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God’s Dietary Commandments make a provision for man to consume insects. This article will discuss the dietary command concerning insects, will argue that ‘beetle’ is an English translation error in the King James version Bible, and will declare beetles UNCLEAN.

Beetles are the most widely consumed insects in the world. Insects are eaten as human food in 80% of the world’s nations [1]. Over 300 different species of beetles are known to be consumed as food, and are usually eaten in the larvae stage [2]. The mealworm is the most commonly eaten beetle species. The larvae of the darkling beetle and rhinoceros beetles are also commonly eaten.

The original King James Bible of 1611, which is still in print to this day, has numerous translation errors contained within its pages and one of those errors is in regard to a dietary command concerning the classification of clean and unclean insects.

LEVITICUS 11:21-22 (KJV):
Yet these may ye eat of every flying creeping thing that goeth upon all four, which have legs above their feet, to leap withal upon the earth; Even these of them ye may eat; the locust after his kind, and the bald locust after his kind, AND THE BEETLE AFTER HIS KIND, and the grasshopper after his kind.

King James Bible Onlyist believers fail to acknowledge or understand that the King James Bible is not the infallible English version written Scriptures given to us by the inspiration of God, but is an imperfect English version of the Scriptures that was translated by men who were commissioned by King James of England.

The ‘beetle’ is a translation error in the King James Bible. The King James Bible insect, mistranslated ‘beetle,’ and all the beetles after its kind, are described as having special hind jumping legs to leap upon the earth. No species of beetle has these rear jumping legs to leap upon the earth. Beetles are not the same kind of insects that locusts, bald locusts, and grasshoppers are. Locusts, bald locusts, destroying locusts, grasshoppers, and crickets all have hind jointed legs above their feet that they use for leaping upon the Earth.

LEVITICUS 11:21-22 (NKJV):
Yet these you may eat of every flying insect that creeps on all fours: those which have jointed legs above their feet with which to leap on the earth. These you may eat: the locust after its kind, the destroying locust after its kind, THE CRICKET AFTER ITS KIND, and the grasshopper after its kind.

CLEAN INSECTS HAVE WINGS, FOUR FRONT LEGS, AND TWO SPECIALIZED, JOINTED, ABOVE-BODY HIND LEGS FOR LEAPING

MATTHEW 3:4; MARK 1:6 (NKJV):
John himself was clothed in camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey.

Locusts, grasshoppers, and crickets are the most commonly consumed types of insects in the world, due to a lot of different varieties and abundance of them, and because they’re relatively easy to catch, cook, eat, and digest. Leaping insects generally have a neutral taste, they absorb flavors easily, blend well with other food, are a great source of protein, are low fat, and their meat is tender. Locusts, grasshoppers, and crickets are good to eat clean insects.

BEETLE JUICE?

Clean-eating, kosher conscious persons should avoid eating all food and drinks with carmine, cochineal, or natural red 4 in its list of ingredients, as this red dye is an extract from the cochineal – a small, flat, oval-shaped, parasitic, scale unclean insect. Cochineal extract is used to dye food, drinks, and cosmetics (lipstick). Cochineal extract consumption has been linked as a cause of allergen cases ranging from mild hives and itchy skin to severe life-threatening anaphylaxis reactions [3].

King James Bible authorization is not the final infallible authority in classifying beetles as clean insects. The Tanakh (Old Testament) Scriptures are the inspired word of God, written in Hebrew, and were given to His chosen people – the Jews. The English-speaking people of the world are not God’s chosen people. God did not inspire King James Bible translators; King James of England commissioned them. King James translators were not infallible in translating God’s inspired word to the English language. By using just a little critical thinking and proper discernment, it is evident that ‘beetle’ is a mistranslation of the King James version Bible that should have been translated ‘cricket.’

Beetles are unclean insects.

1. Carrington, Damian, “Insects could be the key to meeting food needs of growing global population,” The Guardian, August 01, 2010,
< http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2010/aug/01/insects-food-emissions >.

2. Ramos-Elorduy, Julieta; Menzel, Peter, “Creepy Crawly Cuisine: The Gourmet Guide to Edible Insects,” Inner Traditions / Bear & Company, p. 5. ISBN 978-0-89281-747-4, Feb 01, 1998,
< https://books.google.com/books?id=Q7f1LkFz11gC&hl=en >.

3. Baldwin, James; Chou, Alice; Wilkins, Dave; Barkley, Pete, “Food dye can cause severe allergic reactions,” VICE PRESIDENT FOR COMMUNICATIONS, MICHIGAN NEWS, UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN, (313) 764-2220, JANUARY 25, 2007,
< https://news.umich.edu/food-dye-can-cause-severe-allergic-reactions/ >.