How the Bible Defines Food

What does the Bible mean when it uses the word food or talks about eating and what we consume? It's important that we correctly define food in the same way that Scripture does, so that we will rightly understand passages that talk about food and eating in both the Old and New Testaments.

While it might seem like the obvious definition of food is anything we eat, if we extrapolate that just a little bit further we can quickly see that it will get us into trouble if we don't draw any boundaries. If you've ever travelled to a place that's foreign to you, you've probably had the experience of seeing someone eat, or being offered yourself, something that is not food to you. Play-Doh does not become food if a child chooses to consume it. If you offer food to a friend, it would be upsetting if they ate your bouquet of flowers instead. Someone eating it does not mean it is food.

Many religious people will tell you that we are free to eat anything we like, be it Play-Doh or whatever else. Others will tell you that studying food from a Biblical perspective is nothing but legalism. While I don't think food is the most important subject in the Bible, it comes up enough both in Scripture and in our daily lives, that it's worth investigating. Adam and Eve had to leave the Garden of Eden because of what they ate. Food matters to God.

If we don't look at food in the same way as the Bible, we are going to end up with some bad assumptions and misunderstandings of verses that talk about food, such as Mark 7, Acts 10, Romans 14, and more. We simply cannot understand a verse speaking of food correctly if we don't define 'food' the same way the authors of the Bible did. Let's take a look at the definitions of food the Bible gives us.

The first instruction about food in the Bible comes in Genesis 1:29.

Then God said, "I give you every seed-bearing plant on the earth and every tree that has fruit in it. They will be yours for food."

Originally, plants were the only thing the Creator said mankind could eat. But note that it wasn't all plants that could be eaten, there were stipulations. Fruit trees and plants with seeds could be eaten. You could also make the argument that all the original edible plants were perennial. But later after the fall, we learn that annual vegetal plants could also be eaten.

"In toil you shall eat from the ground." -Genesis 3:17

If we stick with the above argument that only perennial plants were initially eaten, like the fruit trees that produce on their own with no input from man, the toil seems to imply that what needs planted year by year is now also okay to eat. This would include plants like grains, legumes, and annual vegetables.

It wasn't until after the flood that YHWH gave Noah permission to eat animals as well.

"Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. I have given you all things, as I gave you the green plants." -Genesis 9:3

At first glance, it can seem like YHWH is saying that any animal can now be eaten. But if we catch the caveat: as I gave you the green plants, we see there were stipulations. Not all the plants were permissible to eat, just ones that met the criteria. Not long before this in Genesis 7:2, God tells Noah that he is to bring seven pairs of the "clean animals" onto the ark. We can see from this that Noah knew, or learned, the difference between which animals were clean and which were not. It would make no sense for this distinction to be present if it didn't have some sort of significance.

Leviticus 11 quotes YHWH directly, telling us which animals can be eaten, and which cannot. In some cases, it even explains how we can tell if it can be eaten or not. For example, the Bible says that fish need to have fins and scales in order to be eaten. You might catch a fish that you're not familiar with, but you can use this information to tell if it is edible or not.

"Of all the beasts of the earth, these ones you may eat: any animal that has a split hoof completely divided and that chews the cud." -Leviticus 11:2-3

It goes on to give examples of animals that meet one of these criteria, but not both (camels, rock badgers, rabbits, pigs), and says not only that these shouldn't be eaten, but that we shouldn't even touch the carcasses.

On fish, the Bible says they need to have both fins and scales to be eaten in Leviticus 11:9. Eating sea creatures without these is forbidden, and are considered abominable.

Leviticus 11:13 tells us specific birds that are not to be eaten, including vultures, falcons, ravens, ostriches, owls, bats, storks, and herons.

All insects are off limits, except for locusts, grasshoppers, and crickets. (Leviticus 11:20-21)

Those are the instructions the Bible gives about eating.

Plants, tree fruit, and animals that meet these specifications are food. Animals that don't are not. If the Bible says it shouldn't be eaten, the Bible does not consider it food.

Note that the Bible's definition of food doesn't mean there aren't people who won't follow these instructions. Lamenting about people who eat animals that God says are off-limits comes up in the Bible (Isaiah 66:17 is one example). It's also not saying that animals not permissible to eat will poison or harm you if you do choose to consume them. The Bible defines food according to what the Creator says we can eat - not according to what physically can be eaten, or what is popular in our culture. Following the Bible's instructions about what we eat is a way we can honor YHWH. The New Testament tells us in 1 Corinthians 10:31 that we can eat in a way that glorifies God.

So when New Testament authors make statements about "food," they only mean what the Bible says is permissible for eating. Fish with fins and scales are included in the Biblical definition of food, but sea creatures without them (such as shrimp, dolphins, eels, and scallops), are not considered food by the Bible's authors.

