"19 Ye shall keep my statutes. Thou shalt not let thy cattle gender with a diverse kind: thou shalt not sow thy field with mingled seed: neither shall a garment mingled of linen and woollen come upon thee. 20 And whosoever lieth carnally with a woman, that is a bondmaid, betrothed to an husband, and not at all redeemed, nor freedom given her; she shall be scourged; they shall not be put to death, because she was not free. 21 And he shall bring his trespass offering unto the LORD, unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, even a ram for a trespass offering. 22 And the priest shall make an atonement for him with the ram of the trespass offering before the LORD for his sin which he hath done: and the sin which he hath done shall be forgiven him. 23 And when ye shall come into the land, and shall have planted all manner of trees for food, then ye shall count the fruit thereof as uncircumcised: three years shall it be as uncircumcised unto you: it shall not be eaten of. 24 But in the fourth year all the fruit thereof shall be holy to praise the LORD withal. 25 And in the fifth year shall ye eat of the fruit thereof, that it may yield unto you the increase thereof: I am the LORD your God. 26 Ye shall not eat any thing with the blood: neither shall ye use enchantment, nor observe times. 27 Ye shall not round the corners of your heads, neither shalt thou mar the corners of thy beard. 28 Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you: I am the LORD. 29 Do not prostitute thy daughter, to cause her to be a whore; lest the land fall to whoredom, and the land become full of wickedness." — Leviticus 19:19-29 KJV.
19. Gender with a diverse kind — This would forbid the propagation of mules. Those mentioned in 2 Samuel 13:29; 18:9, and in many other passages, were probably imported, as they evidently were in the reign of Solomon. See 1 Kings 10:25. They are not mentioned in the New Testament. Such a mixture of species confounds the distinctions made by a wise Creator, and contradicts the fundamental notion of holiness, as that of unmingled purity and wholeness of moral character. It is a symbolical prohibition of improper alliances in religious, civil, and social life. A garment mingled — Hebrew, or rather Coptic, שַֽׁעַטְנֵ֔ז (shaatnez), mixtures. The words of woollen and linen are not in the original, but are supplied from Deuteronomy 22:11, the only other place where שַֽׁעַטְנֵ֔ז is found. It is supposed to signify “carded, spun, and twisted;” and to relate not to fabrics of different materials, which can be distinctly seen, as in the embroidered apparel of the high priest, but to spinning flax and wool with one thread, making linsey woolsey. Spencer conjectures that this mixed garment was forbidden because it was worn by the ancient Tabii, and was associated with their idolatrous ceremonies.
