Leviticus 11:21

Summary

The verse introduces an exception to the general prohibition on winged swarming creatures: among the sherets ha'of ("swarming thing of the wing/flying", H8318+H5775) that walk on four, those which have jointed hind limbs allowing them to hop on the ground may be eaten.

Key words

• 'akh ("nevertheless/only", H0389) — a restrictive adverb marking this verse as a limiting exception to what precedes it in the chapter.
• sheretz ("swarming thing of", H8318) — masculine singular construct, linked to ha'of to form the phrase "swarming thing of the wing," i.e., winged swarming creatures.
• holekh ("walks", H1980G) — qal participle, masculine singular, describing an ongoing characteristic action ("the one that walks/goes"), used here with the article as a substantive-like descriptor of the creature.
• khera'ayim ("legs", H3767) — feminine dual noun, indicating the pair of jointed limbs distinct from the regular raglayim ("feet", H7272), also dual.
• natter ("hop", H5425A) — piel infinitive, an intensive verbal form expressing the specific manner of movement (hopping) enabled by these limbs, introduced by le- ("to/for").

What the text says

The Hebrew sentence opens with 'akh ("nevertheless", H0389), a particle that syntactically isolates this verse as a carve-out from a broader category just condemned as unclean. The object of permitted eating is marked by the untranslated direct-object marker 'et (H0853) plus the demonstrative zeh ("this", H2088), pointing forward to the qualifying description that follows. The verb tokhelu ("you will eat", H0398) is qal imperfect second-person masculine plural, indicating a general or future permission applying to the community addressed.

The creature is defined through a construct chain: kol sheretz ha'of — "every swarming thing of the wing" — narrowed by the participial clause ha-holekh 'al-arba' ("the one that walks on four", H1980G + H0702), using the participle to describe a durative or characteristic trait rather than a single event. The relative clause introduced by 'asher ("which", H0834A) then specifies the anatomical detail: "which has to it (lo, H9033) khera'ayim" — legs distinct from the ordinary raglayim ("feet", H7272) — located mima'al le-raglayw ("above its feet"). The purpose of these jointed legs is expressed by the piel infinitive natter ("to hop", H5425A) governed by le-, describing the intensive or repeated hopping action performed bahen ("with them", referring back to the khera'ayim) 'al ha'aretz ("on the ground", H0776H).

Differences between versions

The LXX renders sheretz ha'of as τῶν ἑρπετῶν τῶν πετεινῶν ("the creeping things, the winged ones"), using two nouns where the Hebrew uses a construct chain of one noun governing another. The Vulgate omits the restrictive 'akh ("nevertheless") as a distinct opening particle and instead frames the verse with "Quidquid autem ambulat..." ("Whatever, however, walks..."), shifting the syntax from an exception clause to a relative description. Modern versions (BSB, SBLIBRE) render sheretz ha'of interpretively as "flying insects," a specification not explicit in the Hebrew nouns themselves.