Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Leviticus 11:37
And if [any part] of their carcass fall upon any sowing seed which is to be sown, it [shall be] clean.
37, 38. For the seed which is to be sown, contact with swarming things may be disregarded; but if water be added (i.e. if it is put with water in a vessel for cooking), uncleanness will ensue.
A special case comes in Lev 11:39-40.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 37. Any sowing seed] If any part of an impure carcass fall accidentally on seed about to be sown, it shall not on that account be deemed unclean; but if the water put to the seed to prepare it for being sown, shall be touched by such impure carcass, the seed shall be considered as unclean, Le 11:38. Probably this may be the meaning of these passages.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Partly because this was necessary provision for man; and partly because such seed would not be used for mans food till it had received many alterations in the earth, whereby such pollution was taken away. See Joh 12:24; 1Co 15:36.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
And if [any part] of their carcass fall upon any sowing seed that is to be sown,…. That which is selected from the other seed in order to be sown, and which is laid by and laid up for that purpose; should the carcass, or any part of the carcass of a creeping thing fall upon an heap of it, into a vessel in which it was put, as a dead mouse or the like:
[yet] it shall be clean; be fit for use and sown in the earth; because being cast into the earth, and dying and quickening there, and then springing up again in stalk and ear, it would go through various changes before it became the food of man: the Targum of Jonathan describes it, such as is sown in its dryness, or being dry; for if it was wetted it was unfit for use, as follows.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(37) And if any part of their carcase.The principle which underlies the immunity from pollution of living water is also at the basis of the exception of living plants. Hence if the carcase or a portion of a dead reptile is found among grain destined for sowing, the quantity of wheat in which it is discovered does not become defiled, since the growing plant constantly derives new elements from below and fresh moisture from above, thus undergoing as many changes in its way as spring water. The law therefore which obtained during the second Temple was as follows :Whatever is fixed in the ground does not contract defilement. Plants are not defiled till they are gathered. Hence the ancient Chaldee version of Jonathan renders this verse: If any part of their carcase falleth upon any seed that is sown in the manner in which it is commonly sownthat is, in its dry stateit is clean.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
37. Sowing seed Since this contained an inherent principle of life it is also incapable of pollution. “The seed is the word,” the instrument of sanctification, and the great antiseptic for the world’s corruption.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Stored Seed For Sowing Is Not Rendered Unclean By Dead Creeping Things Unless It Has Been Wetted ( Lev 11:37-38 ).
Lev 11:37
“And if any part of their carcase fall on any sowing seed which is to be sown, it is clean.”
However, seed set aside for sowing is not affected by dead creeping things falling on them. It does not make such ‘unclean’ or unhygienic. It will not affect what grows from it. The people would be carrying stores of grain for when they arrived in their new land, and would in fact almost certainly use it when they established themselves at Kadesh.
Lev 11:38
“But if water be put on the seed, and any part of their carcase fall on it, it is unclean to you.”
It is a different matter, however, if the seed is mixed with water at the time, presumably in order to use it for food. The water conveys uncleanness into the mixture. It is thus rendered unclean.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Lev 11:37 And if [any part] of their carcase fall upon any sowing seed which is to be sown, it [shall be] clean.
Ver. 37. It shall be clean. ] Because of necessity.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
sowing seed: 1Co 15:37, 1Pe 1:23, 1Jo 3:9, 1Jo 5:18