0 EJAT: Animals, Agriculture, and the Environment

    12. Animals, Agriculture, and the Environment

    And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good. Genesis 1:25
    In the Bible's first creation story, God created the animals on the sixth day of creation, "and God saw that it was good." Yet in the commandments, God declares many (perhaps most) of his "good" creations to be "unclean animals" and "abominations." His list of hated creations includes camels, tortoises, lizards, eagles, owls, swans, pelicans, and bats. But he seems to especially dislike marine and aquatic invertebrates, beasts that go upon all four paws, four-legged creeping fowls, and creeping things that either fly or creep upon the earth.

    The agriculture commandments require you to give all your firstborn animals to God, along with your first fruits and liquors. Every seventh year you may not plant any crops. You may not crossbreed your animals or plant crops with mixed seed. And don't plow with an ox and an ass together.

    For their first three years, fruit trees are uncircumcised and their fruit may not be eaten. When they are four years old, they are holy and must be offered to God. Fruit may only be eaten when the tree is five years old.

    There are only two commandments on the environment: subdue the earth and have dominion over every living thing.


    Unclean Animals
    Abominations
    Agriculture
    The Environment

    (Numbered P and N links are to the positive and negative commandments on Maimonides's list.)

    Unclean animals

    1. Camels, conies, hares, and swine are unclean.

      The camel, because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof he is unclean unto you. And the coney, because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof he is unclean unto you. And the hare, because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof he is unclean unto you. And the swine, though he divide the hoof, and be clovenfooted, yet he cheweth not the cud he is unclean to you.Leviticus 11:4-8

      Of them that chew the cud, or of them that divide the cloven hoof as the camel, and the hare, and the coney ... they are unclean unto you. And the swine, because it divideth the hoof, yet cheweth not the cud, it is unclean unto you. Deuteronomy 14:7-8

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    2. All beasts that go on all four paws are unclean to you.

      And whatsoever goeth upon his paws, among all manner of beasts that go on all four, those are unclean unto you. Leviticus 11:27

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    3. These animals are also unclean: weasels, mice, tortoises, ferrets, chameleons, lizards, snails, and moles.

      These also shall be unclean unto you among the creeping things that creep upon the earth the weasel, and the mouse, and the tortoise after his kind, And the ferret, and the chameleon, and the lizard, and the snail, and the mole. Leviticus 11:29-30

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    4. Distinguish between clean and unclean animals.

      Ye shall therefore put difference between clean beasts and unclean, and between unclean fowls and clean. Leviticus 20:25a

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    5. Don't make your soul abominable by beast or fowl.

      Ye shall therefore put difference between clean beasts and unclean, and between unclean fowls and clean: and ye shall not make your souls abominable by beast, or by fowl, or by any manner of living thing that creepeth on the ground, which I have separated from you as unclean. Leviticus 20:25b

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    6. Aquatic and marine animals that lack fins or scales are unlean.

      All that are in the waters ... [and] hath not fins and scales ... it is unclean unto you. Deuteronomy 14:9-10

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    7. Every creeping thing that flies is unclean.

      Every creeping thing that flieth is unclean unto you. Deuteronomy 14:19

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    Abominations

    1. Animals that live in the water but don't have fins or scales are abominations.

      All that have not fins and scales in the seas, and in the rivers, of all that move in the waters, and of any living thing which is in the waters, they shall be an abomination unto you. ... Whatsoever hath no fins nor scales in the waters, that shall be an abomination unto you. Leviticus 11:10-12

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    2. The following birds are abominations: eagles, vultures, ospreys, kites, ravens, owls, nighthawks, hawks, cuckoos, cormorants, swans, pelicans, storks, herons, lapwings, and bats.

      And these are they which ye shall have in abomination among the fowls ... they are an abomination: the eagle, and the ossifrage, and the ospray, And the vulture, and the kite after his kind Every raven after his kind And the owl, and the night hawk, and the cuckow, and the hawk after his kind, And the little owl, and the cormorant, and the great owl, And the swan, and the pelican, and the gier eagle, And the stork, the heron after her kind, and the lapwing, and the bat. Leviticus 11:13-19

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    3. All four-legged creeping fouls shall be an abomination to you.

      All fowls that creep, going upon all four, shall be an abomination unto you. Leviticus 11:20

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    4. All flying creeping things are abominations, except for those that go on all four and have legs above their feet.

      (Like locusts, beetles, and grasshoppers.)
      Every flying creeping thing that goeth upon all four, which have legs above their feet, to leap withal upon the earth ... the locust after his kind, and the bald locust after his kind, and the beetle after his kind, and the grasshopper after his kind. But all other flying creeping things, which have four feet, shall be an abomination unto you. Leviticus 11:21-23

      Maimonides

      P151: Search for the prescribed tokens in grasshoppers - Lev 11:21

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    5. Every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth is an abomination.

      Every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth shall be an abomination. Leviticus 11:41

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    6. Any animal that crawls on its belly, goes on all four, or has lots of feet is an abomination.

      Whatsoever goeth upon the belly, and whatsoever goeth upon all four, or whatsoever hath more feet among all creeping things that creep upon the earth ... are an abomination. Leviticus 11:42

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    Agriculture

    1. Sanctify all of your firstborn animals.

      (They belong to God.)
      Sanctify unto me all the firstborn, whatsoever openeth the womb among the children of Israel, both of man and of beast: it is mine. Exodus 13:2

      Thou shalt set apart unto the LORD all that openeth the matrix, and every firstling that cometh of a beast which thou hast the males shall be the LORD's. Exodus 13:12

      All the firstling males that come of thy herd and of thy flock thou shalt sanctify unto the LORD thy God. Deuteronomy 15:19

      Maimonides

      P79: Sanctify the firstborn - Ex 13:2

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    2. Don't delay in offering your first fruits and liquors to God.

      Thou shalt not delay to offer the first of thy ripe fruits, and of thy liquors. Exodus 22:29

      The first of the firstfruits of thy land thou shalt bring unto the house of the LORD thy God. Exodus 34:26

      To bring the firstfruits of our ground, and the firstfruits of all fruit of all trees, year by year, unto the house of the LORD. Nehemiah 10:35

      And that we should bring the firstfruits of our dough, and our offerings, and the fruit of all manner of trees, of wine and of oil, unto the priests, to the chambers of the house of our God. Nehemiah 10:37

      Honour the LORD ... with the firstfruits of all thine increase. Proverbs 3:9

      Maimonides

      N154: Don't alter the prescribed order of harvest tithing - Ex 22:28

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    3. Give God your firstborn oxen and sheep eight days after their birth.

      Likewise shalt thou do with thine oxen, and with thy sheep: seven days it shall be with his dam on the eighth day thou shalt give it me. Exodus 22:30

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    4. Every seventh year do not plant or harvest any crops.

      Six years thou shalt sow thy land, and shalt gather in the fruits thereof: But the seventh year thou shalt let it rest and lie still that the poor of thy people may eat: and what they leave the beasts of the field shall eat. In like manner thou shalt deal with thy vineyard, and with thy oliveyard. Exodus 23:10-11

      When ye come into the land which I give you, then shall the land keep a sabbath unto the Lord. Six years thou shalt sow thy field, and six years thou shalt prune thy vineyard, and gather in the fruit thereof But in the seventh year shall be a sabbath of rest unto the land, a sabbath for the Lord: thou shalt neither sow thy field, nor prune thy vineyard. That which groweth of its own accord of thy harvest thou shalt not reap, neither gather the grapes of thy vine undressed: for it is a year of rest unto the land. And the sabbath of the land shall be meat for you for thee, and for thy servant, and for thy maid, and for thy hired servant, and for thy stranger that sojourneth with thee. And for thy cattle, and for the beast that are in thy land, shall all the increase thereof be meat. Leviticus 25:2-7

      Maimonides

      P134: Renounce as ownerless produce of the Sabbatical year - Ex 23:11
      P135: Rest the land on the Sabbatical year - Lev 25:4
      N220: Don't cultivate the soil in the seventh year - Lev 25:4
      N221: Don't prune the trees in the seventh year - Lev 25:4
      N222: Don't reap a self-grown plant in the seventh year as in an ordinary year - Lev 25:5
      N223: Don't gather a self-grown fruit in the seventh year as in an ordinary year - Lev 25:5
      Punishment: Whipping

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    5. Bring your first harvest to the house of the Lord.

      The first of the firstfruits of thy land thou shalt bring into the house of the LORD thy God.Exodus 23:19

      Maimonides

      P125: Bring your first fruits to the Sanctuary - Ex 23:19

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    People who must be burned to death

    1. When you are making your oblation of first fruits to God, don't burn them on the altar.

      As for the oblation of the firstfruits, ye shall offer them unto the LORD: but they shall not be burnt on the altar for a sweet savour. Leviticus 2:12

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    Agriculture

    1. Don't crossbreed your animals.

      Thou shalt not let thy cattle gender with a diverse kind. Leviticus 19:19a

      Maimonides

      N217: Don't mate animals of different species - Lev 19:19
      Punishment: Whipping

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    2. Don't plant crops with mixed seed.

      Thou shalt not sow thy field with mingled seed. Leviticus 19:19b

      Maimonides

      N215: Don't sow kilayim (diverse kinds of seed in one field) - Lev 19:19
      Punishment: Whipping

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    3. Don't eat fruit from a tree for the first three years of its life.

      (Consider its fruit uncircumcised.)
      And when ye shall come into the land, and shall have planted all manner of trees for food, then ye shall count the fruit thereof as uncircumcised: three years shall it be as uncircumcised unto you: it shall not be eaten of. Leviticus 19:23

      Maimonides

      N192: Don't eat orlah(the fruit of young trees during the first three years) - Lev 19:23
      Punishment for eating an olive-sized portion: Whipping

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    4. The fruit that a tree produces during its fourth year is holy and must be offered to God.

      In the fourth year all the fruit thereof shall be holy to praise the LORD withal. Leviticus 19:24

      Maimonides

      P119: Fruits of fourth-year plantings - Lev 19:24

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    5. Eat fruit that a tree produces during its fifth year.

      In the fifth year shall ye eat of the fruit thereof. Leviticus 19:25

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    6. Don't eat any bread or grain until you offer God the harvest sacrifice.

      Ye shall eat neither bread, nor parched corn, nor green ears, until the selfsame day that ye have brought an offering unto your God: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations in all your dwellings. Leviticus 23:14

      Maimonides

      N189: Not to eat bread made from grain of the new crop - Lev 23:14
      N190: Not to eat roasted grain of the new crop - Lev 23:14
      N191: Not to eat fresh ears of grain - Lev 23:14
      Punishment: Whipping for eating an olive-sized amount

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    7. Don't worry about what you'll eat on the seventh year when you plant no crops.

      If you ask God nicely, he'll make sure your sixth year crop will be enough for the next three years.
      And if ye shall say, What shall we eat the seventh year? behold, we shall not sow, nor gather in our increase: Then I will command my blessing upon you in the sixth year, and it shall bring forth fruit for three years.And ye shall sow the eighth year, and eat yet of old fruit until the ninth year until her fruits come in ye shall eat of the old store. Leviticus 25:20-22

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    8. Determine the value of animals according to the following rules.

      These rules are a bit complicated, so I'll just let God explain the details to you.

      And if it be a beast, whereof men bring an offering unto the LORD, all that any man giveth of such unto the LORD shall be holy. He shall not alter it, nor change it, a good for a bad, or a bad for a good: and if he shall at all change beast for beast, then it and the exchange thereof shall be holy. And if it be any unclean beast, of which they do not offer a sacrifice unto the LORD, then he shall present the beast before the priest: And the priest shall value it, whether it be good or bad: as thou valuest it, who art the priest, so shall it be.But if he will at all redeem it, then he shall add a fifth part thereof unto thy estimation. Leviticus 27:9-13

      Only the firstling of the beasts, which should be the LORD's firstling, no man shall sanctify it whether it be ox, or sheep: it is the LORD's. And if it be of an unclean beast, then he shall redeem it according to thine estimation, and shall add a fifth part of it thereto: or if it be not redeemed, then it shall be sold according to thy estimation. Leviticus 27:26-27

      Maimonides

      P115: Valuation of beasts - Lev 27:9-13

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    9. Animals that are devoted to God cannot be sold or redeemed.

      (Every devoted thing is most holy to God.)
      Notwithstanding no devoted thing, that a man shall devote unto the LORD of all that he hath, both of man and beast, and of the field of his possession, shall be sold or redeemed: every devoted thing is most holy unto the LORD. Leviticus 27:28

      Maimonides

      N110: Don't sell devoted property - Lev 27:28
      N111: Don't redeem devoted land without specific statement of purpose - Lev 27:28

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    10. Don't do any work with your firstborn bull.

      Thou shalt do no work with the firstling of thy bullock. Deuteronomy 15:19a

      Maimonides

      N113: Don't do any work with a dedicated beast - Dt 15:19
      Punishment: Whipping

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    11. Don't shear your firstborn sheep.

      Thou shalt not ... shear the firstling of thy sheep. Deuteronomy 15:19b

      Maimonides

      N114: Don't shear a dedicated beast - Dt 15:19
      Punishment: Whipping

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    12. Don't plant a vineyard with different kinds of seeds.

      Thou shalt not sow thy vineyard with divers seeds: lest the fruit of thy seed which thou hast sown, and the fruit of thy vineyard, be defiled. Deuteronomy 22:9

      Maimonides

      N193: Not to eat kilai hakerem (from a vineyard sown with different kinds of seeds) - Dt 22:9
      N216: Not to sow grain or vegetables in a vineyard - Dt 22:9
      Punishment: Whipping

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    13. Don't plow with an ox and an ass together.

      Thou shalt not plow with an ox and an ass together. Deuteronomy 22:10

      Maimonides

      N218: Don't work with two different kinds of animals together - Dt 22:10

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    14. Bring all of firstborn animals to the house of God.

      The firstborn ... of our cattle, as it is written in the law, and the firstlings of our herds and of our flocks, to bring to the house of our God, unto the priests that minister in the house of our God. Nehemiah 10:36

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    The Environment

    1. Have dominion over every living thing.

      Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. Genesis 1:26

      Have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. Genesis 1:28

      The fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, upon all that moveth upon the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea into your hand are they delivered. Genesis 9:2

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    2. Replenish the earth.

      Replenish the earth. Genesis 1:28a

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    3. Subdue the earth.

      Subdue it [the earth]. Genesis 1:28b

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