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Bible Commentary
Deuteronomy

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Deuteronomy 14

Deu 14:8

THE PIG IS ALSO UNCLEAN: "Nowadays, in modern hygienic farms, pigs can be reared without the historically important diseases such as the pork tape worm and the round worm Trichinella spiralis. But in the wilderness setting, as in any uncontrolled environment, the habit of pigs of eating waste and carrion means that they are a considerable risk as food animals... Another disease, trichinosis, is common in parts of the world, and the major culprit is undercooked pork or wild boar. This disease can be fatal" (SP, Tes 71:205). Cp Lev 11:7.

Deu 14:21

DO NOT COOK A YOUNG GOAT IN ITS MOTHER'S MILK: Found in Exo 23:19; 34:26 and Deu 14:21. Five possibilities: (1) The mother would suffer from still producing milk, with no offspring to nurse. (2) The Canaanites worshiped milk as coming from certain goddesses (ie, keep away from worship of idols of land). (3) A prohibition against imitating the superstitious rites of the Egyptians, who, at the end of their harvest, cooked a kid in its mother's milk and sprinkled the broth as a magical charm on their gardens and fields, to render them more productive the following season (JFB). (4) The suckling should not be killed so young, cut off in its prime. (Christ the sacrifice suffered in the midst of his own people.) (5) Do not "destroy" your child with the "milk" of excessive kindness/coddling!

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