THE VERDICT (Oxford Biblical Studies): 'Why Does the Bible Prohibit Eating Pork?'
The earliest evidence we have for the prohibition is the Hebrew Bible, which lists forbidden animals. For example, in Deuteronomy:
"These are the animals you may eat: the ox, the sheep, the goat, the deer, the gazelle, the roebuck, the wild goat, the ibex, the antelope, and the mountain sheep. Any animal that divides the hoof and has the hoof cloven in two, and chews the cud, among the animals, you may eat. Yet of those that chew the cud or have the hoof cloven you shall not eat these: the camel, the hare, and the rock-badger, because they chew the cud but do not divide the hoof; they are unclean for you. And the pig, because it divides the hoof but does not chew the cud, is unclean for you. You shall not eat their meat, and you shall not touch their carcasses." (14:5–8; cf. Lev 11:2–8)
Because the text does not get to the heart of the larger meaning and purpose of the ban, the underlying rationale for the prohibition has been greatly debated since ancient times, with varied explanations. For example, the first-century CE Jewish philosopher Philo of Alexandria argued that pork was not permitted to Jews because it is the tastiest of the land animals and eating it would lead to gluttony; the legal prohibition teaches self-restraint and frugality. In addition, he thought, animals that chew cud are permitted because as vegetarians they befit nonviolent "gentle mannered" souls, and their literal ruminating on their cud models the intellectual ruminating of good students who ponder the principles of knowledge taught by their teacher (On the Special Laws 4:100-107).
A more common and persuasive argument was made in the Middle Ages by Moses Maimonides, who argued that the Torah prohibits swine for food because both their habits and their own food are dirty and loathsome; eating swine would lead to disgusting homes and streets, making them dirtier "than any cesspool" (Guide for the Perplexed 3:48). Indeed, he cites the Talmudic statement that "The mouth of a swine is as dirty as dung itself" (b. Ber. 25a). This disapproval of the pig's food and habits is the most common explanation of the prohibition.
Other explanations for the prohibition include that eating pork can lead to trichinosis, a parasitic infection that can develop from eating undercooked meat. Yet there is no evidence that pork is more likely to cause trichinosis than other meats, nor are there any other known health concerns that arise specifically with pork—unlike, say, shellfish, which is also forbidden and which can cause deadly allergic reactions among some people.
Why, then, is pork prohibited among the land animals? The prohibition seems to go beyond the practical into the symbolic.
One key way in which pigs are radically different from 'clean' land animals is not how they eat, but rather how they mate, and more specifically how they reproduce. That may seem like a strange concern, yet many cultures have pronounced cultural restrictions and taboos around reproduction and sexuality. In the Hebrew Bible, for example, both sex and birth are important sources of ritual impurity (Lev 12; 15).
All the clean land animals listed in Deuteronomy have a reproductive feature that is different from pigs: they give birth singly or to twins. Unlike cows, sheep, goats, and deer of various kinds, pigs give birth in litters. In the modern world, the average pig gives birth to 12 piglets at one time; the record is 37!
Thus pigs' manner of birth does not resemble that of clean animals, nor, importantly, does it resemble that of Israelites (and all humans). Reproductively speaking, pigs are incongruous with the Israelite community, yet uniparous (bearing singly) animals are considered a part of it, and even observe its Sabbath (Ex 20:10; Deut 5:14).
Indeed, in the Hebrew Bible, eating pork is not only unclean, it is treated as disgusting and horrific. The book of Isaiah associates it with death, idolatry, and sin (65:4; 66:3).
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