Could there have been a pragmatic purpose for the OT legal dietary restrictions?

Upvote:3

Take a quick glance at either of these sites:

Both of them give the names of illness-causing bacteria that are found in pork. So to answer your first question, yes, swine and the handling of pork can transmit disease today. It is likely that these bacteria were present in Moses's time, as well.

You will note on the same pages that shellfish, beef, poultry, lamb, and undercooked eggs can also transmit foodborne pathogens. As your title question is different than your main question, I would note that while shellfish are not kosher, the rest of the list (beef, poultry, lamb, and eggs) are permitted in the OT. This poster is led to conclude that there is something other than the "pragmatic purpose" at work in the Mosaic law.

Upvote:6

Your title and question are very different, so I will respond based on the title.

You may find this article very interesting:

http://www.askelm.com/doctrine/d040402.htm

Basically, there is no hygienic reason for these dietary rules, as, if a clean animal died on its own and you ate it, then you must wash your clothing and be unclean until evening. (Leviticus 11:40)

So, would it make sense that you had some disease, but once the sun set you were now healthy?

There is nothing to imply that this was for health reason, but for ritual reasons, and perhaps to help the Jews to understand that they were not like other groups, and by following a different diet they could set themselves apart.

There is also Leviticus 11:35, where the rule is that if an unclean food was ever used on that oven or stove is now unclean and must be destroyed, as it will always be unclean.

If this was for health reasons, it could be scoured, disinfected with bleach, but if you are following these restrictions then you must take apart the oven or stove, regardless.

http://bible.cc/leviticus/11-35.htm

Everything, moreover, on which part of their carcass may fall becomes unclean; an oven or a stove shall be smashed; they are unclean and shall continue as unclean to you

If you feel you must follow these dietary restrictions, then you must follow all of them, including never use a used stove/oven, for example, as is found in James 2:10 (http://bible.cc/james/2-10.htm)

For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.

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