Using the Bible's definition of food will change how you understand many Scripture passages, including some of the Messiah's words!

More on understanding food in the Bible:
Romans 14 Explained
Understanding the Messiah Declaring All Foods Clean
Why 1 Timothy 4 Doesn't Mean that All Animals Should Be Eaten

The Difference Between Unclean and Abominable

What is the difference between unclean and abominable? Scripture uses both of these words in Leviticus 11 and elsewhere in regards to animal flesh. It's important for believers to make a distinction between these two words in order to correctly understand Scripture.

One argument you're likely to hear against following the Bible's laws concerning what we eat is that it's not sin to become unclean, and certain animals - like pigs and shellfish - are "just" unclean. The logic is if it's not sin to become unclean, it must be okay to eat something that makes you unclean. However this is not what Scripture says!

It's true that being in an unclean state is not in and of itself sin. But it's not true that that certain animals are "just" unclean. If you take a look at Leviticus 11 you can see that it lists certain animals as abominable. The Hebrew word for abomination is seqes, and it means that that thing is detestable and can be related to idol worship! The connection to idol worship is not predicated on if the person eating abominable flesh means it to be idol worship or not; the connection remains regardless of intentions. The English word abominable can mean disgusting and if you read this chapter that is mostly the impression you get...in our culture today the idea of eating animals like dogs, bats, rodents, and such is a repulsive thought. The Bible is saying that it shouldn't even cross our minds to eat these things.

Please note that nowhere in Leviticus 11 or elsewhere in the Bible does it say that if you choose to eat certain animals you will become unclean.  When it talks about eating non-permissible animals it calls that an abomination! When the word 'unclean' appears later in Leviticus 11:24 it is in regards to simply touching the dead flesh of certain animals. That means you don't become unclean for petting a dog or cat or riding a horse - only if you touch or deal with the carcass of one. This certainly seems like a sensible regulation - if someone has just touched a dead racoon, you probably don't want to hold their hand or let them chop the vegetables for dinner. This passage of Scripture also gives us directions here for what happens if something unclean, like a mouse, ends up in a cooking pot.  

If you touch a carcass of an unclean animal - whether that's to put bacon in a skillet or to cleanup an animal that died - you become unclean. But if you eat the carcass of one of these animals that is an abomination according to Leviticus 11:11! Doing something that the Bible says is an abomination is sin.

The Bible calls animals like dogs, pigs, horses, and monkeys unclean, and by touching their carcasses we become unclean as well. Again, being in an unclean state is not a sin, and sometimes it is unavoidable. But the Bible does not say that being in an unclean state is all the consequence there is to consuming forbidden animals. The issue with eating these things is not that we would become unclean, but that we would be in sin!  It is wrong to to eat animals that the Word of God made a point of telling us not to. 

Many people believe that the New Testament changed the commandments around this, but if you study those passages you will see that's not the case!

Related posts:
Understanding 1 Corinthians 10:27
Four Distinctions We Need to Make to Understand Scripture
Peter's Vision Was About People - Not What We Eat

10 Times the Bible Talks About Clean Eating

The Bible has a lot to say about what we eat! From Adam and Eve being kicked out of Eden because of their consumption choices, to enumerating animals that shouldn't be eaten, to New Testament debates about eating with unwashed hands, food is a topic that comes up a lot. Here I want to focus on Biblically clean eating. The Creator gave us many delicious things to eat that he calls clean, while certain animals he forbids us to eat, calling them unclean. I use clean eating to mean eating in the way that Scripture instructs us to.

Ten Times the Bible Talks About Clean Eating:

1. Genesis 1:29

"I have given you every seed-yielding plant on the earth, and the fruit trees to you as food."

This is the second recorded thing that the Creator speaks following the creation of mankind. And it's instructions about eating!

2. Genesis 2:16-17

"And YHWH commanded the man saying, 'Eat of every tree of the garden, but do not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for if you eat of it you will certainly die.'"

We know that Adam and Eve were not obedient to this instruction and as a result they were sent out of the paradisaical garden of Eden. In Eden they walked with YHWH; something they ate literally took them away from his presence.

3. Genesis 7:2

"Of the clean animals take with you seven pairs, a male and female, and of the unclean animals take two, a male and female."

The distinction of clean and unclean animals began way before the list of dietary instructions in Leviticus. Noah was instructed to take different amounts of clean and unclean animals on board the ark. This tells us that Noah and his family knew which types of animals were considered clean.

4. Genesis 9:3

"The living creatures I give to you for food. I have given them to you as I gave you the green plants." 

