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Summary
- The Bible never mentions eels by name.
- The law of Moses allows only water creatures with both fins and scales (Leviticus 11:9–12; Deuteronomy 14:9–10) and names no species of fish.
- Eels have fins, but the European eel’s scales are tiny and embedded in its slimy skin.
- Jewish law counts only scales that come off without tearing the skin, so the eel is not kosher.
- Christians who eat eels point to Mark 7:19 and Peter’s vision in Acts 10:13–15.
- Scripture gives the eel no symbolic meaning; dream-guide meanings do not come from the Bible.
Bibliography (Click to show)
- Scripture quotations from the English Standard Version (Leviticus 11:4, 7, 9–12, 15; Deuteronomy 14:9–10; 1 Samuel 17:5; Mark 7:19; Acts 10:11–15). https://www.biblegateway.com/
- F. Brown, S. R. Driver and C. A. Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament, entry “סְנַפִּיר,” via Sefaria. https://www.sefaria.org/
- Ernest Klein, A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the Hebrew Language, entry “קַשְׂקֶשֶׂת,” via Sefaria. https://www.sefaria.org/
- Wikipedia, “Eel.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eel
- Marine Life Information Network, “European eel (Anguilla anguilla).” https://www.marlin.ac.uk/species/detail/1782
- Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology, “Anguilla anguilla.” https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Anguilla_anguilla/
- OU Kosher, “Fish” (2013). https://oukosher.org/blog/consumer-kosher/fish/
- Yehuda Shurpin, “Which ‘Scales’ Make a Fish Kosher?” Chabad.org. https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/6379285/jewish/Which-Scales-Make-a-Fish-Kosher.htm
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