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The Bible · 102 of 1189

Leviticus 12

1.And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 2. Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If a woman have conceived seed, and born a man child: then she shall be unclean seven days; according to the days of the separation for her infirmity shall she be unclean. 3. And in the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised. 4. And she shall then continue in the blood of her purifying three and thirty days; she shall touch no hallowed thing, nor come into the sanctuary, until the days of her purifying be fulfilled. 5. But if she bear a maid child, then she shall be unclean two weeks, as in her separation: and she shall continue in the blood of her purifying threescore and six days.

6.And when the days of her purifying are fulfilled, for a son, or for a daughter, she shall bring a lamb of the first year for a burnt offering, and a young pigeon, or a turtledove, for a sin offering, unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, unto the priest: 7. Who shall offer it before the LORD, and make an atonement for her; and she shall be cleansed from the issue of her blood. This is the law for her that hath born a male or a female. 8. And if she be not able to bring a lamb, then she shall bring two turtles, or two young pigeons; the one for the burnt offering, and the other for a sin offering: and the priest shall make an atonement for her, and she shall be clean.

Asked of Guide

Why does the mother remain 'unclean' after childbirth and need offerings?

Leviticus records a ritual status: after bearing a son she is “unclean seven days” and continues “in the blood of her purifying three and thirty days,” during which she must avoid holy things and the sanctuary. The law treats childbirth as a time requiring separation and then restoration through prescribed offerings so the community’s cultic life is preserved and the mother is ritually reintegrated.

Verse 6–7 requires a burnt offering and a sin offering so “the priest shall make an atonement for her, and she shall be cleansed,” tying physical recovery to priestly action. This chapter connects to Numbers’ and Ezekiel’s purity laws, which likewise locate holiness in regulated boundaries and priestly mediation.

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