Leviticus 11:4

Summary

Leviticus 11:4 opens the specification of forbidden animals by restricting the general rule (chewing cud and having a split hoof) with the term "nevertheless" ('akh), then gives the camel as the paradigm case of an animal that meets only one of the two conditions and is therefore unclean.

Key words

• 'akh ("nevertheless", H0389) — restrictive adverb marking an exception to the previously stated criteria for permitted animals.
• ma'alei ("[those which] bring up", H5927M) — hiphil participle, masculine plural construct, forming the phrase "those that bring up [the cud]"; the construct state links it directly to ha-gerah.
• ge.rah ("cud", H1625) — feminine singular noun, the object implied by the construct chain with the participle.
• 'einennu ("it is not", H0369 + suffix) — negative existential particle with 3rd person masculine singular suffix, used instead of a finite verb to negate the participle mafris that follows.
• tame' ("unclean", H2931) — masculine singular adjective, the predicate declaring the animal's status "to you" (lakhem, H9036).

What the text says

The verse begins with 'akh (H0389), an adverb that signals a limitation on the general dietary rule just given: not every animal that chews the cud or has a split hoof may be eaten. The negated imperfect to.khe.lu (H0398), second person masculine plural, addresses the community collectively. The two conditions for permitted animals are expressed through construct chains: mi-ma'alei ha-gerah ("from those bringing up the cud") and u-mi-mafrisei ha-parsah ("and from those dividing the hoof"), both using hiphil masculine plural participles in construct with their respective nouns.

The camel is then introduced as a specific test case, marked by the direct object marker 'et (H0853) followed by ki (H3588A), here functioning as a causal/explanatory particle ("because/that"). The clause ma'aleh gerah hu' uses a singular hiphil participle with the pronoun hu' (H1931) to state "it is one that brings up the cud." The second condition is negated differently: instead of a simple verbal negation, the text uses the existential negator 'einennu (H0369 with 3rd person suffix) followed by the participle mafris (H6536), producing "a hoof it is not one dividing" — a construction that negates the participial state rather than a finite verb. The verse closes with the predicate tame' hu' lakhem, declaring the animal's unclean status specifically "for you" (lakhem).

Differences between versions

The LXX adds a second descriptive element, "ὀνυχιζόντων ὀνυχιστῆρας" ("having claws/hooves formed"), alongside διχηλούντων ("splitting"), where the Hebrew presents only one construct phrase (mafrisei ha-parsah) for the hoof condition. The Vulgate generalizes the case with "sicut camelus et cetera" ("like the camel and others"), presenting the camel as one example among unnamed others, whereas the Hebrew names the camel specifically without such an open-ended addition.