, indicating the definite direct object of a verb. It is not translated into English and typically precedes nouns that are definite. The word is derived from a demonstrative sense of entity, related to the Hebrew word for 'self.' Its Aramaic equivalent is יָת (yat).
אֵת the mark of the accusative, prefixed as a rule only to nouns that are definite
base
H853 אֵת the mark of the accusative, prefixed as a rule only to nouns that are definite
853 'eth ayth
apparent contracted from 226 in the demonstrative sense of
entity; properly, self (but generally used to point out more
definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or
namely):--(as such unrepresented in English).
see HEBREW for 0226
אֵת (et) — [Obj.].
sign of the definite direct object, not translated in English but generally preceding and indicating the accusative
Aramaic equivalent: yat (יָת "whom" H3487)
HTo — ParticleHTo
כֹּל (kol) means 'all' or 'the whole.' It can refer to totality, including every person or thing, and is often used with a following genitive to specify what is included. The term can also denote a broader sense of everything in existence or all circumstances of life. The lexicons do not show significant disagreement on its meanings.
כֹּל once כּוֹל n.m. the whole, all
with foll. gen. (as usually) the whole of, to be rendered, however, often in our idiom, to avoid stiffness, any or every
Absolutely:
without the art., all things, all
with the art. הַכֹּל
where the sense is limited by the context to things (or persons) just mentioned
in a wider sense, all, whether of all mankind or of all living things, the universe, or of all the circumstances of life (chiefly late)
base
H3605 כֹּל once כּוֹל the whole, all . with foll. gen. (as usually) the whole of, to be rendered, however, often in our idiom, to avoid stiffness, any or every
. Absolutely: . without the art., all things, all
. with the art. הַכֹּל . where the sense is limited by the context to things (or persons) just mentioned
. in a wider sense, all, whether of all mankind or of all living things, the universe, or of all the circumstances of life (chiefly late)
3605 kol kole
or (Jer. 33:8) kowl {kole}; from 3634; properly, the whole;
hence, all, any or every (in the singular only, but often in a
plural sense):--(in) all (manner, (ye)), altogether, any
(manner), enough, every (one, place, thing), howsoever, as
many as, (no-)thing, ought, whatsoever, (the) whole,
whoso(-ever).
see HEBREW for 03634
כֹּל (kol) — all.
1) all, the whole
1a) all, the whole of
1b) any, each, every, anything
1c) totality, everything
Aramaic equivalent: kol (כֹּל "all" H3606)
N-ms — Noun common · masculine singular constructHNcmsc
עֹרֵב (oreb) means 'raven' and is derived from the root meaning related to its dark color. The entries consistently identify it as a raven without additional nuances or variations in meaning.
עֹרֵב n.m. raven
base
H6158 עֹרֵב raven
6158 `oreb o-rabe'
or mowreb {o-rabe'}; from 6150; a raven (from its dusky
hue):--raven.
see HEBREW for 06150
עֹרֵב (o.rev) — raven.
raven
N-ms — Noun common · masculine singular absoluteHNcmsa
ra'-vn (`orebh; korax; Latin Corvus corax): A large family of the smaller birds of prey belonging to the genus Corvus corax. A bird of such universal distribution that it is known from Iceland to Japan, all over Asia, Europe and Africa, but almost extinct and not of general distribution in our own country. In no land is it more numerous than in Palestine In general appearance it resembles the crow, but is much larger, being almost two feet long, of a glossy black, with whiskers around the beak, and rather stiff-pointed neck feathers. A bird exhibiting as much intelligence as any, and of a saucy, impudent disposition, it has been an object of interest from the beginning. It has been able to speak sentences of a few words when carefully taught, and by its uncanny acts has made itself a bird surrounded by superstition, myth, fable, and is connected with the religious rites of many nations.…
Raven
Heb. ‘orebh, from a root meaning “to be black” (comp. Cant. 5:11); first mentioned as “sent forth” by Noah from the ark (Gen. 8:7). “Every raven after his kind” was forbidden as food (Lev. 11:15; Deut. 14:14). Ravens feed mostly on carrion, and hence their food is procured with difficulty (Job 38:41; Ps. 147:9). When they attack kids or lambs or weak animals, it is said that they first pick out the eyes of their victims (Prov. 30:17). When Elijah was concealed by the brook Cherith, God commanded the ravens…
(black). The Hebrew oreb is applied to the several species of the crow family, a number of which are found in Palestine. The raven belongs to the order Insessores , family Corvidae . (It resembles the crow, but is larger weighing three pounds; its black color is more iridescent, and it is gifted with greater sagacity. "There is something weird and shrewd in the expression of the raven’s countenance, a union of cunning and malignity which may have contributed to give it among widely-revered nations a reputation for preternatural knowledge." One writer says that the smell of death is so grateful to them that when in passing over sheep a tainted smell is perceptible, they cry and croak vehemently. It may be that in passing over a human habitation, if a sickly or cadaverous smell arises, they should make it known by their cries, and so has arisen the idea that the croaking of a raven is the…
Ge 8:7; Le 11:15, a bird similar to the crow, but larger, and not gregarious. It feeds on dead bodies; and in its general characteristics resembles the crow of America. The eyes of its victim are the first part to be devoured, Pr 30:17; and it drives away its young as soon as they can begin to shift for themselves, Job 38:41; Ps 147:9. Elijah was miraculously fed by ravens, 1Ki 17:6.
מִין (miyn) means 'kind' or 'species,' primarily referring to types or categories, often in relation to animals. It is derived from a root meaning to portion out. The term is consistently used across lexicons without significant disagreement.
[מִין] n.[m.] kind, species
base
H4327 מִין kind, species
4327 miyn meen
from an unused root meaning to portion out; a sort, i.e.
species:--kind. Compare 4480.
see HEBREW for 04480
מִין (min) — kind.
kind, sometimes a species (usually of animals)
Prep | N-ms | Suff — Preposition · noun common masculine singular construct · suffixHR/Ncmsc/Sp3ms