Dogs and pigs are ceremonially unclean and were considered detestable animals in ancient Jewish culture. Giving them  holy or precious things would have been shocking to his audience.

Please share your thoughts, another application or questions in the comments at the end.

COMMAND 40: “Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before swine…”

Mt 7:6

RECIPIENT: To the disciples in the hearing of the crowds on the mountain

Mt 5:1-2 When Jesus saw the crowds, He went up on the mountain; and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him.  ²He opened His mouth and began to teach them, saying…

CONTEXT:  A continuation of the Sermon on the Mount  

Mt 7:1-5  “Do not judge so that you will not be judged.  For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you.  ³Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?  ⁴Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ and behold, the log is in your own eye?  ⁵You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.”

COMMAND FULL TEXT AND IMMEDIATE RESULT:

Mt 7:6  “Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before swine or they will trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.”

RESULT:  After Jesus concluded the sermon

Mt 7:28-29; 8:1 When Jesus had finished these words, the crowds were amazed at His teaching; ²⁹for He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as their scribes.
¹When Jesus came down from the mountain, large crowds followed Him.

DEFINITIONS:  Key Greek Words – Removes ambiguity of the Bible text

word: Strong’s #    Greek   pronunciation   — definition   

holy:  G40  ἁìγιος  hag’-ee-os   — sacred (physically pure, morally blameless or religious, ceremonially consecrated)

dogs: G2965  κυìων  koo’-ohn   — literally or figuratively a dog

pearls: G3135  μαργαριìτης  mar-gar-ee’-tace   — a pearl

swine: G5519  χοῖρος  khoy-‘ros   — a hog

COMMENT:  My comments  and notes

The structure of this command is a common Biblical parallel and is best understood by restructuring it thus:

“Do not give what is holy to dogs lest they turn and tear you to pieces and do not throw your pearls before swine lest they trample them under their feet.”

Immediately before this command Jesus specifically warns against judging others. Therefore, I do not think that Jesus is labeling people as “dogs” or ‘“swine.”   Dogs and pigs are ceremonially unclean and were considered detestable animals in ancient Jewish culture.  Giving them holy or precious things would have been shocking to his audience. I think that Jesus is saying that I must be discerning of people’s shocking behavior and attitudes especially when dealing with them about the most important things of life.   

Given the descriptions below, the “dogs” may refer to the behavior of intolerant, violent or destructive people, “committed evildoers” also called “fools” in the biblical sense.  It was a sin to act improperly against the holy things of the tabernacle or temple. For instance, the sacrifice was holy and it would be unthinkable to give it to dogs. Similarly, pigs were the quintessential ceremonially unclean animal in the Jewish culture.  Therefore it would be equally unthinkable to give something precious to pigs.  “Swine” might refer to the ambivalence of people who are ignorant of what is important to me. Therefore they would not care about what is precious to me.

“Holy things” and “pearls” could refer to literal things such as money or goods set aside for specific purposes such as a charitable gift or money from a collection that is yet to be deposited.  They could be children. Or, they could also refer to one’s faith and the teachings and truths that guide a life and that one holds dear.

In the next section I’ve recorded extensive Bible verses about “holy things,” “dogs,” “pearls.” and “swine.”  These Bible verses, along with the word definitions influenced my comments and application and will help you to form your own applications of Jesus’ command.  If you would like to skip these references, use the hyperlink to take you to the rest of my comments.

SKIP REFERENCES

References to “holy” things:

Ex 22:31  “You shall be holy men to Me, therefore you shall not eat {any} flesh torn to pieces in the field; you shall throw it to the dogs.

Ex 29:31-33  “You shall take the ram of ordination and boil its flesh in a holy place.  Aaron and his sons shall eat the flesh of the ram and the bread that is in the basket, at the doorway of the tent of meeting.  Thus they shall eat those things by which atonement was made at their ordination {and} consecration; but a layman shall not eat {them,} because they are holy.”

Ex 30:10 “Aaron shall make atonement on its horns once a year; he shall make atonement on it with the blood of the sin offering of atonement once a year throughout your generations. It is most holy to the LORD.”

Ex 30:25 “You shall make of these a holy anointing oil, a perfume mixture, the work of a perfumer; it shall be a holy anointing oil.

Ex 39:30  They made the plate of the holy crown of pure gold, and inscribed it like the engravings of a signet, “Holy to the LORD.”

Lv 5:15 “If a person acts unfaithfully and sins unintentionally against the LORD’S holy things, then he shall bring his guilt offering to the LORD: a ram without defect from the flock, according to your valuation in silver by shekels, in {terms of} the shekel of the sanctuary, for a guilt offering.

References to “dogs”:

Ps 22:16 For dogs have surrounded me; A band of evildoers has encompassed me; They pierced my hands and my feet.

Pr 26:11 Like a dog that returns to its vomit Is a fool who repeats his folly.

Is 56:10 His watchmen are blind, All of them know nothing. All of them are mute dogs unable to bark, Dreamers lying down, who love to slumber;

Is 56:11 And the dogs are greedy, they are not satisfied. And they are shepherds who have no understanding; They have all turned to their own way, Each one to his unjust gain, to the last one.

Mt 15:26,27 And He answered and said, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.”  But she said, “Yes, Lord; but even the dogs feed on the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.”

Ph 3:2  Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of the false circumcision;

References for “pearls”:

Jb 28:18 “Coral and crystal are not to be mentioned; And the acquisition of wisdom is above {that of} pearls.

Mt 13:45,46 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.”

Re 17:4 The woman was clothed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a gold cup full of abominations and of the unclean things of her immorality,

Re 18:12 cargoes of gold and silver and precious stones and pearls and fine linen and purple and silk and scarlet, and every {kind of} citron wood and every article of ivory and every article {made} from very costly wood and bronze and iron and marble,

Re 18:16 saying, ‘Woe, woe, the great city, she who was clothed in fine linen and purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls;

Re 21:21 And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; each one of the gates was a single pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.

References for “pigs” or “swine”:

Lv 11:7 And the pig, for though it divides the hoof, thus making a split hoof, it does not chew cud, it is unclean to you.

De 14:8 “The pig, because it divides the hoof but {does} not {chew} the cud, it is unclean for you. You shall not eat any of their flesh nor touch their carcasses.

Pr 11:22 {As} a ring of gold in a swine’s snout {So is} a beautiful woman who lacks discretion.

Lk 15:15,16 “So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine.  And he would have gladly filled his stomach with the pods that the swine were eating, and no one was giving {anything} to him.”

 

Comments Continued

The motivations of my faith are useless to another person having different beliefs.  Logic may win them over but the use of religious platitudes or scriptures will merely antagonize.  Therefore, use discernment to know whether a person can accept the truths of scripture directly as an explanation, motivation or a rebuke.  If the answer is “no,” I should express the truth with a only logical arguments.

Minor children are an example of something physical that is holy and precious.  They must be protected from harm physically, emotionally and intellectually. For instance, I would not allow my children to be cared for by someone who is drunk or a pedophile because they might be physically or emotionally harmed.  Similarly, I would not let my children take part in an organization that opposes my beliefs or teaches them falsehoods since intellectual harm is certain.

PERSONAL APPLICATION:  

Ideological – Use discernment to know whether a person can accept the ideas I hold as an explanation, motivation or a rebuke.  .  If the answer is “no,” I should express the truth with only logical arguments. Remember that silence is an option in most circumstances.

Literal  – Carefully evaluate the reputation, attitudes and ideology of those who I will consider to care for children.

Please share a comment, question or perhaps another application for this command of Jesus.

 

© 2018 Christopher Carlson

Scripture quotations taken from the NASB