Luke 2:22

The days of their purification (ai hmerai tou kaqarismou autwn). The old manuscripts have "their" (autwn) instead of "her" (auth) of the later documents. But it is not clear whether "their" refers to Mary and Joseph as is true of "they brought" or to Mary and the child. The mother was Levitically unclean for forty days after the birth of a son ( Leviticus 12:1-8 ). To present him to the Lord (parasthsai twi Kuriwi). Every first-born son was thus redeemed by the sacrifice ( Exodus 13:2-12 ) as a memorial of the sparing of the Israelitish families ( Numbers 18:15 ). The cost was about two dollars and a half in our money.