Why does the Bible say that rabbits chew the cud?
Critics of the Bible often quote this passage from the scriptures as evidence of Bible fallacies; Leviticus 11:
1 Now the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying to them,
2 "Speak to the children of Israel, saying, 'These are the animals which you may eat among all the animals that are on the earth:
3 'Among the animals, whatever divides the hoof, having cloven hooves and chewing the cud -- that you may eat.
4 'Nevertheless these you shall not eat among those that chew the cud or those that have cloven hooves: the camel, because it chews the cud but does not have cloven hooves, is unclean to you;
5 'the rock hyrax, because it chews the cud but does not have cloven hooves, is unclean to you;
6 'the hare, because it chews the cud but does not have cloven hooves, is unclean to you;
7 'and the swine, though it divides the hoof, having cloven hooves, yet does not chew the cud, is unclean to you.
8 'Their flesh you shall not eat, and their carcasses you shall not touch. They are unclean to you.
The intent of this passage is stated clearly. This is an identification of animals that are clean and unclean. The laws God gave Israel serve several purposes; they identify worship practices that point symbolically to Christ; they teach order in conduct; and they teach basic sanitation. If God had declared that animals were parasitic and non-parasitic, the people could not have grasped this concept. The ancient world did not understand microscopic parasites and germs; therefore God simply declared them clean or unclean.
God used the diet of the animal to identify the categories of clean and unclean animals. Predatorily animals generally are not good food sources. They are not identified here at all. The animals identified are basically scavengers and grazers. The swine is a scavenger. Pigs are prone to diseases and spread diseases through their meat. Even today, pork must be thoroughly cooked to insure it is safe to eat. The scavengers are all unclean in Leviticus. The grazing animals are clean or unclean based on how the animal is designed. The split hoof animal that grazes (or chews the cud) is clean. The non-split hoofed animal that grazes is not clean. The rabbit is unclean.
The word cud does not require regurgitation as some claim. Chewing the cud simply means to hold something in the mouth to chew it. We associate the word ‘cud’ with grazing cows because they first eat the grass, regurgitate it and then pass it to another stomach. Rabbits chew vegetation but do not regurgitate it. Both are cud chewers but the rabbit does it in one step. The most common usage today is regurgitating grass and chewing the cud, however the definition is not limited to our common usage. The Israelites understood exactly what was being said.
Eddie Snipes
Exchanged Life Outreach
http://www.exchangedlife.com
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