fulano wrote:I long suspected that the whale oil I used to buy from Brownell's was, in effect, hog lard. Now I'm convinced....BTW is whale a forbidden meal component in Leviticus..there are no scales and it is a mammal :headscratch (another thread topic, sorry)
According to the dietary laws found in Leviticus (and Deuteronomy) the Whale would be a forbidden food source for two reasons:
1. A whale is NOT a fish....but IF it were...the requirement would be that it have "Fins and Scales" (to be considered clean). A whale does not have scales...but a rubbery like skin.
2. A whale is a mammal (as you noted). There is no prohibition against mammals in the bible, however the restriction is that they have "a cloven hoof AND chew the cud". Obviously, a whale does not qualify on either account.
^^^^^^^^^ I hope the above does not violate the rule on no discussion of religion, I am simply providing Biblical evidence for the discussion at hand and NOT taking a religious position.