To make a difference between the unclean and the clean, and between the beast that may be eaten and the beast that may not be eaten. (KJV, Leviticus 11:47)

The Hebrew word טמא (tamey, Strong's #2930) means “unclean.” Something that is “tamey” is dirty or “polluted.” This can be a literal pollution as from eating something that can bring on a disease or illness or it can be a moral pollution such as through sexual immorality as we see in Genesis 34:5 where the word “tamey” is translated as “defiled.”

And when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, prince of the country, saw her, he took her, and lay with her, and defiled her. (KJV)

Interestingly, both words, tahor (clean) and tamey (unclean), begin with the same letter, a tet (ט). The ancient pictographic picture for this letter is a picture of a basket - and can mean “surrounding” or “contained.” Do we surround ourselves with cleanness or dirtiness?

Ancient Hebrew Dictionary (Book) This Biblical Hebrew dictionary contains the one thousand most frequent verbs and nouns found within the Hebrew Bible.

The Living Words - Introduction (Article) An introduction to Mr. Benner's book The Living Words expounding on the Ancient Hebrew culture and philosophy.

Definition of Hebrew Names (Articles) Defining Hebrew names based on the Hebrew words used within the names.