In Biblical times, Israel was given special instructions regarding the cleanliness of cookware that an animal had died in. Leviticus 11:33 says “And every earthen vessel, whereinto any of them falleth, whatsoever is in it shall be unclean; and ye shall break it.”
The previous verse specifies that if it is clothing, or something you are working with, then it just needs to be washed. But why must the pottery be broken? Does the Bible know best?
Having been to Israel about a dozen times, I’ve had the opportunity of examining a lot of pottery. Most of the pottery found in archaeological excavations is free of any glazing. Glazing is a secondary process that pottery has to go through to seal off the porous nature of the earthenware. Since this was not always common practice, many earthen vessels absorbed whatever they came in contact with.
This would include the bodily fluids of any dead thing that fell into the pot. Bacteria could then seep into the vessel, and any disease would be spread to those who ate from it. Thus the command to break it.
The truth is, that germ theory wasn’t even proposed until the 16th century, yet the scriptures seem to have again pre-dated modern science by thousands of years with incredible accuracy. Once more, we find that the Bible knows best.
I’m David Rives,
Truly, the heavens declare the glory of God.