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Deuteronomy 14

Israel’s belonging to YHWH shapes its mourning and meals, including how its harvest feeds those without an inheritance.

Moses addresses Israel as YHWH’s children and chosen people, setting out practices that mark their life as holy. He forbids certain mourning rites and distinguishes animals they may eat from those they must avoid. He then gives instructions for eating a tithe before YHWH at his chosen place, with provision for those who live far away. Every third year, the tithe is stored in their towns to feed people without land or support.

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1You are the children of the LORD your God. You shall not cut yourselves, nor make any baldness between your eyes for the dead.
2For you are a holy people to the LORD your God, and the LORD has chosen you to be a people for his own possession, above all peoples who are on the face of the earth.
3You shall not eat any abominable thing.
4These are the animals which you may eat: the ox, the sheep, the goat,
5the deer, the gazelle, the roebuck, the wild goat, the ibex, the antelope, and the chamois.
6Every animal that parts the hoof, and has the hoof split in two and chews the cud, among the animals, you may eat.
7Nevertheless these you shall not eat of them that chew the cud, or of those who have the hoof split: the camel, the hare, and the rabbit. Because they chew the cud but don’t part the hoof, they are unclean to you.
8The pig, because it has a split hoof but doesn’t chew the cud, is unclean to you. You shall not eat their meat. You shall not touch their carcasses.
21You shall not eat of anything that dies of itself. You may give it to the foreigner living among you who is within your gates, that he may eat it; or you may sell it to a foreigner; for you are a holy people to the LORD your God. You shall not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.
22You shall surely tithe all the increase of your seed, that which comes out of the field year by year.
23You shall eat before the LORD your God, in the place which he chooses to cause his name to dwell, the tithe of your grain, of your new wine, and of your oil, and the firstborn of your herd and of your flock; that you may learn to fear the LORD your God always.
24If the way is too long for you, so that you are not able to carry it because the place which the LORD your God shall choose to set his name there is too far from you, when the LORD your God blesses you,
26You shall trade the money for whatever your soul desires: for cattle, or for sheep, or for wine, or for strong drink, or for whatever your soul asks of you. You shall eat there before the LORD your God, and you shall rejoice, you and your household.
27You shall not forsake the Levite who is within your gates, for he has no portion nor inheritance with you.
28At the end of every three years you shall bring all the tithe of your increase in the same year, and shall store it within your gates.
29The Levite, because he has no portion nor inheritance with you, as well as the foreigner living among you, the fatherless, and the widow who are within your gates shall come, and shall eat and be satisfied; that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hand which you do.
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Key verses
Deuteronomy 14:2God’s choice of Israel as his own possession supplies the reason for the chapter’s demands for holiness.
Deuteronomy 14:1Israel’s identity as God’s children frames the prohibition against cutting themselves or shaving their foreheads for the dead.
Deuteronomy 14:29The tithe provides food for people without land or support, tying Israel’s harvest to their neighbors’ welfare.
Where this chapter reaches

Leviticus shares the distinctions between clean and unclean animals and prohibitions on mourning rites, while Exodus shares the command against boiling a young goat in its mother’s milk. Exodus and 1 Peter also share the language of a holy people who belong to God.

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After reading the whole chapter

What stands out about the connection between belonging to God and the food laws?

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How does the chapter’s use of the harvest shape your thoughts about celebration and provision for others?

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Questions people ask about Deuteronomy 14

Why does Deuteronomy 14 forbid cutting yourself for the dead?

The command concerns mourning practices: cutting the body and making baldness between the eyes for someone who has died. Moses grounds the prohibition in Israel’s identity as YHWH’s children and holy people. The chapter does not forbid grief or explain the origins of these rites.

Why are some animals unclean in Deuteronomy 14?

The chapter sets food boundaries for Israel as a people holy to YHWH. It gives criteria for land animals and water creatures, then lists forbidden birds and winged creatures. It does not explain why each animal is excluded or present these distinctions as medical advice.

What does Deuteronomy 14 say about tithing?

Israel must set aside a tenth of its yearly field produce and eat before YHWH at his chosen place. If travel makes transport too hard, the produce may be exchanged for money to buy food there. Every third year, the tithe stays in town to support Levites and vulnerable neighbors.

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Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).