Mankind is now allowed to eat meat. But wait a minute, what was that fuss about the clean versus unclean animals just a few chapters prior?  Is YHWH now saying that any animal is okay to eat? Let's not miss the catch here: as I gave you the green plants. Mankind was not permitted by the Creator to eat every single plant that grew on earth. They were restricted to plants that were green and bear seed, as well as the fruit trees. They did not consume every plant, just as we don't eat Kentucky bluegrass or poison ivy. In both cases of eating plants and animals distinctions are made.

5. Leviticus 11:2-8

"These are the living creatures which you eat: whatever has a split hoof completely divided, and chews the cud, you may eat. These you do not eat: the camel, the rabbit, the hare, the pig. Their flesh you do not eat, and their carcasses you do not touch. They are unclean."

This chapter in Leviticus plainly lays out which animals are forbidden as food. There is the guideline that the hoofs of animals need to be divided, and they need to chew the cud. But just to be doubly clear we are specifically told not to eat things like camels, rabbits, and pigs. It's interesting to me that eating something like camel or horse is very repulsive in Western culture, but most people think nothing of eating a pig. In many places in the Middle East that thinking is reversed as camel is considered food, but eating pig would be abhorrent. That abhorrence is how the entire list of unclean animals in Leviticus 11 is meant to be understood. If the Bible says not to eat something, then it shouldn't even cross our minds to do so.

If you're familiar with the Chronicles of Narnia you may remember that the characters eat meat on their adventures, but eating an animal that talks is anathema. When the giants serve a talking stag in The Silver Chair it is a major sign that something is wrong; and the true Narnians are horrified. Something similar I've noticed in the dietary laws of Scripture is that the unclean animals tend to be much smarter creatures than the clean. Cows are clean but their intelligence doesn't touch that of unclean horses. Pigs are incredibly smart and I've heard many stories of small-scale farmers being unable to butcher them after looking them in the eyes. My dog is much more intelligent than clean sheep and goats. I'm not saying clean animals don't have their own strengths, but it really interesting to think about.

6. Leviticus 11:9

"Of the fish in the water you may eat any that have fins and scales. If a water creatures does not have fins and scales it is an abomination."

Fish like trout, perch, salmon, whiting, tuna, sea bass, pollock, halibut, and mahi mahi all have scales and fins and are permissable to eat according to Scripture. Fish without fins and scales (such as catfish, swordfish, and monkfish) we are told are unclean for us to eat. Crustaceans such as lobster, crab, clams, and shrimp are also off-limits according to Scripture since they don't have fins or scales.

7. Daniel 1:8

"Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the king's food."

Why would Daniel reject the food he was provided with in captivity? Because he was being served animals that we are commanded not to eat! He wasn't just being picky, he knew that if he ate those things it would be polluting and defiling to him and a dishonor to YHWH. 

8. Daniel 1:15

"At the end of ten days their appearances looked better than all the young men who ate the portion of the king's food."

Fitting with Biblical dietary instructions, Daniel asked the chief eunuch if he and three others could eat only vegetables. The chief was initially concerned that this diet would provide inadequate nutrition for Daniel and his companions and didn't want to get in trouble with the king, but he agreed to let them try this for ten days. At the end of this time the difference was so noticeable, and Daniel and his friends looked so much better than those eating a Biblically unclean diet that the chief put everyone on same diet as Daniel. Don't miss that eating a Biblically clean diet made Daniel and his companions stand out in the crowd. The difference in their health was noticeable!

9. Acts 10:14

"I have never eaten food that was unclean."

Peter made this statement probably ten years after the Messiah ascended into heaven; he was still following Scripture's instructions for how to eat. This tells us that all the meals he shared with Yahusha were clean. It also tells us that Peter and the rest of the disciples and leaders didn't think these commandments were done away with.

10. 1 Corinthians 10:31

"Whether you eat or drink, do it to the glory of YHWH."

Our choices about what we eat can glorify YHWH - or not. Here is a New Testament verse that calls for us to eat in a way that honors YHWH. It doesn't say that anything we eat glorifies him. It is a reminder that in every thing we do - including how we nourish ourselves - we should work to be obedient to Scripture's instructions.

These are just ten passages where the Bible talks about clean eating, but there are many more. Throughout Scripture we can see the foods eaten by YHWH's people fit into the clean category (think of Isaac craving goat meat, Jacob making lentil stew, Abigail taking David lamb, roasted grains, and figs, the lovers in Song of Songs talking about pomegranates and apples, the Messiah serving bread and fish, the Israelites desiring quail). In Isaiah 65:4 YHWH himself is lamenting about disobedient people who "provoke me continually...who eat the flesh of pigs." We don't have to participate in the offense of unclean eating! He gives us instructions on how to eat. And we can see from the above stories that there is blessing for us when we live out those instructions.

Learn more details about clean eating here.
More about Daniel's food choices here.
Peter had a vision about eating unclean animals - what did it mean?