Every swarming thing that swarms upon the earth: this includes snakes and centipedes as well as small four-footed animals like rats, mice, and moles (compare verse 29). This prohibition comes last, perhaps because there was little likelihood that people would be tempted to eat such animals. But in order to make the regulations complete, it was seen as necessary. Greater detail is provided in the following verse.

Quoted with permission from Péter-Contesse, René and Ellington, John. A Handbook on Leviticus. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1990. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .