CLARITY EDITION · OLD TESTAMENT
Deuteronomy 14
Chapter 14 of 34
Chapter Overview
What happens in Deuteronomy 14
Moses gives laws about mourning practices, clean and unclean foods, and tithing. As God's holy people, Israel was to be set apart from the nations around them in how they lived and ate.
Scripture
Deuteronomy 14
You Belong to God
Study note
God's people were not to cut themselves or shave their foreheads for the dead, as pagan nations did. These were mourning practices connected to idol worship. Israel was holy to the Lord -- set apart as his special people.
1 "You are the Lord your God's own children. Never cut yourselves or shave the front of your head as a way of mourning someone who has died. Ye are the children of the LORD your God: ye shall not cut yourselves, nor make any baldness between your eyes for the dead.
2 You are set apart for the Lord your God. From all the peoples on earth, the Lord picked you to be his own special, treasured people. For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God, and the LORD hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto himself, above all the nations that are upon the earth.
Clean and Unclean Animals
Study note
God listed which animals the Israelites could eat and which were forbidden. Land animals had to both chew the cud and have split hooves. Water creatures needed fins and scales. Certain birds and all flying insects were forbidden. These food laws set Israel apart from surrounding nations and taught them to make careful distinctions in daily life.
3 "Never eat anything the Lord says is off-limits. Thou shalt not eat any abominable thing.
4 Here are the animals you are allowed to eat: cattle, sheep, goats, These are the beasts which ye shall eat: the ox, the sheep, and the goat,
5 deer, gazelles, roe deer, wild goats, mountain goats, antelopes, and mountain sheep. The hart, and the roebuck, and the fallow deer, and the wild goat, and the pygarg, and the wild ox, and the chamois.
6 You may eat any animal that has hooves split completely in two and also chews its cud. And every beast that parteth the hoof, and cleaveth the cleft into two claws, and cheweth the cud among the beasts, that ye shall eat.
7 But do not eat camels, rabbits, or hyraxes. Even though they chew their cud, they do not have split hooves. They are off-limits for you. Nevertheless these ye shall not eat of them that chew the cud, or of them that divide the cloven hoof; as the camel, and the hare, and the coney: for they chew the cud, but divide not the hoof; therefore they are unclean unto you.
8 Pigs are also off-limits. They have split hooves, but they do not chew their cud. Stay away from their meat, and do not touch their dead bodies. And the swine, because it divideth the hoof, yet cheweth not the cud, it is unclean unto you: ye shall not eat of their flesh, nor touch their dead carcase.
9 "When it comes to water creatures, you may eat anything that has both fins and scales. These ye shall eat of all that are in the waters: all that have fins and scales shall ye eat:
10 But anything in the water without fins and scales is off-limits for you. And whatsoever hath not fins and scales ye may not eat; it is unclean unto you.
11 "You are free to eat any bird that is considered clean. Of all clean birds ye shall eat.
12 But these birds are off-limits: eagles, vultures, black vultures, But these are they of which ye shall not eat: the eagle, and the ossifrage, and the ospray,
13 red kites, falcons, and all types of hawks, And the glede, and the kite, and the vulture after his kind,
14 all types of ravens, And every raven after his kind,
15 ostriches, nighthawks, seagulls, and all types of falcons, And the owl, and the night hawk, and the cuckow, and the hawk after his kind,
16 little owls, great owls, barn owls, The little owl, and the great owl, and the swan,
17 desert owls, ospreys, cormorants, And the pelican, and the gier eagle, and the cormorant,
18 storks, all types of herons, hoopoes, and bats. And the stork, and the heron after her kind, and the lapwing, and the bat.
19 All winged insects are off-limits. Do not eat them. And every creeping thing that flieth is unclean unto you: they shall not be eaten.
20 But you may eat any clean winged creature. But of all clean fowls ye may eat.
Laws About Tithing
Study note
Israelites were to give a tenth of their crops each year. They were to eat this tithe at the central place of worship to learn to respect God. If the journey was too long, they could sell the produce and use the money to buy food at the worship site. Every third year, the tithe was to be stored locally and given to Levites, foreigners, orphans, and widows.
21 "Never eat any animal that died on its own. You may give it to a foreigner living in your town to eat, or sell it to someone from another country. But you are a people set apart for the Lord your God. Also, never boil a young goat in its mother's milk. Ye shall not eat of any thing that dieth of itself: thou shalt give it unto the stranger that is in thy gates, that he may eat it; or thou mayest sell it unto an alien: for thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother's milk.
22 "Make it a point to set aside one-tenth of everything your fields produce each year. Thou shalt truly tithe all the increase of thy seed, that the field bringeth forth year by year.
23 Eat this tenth in the Lord your God's presence at the location he picks for his name. This applies to your grain, wine, olive oil, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks. Doing this will teach you to always honor the Lord your God. And thou shalt eat before the LORD thy God, in the place which he shall choose to place his name there, the tithe of thy corn, of thy wine, and of thine oil, and the firstlings of thy herds and of thy flocks; that thou mayest learn to fear the LORD thy God always.
24 But suppose the place the Lord picks is too far away to haul all your tithes there, especially since God has blessed you with so much. And if the way be too long for thee, so that thou art not able to carry it; or if the place be too far from thee, which the LORD thy God shall choose to set his name there, when the LORD thy God hath blessed thee:
25 In that case, convert your tithe into money. Take the money with you to the place the Lord your God selects. Then shalt thou turn it into money, and bind up the money in thine hand, and shalt go unto the place which the LORD thy God shall choose:
26 Spend the money on whatever your heart desires -- beef, lamb, wine, or any other food. Then sit down and enjoy it there in the Lord your God's presence, celebrating with your family. And thou shalt bestow that money for whatsoever thy soul lusteth after, for oxen, or for sheep, or for wine, or for strong drink, or for whatsoever thy soul desireth: and thou shalt eat there before the LORD thy God, and thou shalt rejoice, thou, and thine household,
27 And do not forget the Levites living in your community, since they own no land. And the Levite that is within thy gates; thou shalt not forsake him; for he hath no part nor inheritance with thee.
28 Every third year, collect all the tithes from that year's harvest and store them in your town. At the end of three years thou shalt bring forth all the tithe of thine increase the same year, and shalt lay it up within thy gates:
29 Then the Levites who own no land, plus the foreigners, orphans, and widows in your community, can come and eat until they are full. When you do this, the Lord your God will bless you in everything you work on." And the Levite, (because he hath no part nor inheritance with thee,) and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, which are within thy gates, shall come, and shall eat and be satisfied; that the LORD thy God may bless thee in all the work of thine hand which thou doest.
Key Themes
Themes in Deuteronomy 14
Identity as God's holy peopleDistinction from surrounding cultureGenerosity through tithingJoy in giving and sharing
Prophetic Connections
How this chapter points to Christ
Deuteronomy 14:1-2 2 Corinthians 6:17-18
The call to be set apart as God's children is echoed by Paul, who urges believers to come out and be separate, and God will be a Father to them.
Apply This Today
Living Deuteronomy 14
The food laws and mourning prohibitions set Israel apart as visibly different from their neighbors. Being God's people means living distinctively, not blending in. The tithe was not a tax but a celebration, to be enjoyed in God's presence and shared with those in need. Generosity and joy go hand in hand.
Go Deeper
Study Deuteronomy in Covenant Path
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