Random Weirdest Rules in the Bible (15 items)

• 

  (#2) Women Suspected of Adultery Have to Drink Dirty Water

  "If any man's wife go aside, and commit a trespass against him ... and a man lie with her carnally, and it be hid from the eyes of her husband ... the priest shall take holy water in an earthen vessel; and of the dust that is in the floor of the tabernacle the priest shall take, and put it into the water ... this water that causeth the curse shall go into thy bowels, to make thy belly to swell, and thy thigh to rot." Numbers 5:11-31

  Wait ... what?: This one is complicated. Some people think the dirty water was supposed to cause an abortion; others think it would to pressure the woman into a confession. Regardless, there's no denying the idea was for the alleged adulteress to drink a mix of holy water and tabernacle floor dust.
• 

  (#10) Don't Eat Owls

  "And these are they which ye shall have in abomination among the fowls; they shall not be eaten, they are an abomination: the eagle, and the ossifrage, and the ospray, And the vulture, and the kite after his kind;  Every raven after his kind;  And the owl, and the night hawk, and the cuckow, and the hawk after his kind, And the little owl, and the cormorant, and the great owl, And the swan, and the pelican, and the gier eagle, And the stork, the heron after her kind, and the lapwing, and the bat." Leviticus 11:13-19

  Wait ... what?: The Bible says we shouldn't eat a lot of things, but it definitely doesn't want us to eat owls. It's very specific: don't eat owls, little owls, or great owls. But why? Scholars say it's because they're considered to be "gross feeders, devourers of flesh or offal, and therefore offensive to the taste." They are also "ravenous and cruel, or such as delight in the night and darkness, or such as feed upon impure things." The flesh of fowls that eat "vegetable substances," the scholars infer, is okay for us to devour.
• 

  (#3) Don't Sit Where a Menstruating Woman Has Sat

  "And if a woman have an issue, and her issue in her flesh be blood, she shall be put apart seven days: and whosoever toucheth her shall be unclean until the even. And every thing that she lieth upon in her separation shall be unclean: every thing also that she sitteth upon shall be unclean. And whosoever toucheth her bed shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even." Leviticus 15:19-21

  Wait ... what?: This literally means that people shouldn't sit in the same spot a woman sat when she was on her period, because a woman on her period was thought to be unclean.
• 

  (#7) Never Boil a Baby Goat in Its Mother's Milk

  "The first of the firstfruits of thy land thou shalt bring into the house of the Lord thy God. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother's milk." Exodus 23:19

  Wait ... what?: This rule - mentioned three times in the Bible - could have been intended to prevent the superstitious practice of using the boiled milk as a "charm" for making fields and orchards "more productive." Another theory is that this was simply a reminder to be "civilized" and not make the mother "an accomplice in the death of her child."
• 

  (#9) Don't Plant More Than One Kind of Seed in a Field

  "Ye shall keep my statutes. Thou shalt not let thy cattle gender with a diverse kind: thou shalt not sow thy field with mingled seed: neither shall a garment mingled of linen and woollen come upon thee." Leviticus 19:19

  Wait ... what?: This seemingly impractical rule may have been intended to put a stop to superstitious practices regarding the planting of seeds. Another theory is that certain seeds actually should not be "mingled" and thus this is a good rule (although it is certainly lacking in specifics).
• 

  (#12) Don't Speak the Names of Other Gods

  "And in all things that I have said unto you be circumspect: and make no mention of the name of other gods, neither let it be heard out of thy mouth." Exodus 23:13

  Wait ... what?: This is just what it sounds like, really: ignore the names of all other gods - in fact, don't even say their names. Some scholars interpret this to mean "never mention them but with detestation."

New Random Displays    Display All By Ranking