Bible Study Deuteronomy 14
‹ Deuteronomy

Deuteronomy 14 · WEB

Clean and Unclean Foods, and the Tithe

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You are the children of the LORD your God. You shall not cut yourselves, nor make any baldness between your eyes for the dead.
2For you are a holy people to the LORD your God, and the LORD has chosen you to be a people for his own possession, above all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.
3You shall not eat any abominable thing.
4These are the animals which you may eat: the ox, the sheep, the goat,
5the deer, the gazelle, the roe deer, the wild goat, the ibex, the antelope, and the mountain sheep.
6Every animal that parts the hoof and has the hoof cloven in two and chews the cud, among the animals, you may eat it.
7Nevertheless, you shall not eat these of those that chew the cud, or of those who have the cloven hoof: the camel, the hare, and the rabbit. For they chew the cud but don't part the hoof; they are unclean to you.
8The pig, because it has a cloven hoof but doesn't chew the cud, is unclean to you. You shall not eat their meat or touch their dead body.
9These you may eat of all that are in the waters: whatever has fins and scales, you may eat.
10Whatever doesn't have fins and scales you shall not eat. It is unclean to you.
11Of all clean birds you may eat.
12But these are they of which you shall not eat: the eagle, the vulture, the osprey,
13the red kite, the falcon, the kite in their kinds;
14every raven in its kind;
15the ostrich, the owl, the seagull, the hawk in its kinds;
16the little owl, the great owl, the horned owl,
17the pelican, the vulture, the cormorant,
18the stork, the heron in its kinds, the hoopoe, and the bat.
19Every creeping thing that flies is unclean to you. They shall not be eaten.
20Of all clean birds you may eat.
21You shall not eat of anything that dies of itself. You may give it to the foreigner who is within your gates, that he may eat it; or you may sell it to a foreigner; for you are a holy people to the LORD your God. You shall not boil a young goat in its mother's milk.
22You shall surely tithe all the increase of your seed, that which comes out of the field year by year.
23You shall eat before the LORD your God, in the place which he shall choose to cause his name to dwell there, the tithe of your grain, your new wine, your oil, and the firstborn of your herd and of your flock, that you may learn to fear the LORD your God always.
24If the way is too long for you, so that you are not able to carry it, because the place is too far from you which the LORD your God shall choose to put his name there, when the LORD your God blesses you;
25then you shall turn it into money, take the money in your hand, and go to the place which the LORD your God shall choose.
26You shall trade the money for whatever your soul desires: for cattle, for sheep, for wine, for strong drink, or for whatever your soul asks of you. You shall eat there before the LORD your God, and you shall rejoice—you and your household.
27You shall not forsake the Levite who is within your gates, for he has no portion or inheritance with you.
28At the end of every three years you shall bring all the tithe of your increase in the same year, and shall store it within your gates.
29The Levite, because he has no portion or inheritance with you, the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow who are within your gates shall come and shall eat and be satisfied; that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hand which you do.
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Summary

Chapter 14 opens by reminding Israel of their identity — "you are children of the LORD your God, a holy people" — and then applies that identity to practical life: dietary restrictions and tithing. The dietary laws (distinguishing clean from unclean animals) reinforce Israel's set-apart status. The tithe legislation describes two types: an annual tithe eaten in joyful celebration at the central sanctuary, and a triennial tithe distributed locally to Levites, foreigners, orphans, and widows. Both practices reinforce that Israel's material life is embedded in covenant relationship with God.

Themes

  • Identity shapes practice: holiness expressed in the mundane details of eating
  • Tithing as an act of worship and a school of God-centered living ("that you may learn to fear")
  • The triennial tithe as a social safety net for the most vulnerable members of society
  • Material generosity as covenant faithfulness
  • The joy of worship: eating, celebrating, and rejoicing before God

Key verses

  • Deut 14:2 — “For you are a holy people to the LORD your God, and the LORD has chosen you to be a people for his own possession, above all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.”
  • Deut 14:23 — “You shall eat before the LORD your God, in the place which he shall choose...that you may learn to fear the LORD your God always.”
  • Deut 14:29 — “The Levite...the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow who are within your gates shall come and shall eat and be satisfied.”

Context & background

The dietary laws of Deuteronomy 14 parallel those of Leviticus 11 and reflect ancient Israel's life in Canaan (modern Israel/Palestine), where the clean animals listed — cattle, sheep, goats, deer, gazelle — were native to the region. The distinction between clean and unclean animals had theological, hygienic, and identity-marking functions in Israelite society. The prohibition on boiling a young goat in its mother's milk (v. 21) may have forbidden a specific Canaanite cultic practice and later became the basis for the Jewish tradition of keeping dairy and meat separate (kosher). In the New Testament, Acts 10 records Peter's vision in which God declares all foods clean — signaling the extension of the covenant community to all nations.

Cross-references

  • 2 Corinthians 9:6-8 — The New Testament principle of giving generously, cheerfully
  • Acts 10:9-15 — Peter's vision declaring all foods clean, signaling Gentile inclusion
  • Leviticus 11 — The detailed parallel legislation on clean and unclean animals
  • Mark 7:19 — Jesus "declared all foods clean"
  • Matthew 23:23 — Jesus affirms tithing while insisting on justice, mercy, and faithfulness

Check your reading

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  1. Observe

    What two criteria determine if a land animal is clean for food (v. 6)?

  2. Observe

    Who benefited from the triennial tithe (v. 29)?

  3. Interpret

    How does identity ("you are children of the LORD") function as the basis for behavior?

  4. Interpret

    Why does eating the tithe at the sanctuary teach Israel "to fear the LORD always"?

  5. Apply

    What is your community's system for caring for the vulnerable, and are you contributing?

  6. Apply

    What would shift giving from reluctant duty to joyful celebration?

Your journal

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