What Does Leviticus 11:3 Mean in the King James?
Whatsoever parteth the hoof, and is clovenfooted, and cheweth the cud, among the beasts, that shall ye eat.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
The verse’s edible animal is marked by two movements at once: a split step below and food brought back up for another pass.
THE MEANING
The verse sets a concrete boundary around what enters as food: the hoof is split, and the cud is brought back up. The two signs belong together; having only one does not meet the stated mark.
THE ROOT
מַעֲלַת גֵּרָה
maʿălat gērāh
GROWS FROM
עלה
ʿ-l-h
to go up, rise, ascend
“cheweth the cud” in this verse is maʿălat gērāh. The Hebrew describes the animal as bringing up the cud: food returns upward for renewed chewing. The root עלה also names ascent, so the phrase carries a picture of return and upward movement that “cheweth” alone leaves less visible.
ALSO GROWS
ʿolah: burnt offering; an offering that goes up
עֹלָה
It shares the root’s upward movement, echoing the cud brought up in this verse.
maʿaleh: ascent, upward slope
מַעֲלֶה
This branch makes the root’s basic sense of going upward explicit.
THE PATTERN
The verse makes permission to eat depend on two observable marks appearing together.
Nevertheless these shall ye not eat of them that chew the cud, or of them that divide the hoof: as the camel, because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof; he is unclean unto you.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.THE THREAD
Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD? or who shall stand in his holy place?The verb “ascend” comes from עלה (ʿalah), the same root that describes the cud being brought up. English gives these movements different words; Hebrew keeps their shared upward motion audible.
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