Bat
UNCLEAN
Named among the forbidden birds (Lev 11:13-19)
Would you eat it?
Mentioned in 3 verses (KJV)
Bird
Description
The bat is listed alongside the unclean birds in Leviticus, an ancient classification built around flight rather than modern biology. That’s why a flying mammal ends up grouped with owls and storks instead of with mice.
Key verses
“And the stork, the heron after her kind, and the lapwing, and the bat.”
Leviticus 11:19
Fun fact
Leviticus classifies the bat among the ‘fowls’ alongside owls and storks — scholars generally read the list as grouping creatures by how they move rather than by modern taxonomy (Leviticus 11:19).
All 3 referencesshow
- Deuteronomy 14:18
- Isaiah 2:20
- Leviticus 11:19