PRESENTER'S NOTES

Mark 7: 18 And he said to them, Then are you also without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him,
19 since it enters not his heart but his stomach, and is expelled? (Thus he declared all foods clean.) (ESV)

Mark 7: 18 And he saith unto them, Are ye so without understanding also? Do ye not perceive, that whatsoever thing from without entereth into the man, it cannot defile him;
19 Because it entereth not into his heart, but into the belly, and goeth out into the draught, purging all meats? (KJV)

856 aphedron af-ed-rone' from a compound of 575 and the base of 1476; a place of sitting apart, i.e. a privy:--draught. see GREEK for 575 see GREEK for 1476

2511 katharizo kath-ar-id'-zo from 2513; to cleanse (literally or figuratively):--(make) clean(-se), purge, purify. see GREEK for 2513

1033 broma bro'-mah from the base of 977; food (literally or figuratively), especially (ceremonially) articles allowed or forbidden by the Jewish law:--meat, victuals. see GREEK for 977

Mark 7: 18 So He said to them, “Are you thus without understanding also? Do you not perceive that whatever enters a man from outside cannot defile him, 19 because it does not enter his heart but his stomach, and is eliminated, thus purifying all foods?”1

1Mark 7:19 NU-Text ends quotation with eliminated, setting off the final clause as Mark’s comment that Jesus has declared all foods clean.

NU - stands for Netsle-Aland Greek New Testament /United Bible Society. These are texts based on the oldest, but not the most numerous ancient manuscripts.

Now there is ONE scripture in the Old Testament that in certain translations, uses the phrase, “unclean food”…

Hosea 9: 3 They shall not remain in the land of the LORD,
but Ephraim shall return to Egypt,
and they shall eat unclean food in Assyria. (ESV)

Hosea 9: 3 They shall not dwell iN THE LORD' land; but Ephraim shall return to Egypt, and they shall eat unclean things in Assyria. (KJV)

2931 tame' taw-may' from 2930; foul in a relig. sense:--defiled, + infamous, polluted(-tion), unclean. see HEBREW for 02930

For the sake of argument, let us say that the English Standard Version can properly render “eat unclean” as “eat unclean food”. Can a clean animal become unclean?

Leviticus 5: 2 ‘Or if a person touches any unclean thing, whether it is the carcass of an unclean beast, or the carcass of unclean livestock, or the carcass of unclean creeping things, and he is unaware of it, he also shall be unclean and guilty. (NKJV)

So, yes, if a cow died on it’s own in ancient Israel it was considered unclean to an Israelite. It could still be given or sold to a non-Israelite. (Deuteronomy 14:21)

Here’s the problem, though. As soon as the animal became even ceremonially unclean, it was no longer defined as “food” for consumption by an Israelite.

(Google) FOOD – noun; any nutritious substance that people or animals eat or drink, or that plants absorb, in order to maintain life and growth.

The biblical meaning of “meat” also is “food”, not flesh. “Flesh” in the Bible is the closest we can come to meaning “muscle”. (Deuteronomy 14:8)

When one appreciates how God communicates, they will realize that, when considering the pig, pork is NOT an unclean food or meat. It was never intended by God to be consumed by humans. So, is pork unclean? Absolutely! Is it unclean food? Or, is it unclean meat? Absolutely NOT! IT IS NOT FOOD.

God, however, defines “food” as anything He ordains fit for consumption. Otherwise, it is not food. Most if not everybody in this room are pretty familiar with what God defines as food for consumption, but one can always review Leviticus 11 & Deuteronomy 14 to be reminded of God’s distinction between the clean and the unclean; only the clean being eligible to define as “food”.

REVISIT MARK 7:18 --- Understanding how God defines “food”, we will not be tripped up by translations that insert additional text. Even though we can read “all foods clean”, we clearly understand how God defines “food” in the first place.

So when you communicate to others, when all is said and done, you will serve them best by never defining unclean animals as “unclean food” or “unclean meat”. Just stick with “unclean”, “unclean flesh” or “not fit for consumption”.

ADDENDUM

Genesis 9: 3 Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. I have given you all things, even as the green herbs.

• Not all green herbs are for food.
• What would have happened if Noah had eaten one of the only two remaining lions?