Leviticus 12. Purification After Childbirth

Purification After Childbirth

The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ² “Speak to the people of Israel, saying, If a woman conceives and bears a male child, then she shall be unclean seven days. As at the time of her menstruation, she shall be unclean. ³ And on the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised. ⁴ Then she shall continue for thirty-three days in the blood of her purifying. She shall not touch anything holy, nor come into the sanctuary, until the days of her purifying are completed. ⁵ But if she bears a female child, then she shall be unclean two weeks, as in her menstruation. And she shall continue in the blood of her purifying for sixty-six days.

• Uncleanliness for women:
  • After birth of male: 7 days
    • Circumcise on 8th day
    • 33 additional days of purifying = Total 40 days
      • 40 often carries an association with completeness in Bible
        • 40 days/nights of the Flood  (Genesis 7:12)
        • Moses on Sinai for 40 days/nights  (Exodus 24:18)
        • Israel spies Canaan for 40 days  (Numbers 13:25)
        • Israel wanders 40 years (Numbers 14:33-34)
        • Elijah travels 40 days/nights to Horeb  (1 Kings 19:8)
        • Nineveh given 40 days before judgment  (Jonah 3:4)
        • Jesus fasts and is tempted for 40 days ( Matthew 4:2)
        • Jesus appears to His disciples for 40 days before the ascension  (Acts 1:3)
  • After birth of female: 2 weeks
    • 66 additional days of purifying days = Total 80 days (40 x 2)
• Unclean ≠ sinful

⁶ “And when the days of her purifying are completed, whether for a son or for a daughter, she shall bring to the priest at the entrance of the tent of meeting a lamb a year old for a burnt offering, and a pigeon or a turtledove for a sin offering, ⁷ and he shall offer it before the Lord and make atonement for her. Then she shall be clean from the flow of her blood. This is the law for her who bears a child, either male or female. ⁸ And if she cannot afford a lamb, then she shall take two turtledoves or two pigeons, one for a burnt offering and the other for a sin offering. And the priest shall make atonement for her, and she shall be clean.”

• After the purification period (40 or 80 days), the woman brings:
  • A year-old lamb for a burnt offering
    • If she can’t afford a lamb, she may bring two doves or pigeons for both offerings (Mary offered two turtledoves! Luke: 2:22-24)
  • A pigeon or dove for a sin offering