231 The Agenda of Priestly Taxonomy: The Conceptualization of אֵ מָ טand ץֶ קֶ ש in Leviticus 11 LANCE HAWLEY University of Wisconsin–Madison Madison, WI 53706 Abstract: Anthropologists and biblical scholars have long sought to understand the rationale for the categorization of animals in Leviticus 11. The text itself provides no overt answer; rather, it presents the reader with a systematic taxonomy. In this article, I seek to demonstrate how the Priestly authors conceptualize ṭāmēʾ (“unclean”) and šeqeṣ (“detestable thing”) as identifcations for different sets of animals in Leviticus 11. The system of differentiation and classifcation itself, as it is expressed in the compositional layers of Leviticus 11, provides the best way forward for determining the Priestly justifcation for distinguishing between permissible and impermissible animals for eating. After tracing the compositional history of Leviticus 11, I argue that the taxonomy has a clear focus on land quadrupeds, which may hint at the agenda of the Priestly authors, namely, to undergird theologically Israel’s sacrifcial practices. Additionally, the taxonomy directly corresponds to the systematic ordering of the world in Genesis 1, refecting the Priestly ideal that temple life is woven into the fabric of the created cosmos. Key words: Leviticus 11 • composition • animals • food • uncleanness • dietary laws, Priestly authors • taxonomy • sacrifce • temple • Genesis 1 The taxonomy of animals, along with the ritual statuses of various species in Leviticus 11, demonstrates the complex structure of Priestly thought and sys- temization. The authors’ concern with permissible animal food sources is princi- pally expressed through what gives the appearance of being exhaustive lists that Many thanks to Professors Ronald Troxel and Jordan Rosenblum at the University of Wisconsin–Madison for providing valuable critique on early versions of this article and to the anonymous reviewers at CBQ for their comments.