Deuteronomy Chapter 14

At a Glance

  • Deuteronomy 14 centers on the distinctive identity, worship, and dietary laws that set Israel apart as holy to the LORD.
  • Beyond the food laws, the chapter addresses care for the vulnerable—how to treat the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow (14:28-29).
  • Historical & Literary Context.
  • Deuteronomy, as a sermon-like collection of laws, shapes how a new generation inherits the land.
  • - Covenant identity reflected in dietary practice.

Chapter Overview

Deuteronomy 14 centers on the distinctive identity, worship, and dietary laws that set Israel apart as holy to the LORD. The chapter opens with a call to be God’s children and a prohibition against self-harm rituals tied to mourning (14:1-2). The text emphasizes holiness through ethical and ritual boundaries: do not eat certain creatures, and do eat others that are clean. The dietary laws function as a sign of Israel’s covenantal status, shaping communal memory, identity, and dependence on the LORD’s provision. The section provides a detailed list of permissible and forbidden creatures, reflecting an ancient world of dietary practices while underscoring a deeper theological aim: obedience to God’s exacting standards forms character and aligns Israel with the Creator who made distinctions for good.

Beyond the food laws, the chapter addresses care for the vulnerable—how to treat the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow (14:28-29). This portion expands holiness from personal purity to social justice and generosity, tying the people’s devotion to God with practical generosity toward those in need within the land. The rhythm of the chapter—clear boundaries on consumption, followed by a related call to hospitality—highlights that a holy life is not just about what one eats, but how one treats the least among them.

Historical & Literary Context

Deuteronomy, as a sermon-like collection of laws, shapes how a new generation inherits the land. Chapter 14 sits squarely in the Deuteronomic legal-kerygmatic tradition, offering both ritual prescriptions (clean/unclean foods) and social commandments (economic justice and hospitality). The dietary laws echo Levitical codes but are reframed for a people poised to inhabit Canaan, where purity and separation would be tested in new contexts. The “you shall not eat” verses function as covenantal markers—distinctiveness that signals allegiance to the LORD.

Key Themes

- Covenant identity reflected in dietary practice

- Holiness grounded in obedience and trust in divine provision

- Compassion for the vulnerable as an extension of holiness

- Boundaries that order communal life and reflect God’s wisdom

- The interplay of ritual purity and social justice

Modern Application

- Distinctiveness with purpose: Modern readers can reflect on how “holiness” today means plainspoken integrity, not legalistic rigidity. Distinguishing one’s life by consistent ethical choices—seeing food practices as an analogy for broader discipline—can be instructive.

- Care for the vulnerable: The charge to extend generosity to foreigners, the poor, and the needy resonates with modern social ethics—immigration, poverty relief, and inclusion within church communities.

- Spiritual disciplines as identity markers: Like dietary laws, spiritual disciplines today can function as reminders of dependence on God and gratitude for His provision, shaping character over time.

- Hospitality as liturgy: Opens a doorway to contemporary hospitality as worship, reflecting the divine welcome of the stranger in a world of division.

- Leviticus 11 (dietary laws)

- Deuteronomy 12 (centralization of worship and distinctive practices)

- Exodus 22:21-27 (care for the vulnerable and foreigners)

- Leviticus 19:34 (foreigner as neighbor)

Recommended Personas

- Moses (teacher of the covenant and teacher of laws)

- Jesus (fulfillment of kosher practices and the expansion of hospitality)

- Paul (theology of freedom and responsibility in Christ, cautions about legalism)

- Ruth (hospitality to the foreigner as a model of inclusion)

Chapter Text

1

Ye are the children of the LORD your God: ye shall not cut yourselves, nor make any baldness between your eyes for the dead.

2

For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God, and the LORD hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto himself, above all the nations that are upon the earth.

3

Thou shalt not eat any abominable thing.

4

These are the beasts which ye shall eat: the ox, the sheep, and the goat,

5

The hart, and the roebuck, and the fallow deer, and the wild goat, and the pygarg, and the wild ox, and the chamois.

6

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.

7

Nevertheless these ye shall not eat of them that chew the cud, or of them that divide the cloven hoof; as the camel, and the hare, and the coney: for they chew the cud, but divide not the hoof; therefore they are unclean unto you.

8

And the swine, because it divideth the hoof, yet cheweth not the cud, it is unclean unto you: ye shall not eat of their flesh, nor touch their dead carcase.

9

These ye shall eat of all that are in the waters: all that have fins and scales shall ye eat:

10

And whatsoever hath not fins and scales ye may not eat; it is unclean unto you.

11

Of all clean birds ye shall eat.

12

But these are they of which ye shall not eat: the eagle, and the ossifrage, and the ospray,

13

And the glede, and the kite, and the vulture after his kind,

14

And every raven after his kind,

15

And the owl, and the night hawk, and the cuckow, and the hawk after his kind,

16

The little owl, and the great owl, and the swan,

17

And the pelican, and the gier eagle, and the cormorant,

18

And the stork, and the heron after her kind, and the lapwing, and the bat.

19

And every creeping thing that flieth is unclean unto you: they shall not be eaten.

20

But of all clean fowls ye may eat.

21

Ye shall not eat of anything that dieth of itself: thou shalt give it unto the stranger that is in thy gates, that he may eat it; or thou mayest sell it unto an alien: for thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother’s milk.

22

Thou shalt truly tithe all the increase of thy seed, that the field bringeth forth year by year.

23

And thou shalt eat before the LORD thy God, in the place which he shall choose to place his name there, the tithe of thy corn, of thy wine, and of thine oil, and the firstlings of thy herds and of thy flocks; that thou mayest learn to fear the LORD thy God always.

24

And if the way be too long for thee, so that thou art not able to carry it; or if the place be too far from thee, which the LORD thy God shall choose to set his name there, when the LORD thy God hath blessed thee:

25

Then shalt thou turn it into money, and bind up the money in thine hand, and shalt go unto the place which the LORD thy God shall choose:

26

And thou shalt bestow that money for whatsoever thy soul lusteth after, for oxen, or for sheep, or for wine, or for strong drink, or for whatsoever thy soul desireth: and thou shalt eat there before the LORD thy God, and thou shalt rejoice, thou, and thine household,

27

And the Levite that is within thy gates; thou shalt not forsake him; for he hath no part nor inheritance with thee.

28

At the end of three years thou shalt bring forth all the tithe of thine increase the same year, and shalt lay it up within thy gates:

29

And the Levite, (because he hath no part nor inheritance with thee,) and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, which are within thy gates, shall come, and shall eat and be satisfied; that the LORD thy God may bless thee in all the work of thine hand which thou doest.

Discuss This Chapter with Biblical Personas

Explore Deuteronomy Chapter 14 with Biblical figures who can provide unique perspectives grounded in Scripture.

Ask Apostle PaulAsk MosesAsk King DavidAsk Jesus Christ
← Deuteronomy 13Deuteronomy 15 →