In this series about the current, worldwide, deadly, COVID-19 pandemic, I have been comparing it to the Mosaic food laws in Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14. These texts declare bats as “unclean” animals, therefore forbidden for Hebrews/Jews to eat. This virus is believed to have originated from bats sold at a “wet market” in Wuhan, China.
I think it is rather surprising that most biblical scholars do not believe there is any hygienic value to these Mosaic food laws. I suspect they are not right about that. Recall that the distinguishing mark between clean animals and unclean animals in Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14 is that clean animals both divide the hoof and chew the cud, whereas unclean animals have neither of these features or only one of them.
But there is more. These two biblical texts forbid Hebrews/Jews to even touch unclean animals or their dead carcasses. And if they do, or their clothing touches such a live or dead animal, they are instructed to wash their body and/or clothing and wait until the evening before gathering together with community. I believe this instruction even more suggests that there is hygienic value to these Mosaic food laws. And this is further suggested by the fact that modern, medical science informs that there are many infectious diseases that humans can get from eating those animals which Moses deems “unclean.”
Now we will examine how some of those animals that God through Moses designated as “unclean” are detrimental to human health. Since Moses could not have understood, having lived over 3,000 years ago, that this is indeed the case, I believe this scientific evidence indicates that the Mosaic food laws in Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14 signify divine inspiration. So, the God of Israel, the God of the Bible has again revealed the truth of his existence to human beings, in this case through these food laws. Therefore, all people, not just Jews, should pay attention to these food laws for their own physical health, but even more so for their own spiritual health, since all of us will someday be accountable to god/God, at the Judgment, about how we lived our lives.
Pigs
Leviticus 11 identifies the following land animals as unclean: “camel,” “rock badger,” “hare” (rabbit), and “pig” (vv. 4-7). It also says, “The pig, for even though it has divided hoofs and is cleft-footed, it does not chew the cud; it is unclean for you. Of their flesh,” meaning the flesh of all these animals, “you shall not eat, and their carcasses you shall not touch; they are unclean for you” (Lev 11.7-8). Deuteronomy 14 says likewise, “And the pig, because it divides the hoof but does not chew the cud, is unclean for you. You shall not eat their meat, and you shall not touch their carcasses” (v. 8).
The two worst pandemics that are believed to have been caused by pigs were the so-called Spanish Flu of 2018-2019 and the Swine Flu of 2009-2010. Both are designated as H1N1 influenza virus. The term “Spanish Flu” is a misnomer; it never originated in Spain. At first, it was believed it was more prevalent in Spain, which was not true, and that is how it got its name. It has never been proved with certainty where this flu pandemic originated. It occurred in three waves during a period of nineteen months, and the second wave was the deadliest. Once it entered into humans, they contracted it person-to-person by coughing and/or sneezing droplets into the air or on surfaces that would enable the contagion. This H1N1 virus usually causes respiratory pneumonia, and that secondary illness is what kills most H1N1 victims.
The Spanish Flu is the most deadly pandemic in modern history. An estimated 500 million people were infected by it, and 50-to-100 million people died from it. That was 3-5% of the global population. Most of the casualties were in North America. It is believed that this infection was not any more lethal than other such epidemics. Since it occurred during WWI, the reasons for its large casualty count were the transportation and mingling of war troops, unsanitary battle conditions, and malnutrition. This flu pandemic was most deadly among young adults, such as soldiers in wartime.
It is not absolutely certain how the Spanish Flu originated. It was an avian influenza virus now designated as H1N1. Pigs are more susceptible to avian influenza. So, it is generally believed the Spanish Flu was transmitted from pigs to humans. But it may have originated in another animal, “jumped” to pigs, and then transmitted to humans. One theory is that the Spanish Flu originated among swine and poultry that were bred in the U.S. at Fort Riley, Kansas, to serve as rations for the overseas troops.
The Swine Flu of 2009-2010 was a new strain of H1N1 that lasted for twenty months. It was a combination of flu viruses that included Eurasian pig flu virus that resulted in the general term “swine flu.” It is broadly estimated that about a billion people contracted Swine Flu in 2009-2010, and 300,000 people died from it. Genetic analysis proved that this influenza originated in pigs and transmitted to humans, perhaps in Mexico where it was first discovered. Thus, all such human influenzas contracted from pigs are not due to eating pork. That food can cause a common illness in humans that is not life-threatening, but rather gross.
