The Bible Difficulties and Answers Podcast

Leviticus 11:5-6 – Did the Bible Get Rabbits Wrong? Leviticus 11 Explained

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Host Lance Smith examines Leviticus 11:5-6 and the charge that the Bible wrongly says rabbits and hyraxes “chew the cud.”

The episode explains the Hebrew wording, observable animal behaviors (like re‑ingestion and jaw motion), and how ancient descriptive language differs from modern anatomical terms.

By viewing the passage from the original cultural perspective, the apparent conflict with biology is resolved and the episode shows how Scripture communicates truth in everyday terms.

References to items discussed and/or used on this podcast may be found at the following:

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Email Address: [email protected] 

  1. Geisler, Norman L., and Thomas Howe. The Big Book of Bible Difficulties. Baker Books, 1992. Available at: https://a.co/d/7shn4hI 
  2. Mitchell, Tommy. "Do Rabbits Really 'Chew the Cud'?" Answers in Genesis. https://answersingenesis.org/contradictions-in-the-bible/do-rabbits-really-chew-the-cud/
  3. "Why does the Bible say that rabbits chew the cud? Is this an error in the Bible?" GotQuestions.org. https://www.gotquestions.org/rabbits-chew-cud.html
  4. McClellan, Matt. "Do Leviticus 11:6 & Deuteronomy 14:7 Contain A Factual Error About Rabbits Chewing Cud?" Dust off the Bible. https://dustoffthebible.com/Blog-archive/2020/04/04/do-leviticus-116-deuteronomy-147-contain-a-factual-error-about-rabbits-chewing-cud/
  5. "Did the Bible Writers Commit Biological Blunders?" Apologetics Press. https://apologeticspress.org/did-the-bible-writers-commit-biological-blunders-2731/
  6. Lyons, Eric. The Anvil Rings III: Answers to Alleged Bible Discrepancies. Apologetics Press, 2021. https://apologeticspress.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Anvil-Rings-3-Web.pdf
  7. Philo of Alexandria. On the Special Laws I. (translation available at https://earlyjewishwritings.com/philo.html)
  8. John Calvin. Commentary on Leviticus. (available via Christian Classics Ethereal Library: https://ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom03)

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