Kilayim prohibition

The Kilayim prohibition is a three-part rule in Leviticus: cattle must not be bred with a different kind, fields must not be sown with two kinds of seed, and garments must not be made of two kinds of material. Its placement among commands to keep God’s statutes presents everyday work and dress as domains of holiness.

The Three Prohibitions

The rule addresses three distinct practices: breeding cattle across kinds, mixing seed in a field, and wearing a garment woven from two kinds of material. It states these as direct prohibitions, without specifying penalties or procedures for enforcement.

The agricultural clauses concern both the animals that reproduce and the crops cultivated in the field; the clothing clause carries the distinction from production into what people wear. Together, they extend the rule across livestock, farming, and dress.

Place in the Holiness Code

The prohibition appears in Leviticus 19 after the command to love one’s neighbor as oneself and the instruction to keep God’s statutes. It is followed by a separate case concerning sexual relations with an enslaved woman designated for a man, for which the passage prescribes an inquiry and a guilt offering. The surrounding material therefore places the mixing rule within a wider collection of religious and social obligations, without explaining its particular rationale.

Meaning and Scope

Leviticus does not state why these combinations are forbidden, nor does it attach an explicit sanction to this rule. Its textual force lies in treating distinctions across breeding, cultivation, and clothing as matters governed by divine statute, alongside commands about worship, justice, and care for others.