Domesticated pigs eat just about everything, even including feces. No wonder Moses called them “unclean.” They are unclean even on the outside by wallowing about in the mud. Farmers consider pigs as cleanup animals on the farmyard, eating all kinds of scraps and such. No wonder I never liked Kermit the Frog’s girlfriend–Miss Piggy!
The Mayo Clinic’s website (mayoclinic.org) states, “People get trichinosis when they eat undercooked meat—such as pork, bear, walrus or horse—that is infected with the immature form (larvae) of the trichinella roundworm. In nature, animals are infected when they feed on other infected animals. Pigs and horses can become infected with trichinosis when they feed on garbage containing infected meat scraps. Cattle don’t eat meat, but some cases have been linked to eating beef that was mixed with infected pork or ground in a grinder previously used for contaminated pork.”
So, humans can get infected from the larvae of roundworm parasites ingested from eating undercooked pork. The condition is called “trichinosis” or trichinellosis.” It happens with both domesticated pigs and wild pigs, called boars. And trichinosis is widespread among people in rural areas worldwide. About 150,000 cases of trichinosis are reported medically around the world per year. Those larvae mature, mate, and break through the small intestines in people. After learning this, I don’t think I’ll ever eat another tasty pork chop again!
The first symptom of trichinosis is abdominal pain. Complications from trichinosis are rare. But it can cause myocarditis, encephalitis, meningitis, and pneumonia. However, trichinosis is easily treated with medications. The Mayo Clinic also advises cooking whole cuts of pork to at least 145 degrees Fahrenheit, and both ground pork and ground beef should be cooked to at least 160 degrees.
So, getting trichinosis from eating pork can be avoided just by making sure the meat is cooked enough. But Moses and his Hebrew people surely didn’t know that or anything about parasites causing this tricky trichinosis in people who eat those squealing pigs.
Jews are well known for not eating pork, even in ancient times. Archaeologists have found many pig bones in the ancient sites of Gentiles who lived next to the ancient Israelites, such as their arch-rival the Philistines. But archaeologists never find pig bones in Eretz Yisrael. If they did, I wonder if Jews would have to decontaminate the soil to make it holy land again.
One of the most dramatic stories in the Bible is about Jesus casting bunch of demons out of a man. They leaped into a bunch of pigs that got frightened, stampeded down a hill, and drowned. All three synoptists tell about it (Matthew 8.28-34; Mark 5.1-20; Luke 8.26-39). The location was Gentile country on the east side of Lake Galilee (=Sea of Galilee). Mark provides the lengthiest account of it as follows (set in italics):
They [Jesus and his disciples] came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gerasenes. And when he [Jesus] had stepped out of the boat, immediately a man out of the tombs with an unclean spirit met him. He lived among the tombs; and no one could restrain him any more, even with a chain; for he had often been restrained with shackles and chains, but the chains he wrenched apart, and the shackles he broke in pieces; and no one had the strength to subdue him. Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains he was always howling and bruising himself with stones. When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and bowed down before him; and he shouted at the top of his voice, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me.” For he had said to him, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!” Then Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” He replied, “My name is Legion; for we are many.” He begged him earnestly not to send them out of the country. Now there on the hillside a great herd of swine was feeding; and the unclean spirits begged him, “Send us into the swine; let us enter them.” So he gave them permission. And the unclean spirits came out and entered the swine; and the herd, numbering about two thousand, rushed down the steep bank into the sea, and were drowned in the sea.
The swineherds ran off and told it in the city and in the country. Then people came to see what it was that had happened. They came to Jesus and saw the demoniac sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, the very man who had had the legion; and they were afraid. Those who had seen what had happened to the demoniac and to the swine reported it. Then they began to beg Jesus to leave their neighborhood. As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed by demons begged him that he might be with him. But Jesus refused, and said to him, “Go home to your friends, and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and what mercy he has shown you.” And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him; and everyone was amazed.
[See my book at amazon.com, Moses Predicted COVID-19, published at June 1, 2020.]
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In