Shellfish & scaleless water creatures
UNCLEAN
No fins or scales (Lev 11:10)
Would you eat it?
Not named directly in Scripture — covered by Leviticus 11:10.
Fish
Description
Shellfish, crabs, and other water creatures without fins and scales were unclean under the law, which meant Israel’s diet stayed oriented toward river and lake fish rather than the shellfish common along the wider Mediterranean coast. The rule is stated simply, with no exceptions listed.
Key verses
“And all that have not fins and scales in the seas, and in the rivers, of all that move in the waters, and of any living thing which is in the waters, they shall be an abomination unto you:”
Leviticus 11:10