Leviticus 11:14 belongs to the Mosaic sanitary law distinguishing clean from unclean, listing the vulture and the kite after his kind among the unclean birds whose flesh was prohibited as food. It is part of the dietary restrictions given through Moses identifying certain animals as unfit for food. That restriction was given to Israel as part of the dietary permissions when animal food was allowed, and applied to any unclean thing, including swine's flesh as well as the vulture and the kite.
The prohibition was given for health to protect life, keeping impurities out of the blood, preventing shortened life, and preserving clearness of mind and strength of body for God's service. The forbidden creatures were harmful and not the best food, while the creatures specified for food were those least objectionable. The commands were not arbitrary. Obedience to the prohibitions would have removed everything injurious to health and left no sickness among the people, whereas giving way to appetite and lust for forbidden food brings disease.
Daniel and his three companions' refusal of the foods at the king's table was obedience to this law, rejecting meats pronounced unclean in order to keep mind clear and body healthy. Later religious leaders perverted the restriction by extending it beyond what was required into excessive rules and burdensome ceremonies. Such extremes included requiring all drinking water to be strained lest even the smallest insect in it be classed with the unclean animals.
Leviticus 11:14 belongs to the Mosaic sanitary law distinguishing clean from unclean, listing the vulture and the kite after his kind among the unclean birds whose flesh was prohibited as food. It is part of the dietary restrictions given through Moses identifying certain animals as unfit for food. That restriction was given to Israel as part of the dietary permissions when animal food was allowed, and applied to any unclean thing, including swine's flesh as well as the vulture and the kite.
The prohibition was given for health to protect life, keeping impurities out of the blood, preventing shortened life, and preserving clearness of mind and strength of body for God's service. The forbidden creatures were harmful and not the best food, while the creatures specified for food were those least objectionable. The commands were not arbitrary. Obedience to the prohibitions would have removed everything injurious to health and left no sickness among the people, whereas giving way to appetite and lust for forbidden food brings disease.
Daniel and his three companions' refusal of the foods at the king's table was obedience to this law, rejecting meats pronounced unclean in order to keep mind clear and body healthy. Later religious leaders perverted the restriction by extending it beyond what was required into excessive rules and burdensome ceremonies. Such extremes included requiring all drinking water to be strained lest even the smallest insect in it be classed with the unclean animals.