Exodus 22:31

22:31 “You will be holy ¹  people to me; you must not eat any meat torn by animals in the field. ²  You must throw it to the dogs.

Leviticus 11:39-40

Edible Land Quadrupeds

11:39 “‘Now if an animal ³  that you may eat dies, ⁴  whoever touches its carcass will be unclean until the evening. 11:40 One who eats from its carcass must wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening, and whoever carries its carcass must wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening.

Leviticus 17:15

Regulations for Eating Carcasses

17:15 “‘Any person ⁵  who eats an animal that has died of natural causes ⁶  or an animal torn by beasts, whether a native citizen or a foreigner, ⁷  must wash his clothes, bathe in water, and be unclean until evening; then he becomes clean.

[22:31]  ¹ sn The use of this word here has to do with the laws of the sanctuary and not some advanced view of holiness. The ritual holiness at the sanctuary would prohibit eating anything torn to pieces.

[22:31]  ² tn Or “by wild animals.”

[11:39]  ³ tn This word for “animal” refers to land animal quadrupeds, not just any beast that dwells on the land (cf. 11:2).

[11:39]  ⁴ tn Heb “which is food for you” or “which is for you to eat.”

[17:15]  ⁵ tn Heb “And any soul” (נֶפֶשׁ, nefesh).

[17:15]  ⁶ tn Heb “carcass,” referring to the carcass of an animal that has died on its own, not the carcass of an animal slaughtered for sacrifice or killed by wild beasts. This has been clarified in the translation by supplying the phrase “of natural causes”; cf. NAB “that died of itself”; TEV “that has died a natural death.”

[17:15]  ⁷ tn Heb “in the native or in the sojourner.”