Leviticus 12

Laws of Motherhood

1 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

2 "Speak to the sons of Israel, saying: 'When a woman gives birth and bears a male child, then she shall be unclean for seven days, ¹ as in the days of her menstruation * she shall be unclean.

3 'On ²the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised.

4 'Then she shall remain in the blood of her purification for thirty-three * days; she shall not touch any consecrated thing, nor enter the sanctuary until the days of her purification are completed.

5 'But if she bears a female child, then she shall be unclean for two weeks, as in her menstruation; and she shall remain in the blood of her purification for sixty-six days.

6 '³When the days of her purification are completed, for a son or for a daughter, she shall bring to the priest at the doorway of the tent of meeting a one year old lamb for a burnt offering and a young pigeon or a turtledove ⁴for a sin offering.

7 'Then he shall offer it before the LORD and make atonement for her, and she shall be cleansed from the flow of her blood. This is the law for her who bears a child, whether a male or a female.

8 'But if she cannot afford * a lamb, then she shall take ⁵two turtledoves or two young pigeons, ⁶the one for a burnt offering and the other for a sin offering; and the ⁷priest shall make atonement for her, and she will be clean.' "

Leviticus 12 Commentary

Chapter 12

Ceremonial purification.

- After the laws concerning clean and unclean food, come the laws concerning clean and unclean persons. Man imparts his depraved nature to his offspring, so that, excepting as the atonement of Christ and the sanctification of the Spirit prevent, the original blessing, "Increase and multiply," Ge. 1:28 , is become to the fallen race a direful curse, and communicates sin and misery. Let those women who have received mercy from God in child-bearing, with all thankfulness own God's goodness to them; and this shall please the Lord better than sacrifices.

Cross References

• 1. Leviticus 15:19; Leviticus 18:19
• 2. Genesis 17:12; Luke 1:59; Luke 2:21
• 3. Luke 2:22
• 4. Leviticus 5:7
• 5. Luke 2:22-24
• 6. Leviticus 5:7
• 7. Leviticus 4:26

Footnotes

• [a]. Lit "produces seed"
• [b]. Lit "the impurity of her sickness"
• [c]. Lit "impurity"
• [d]. Lit "fountain"
• [e]. Lit "her hand does not find a sufficiency of a lamb"

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO LEVITICUS 12

This chapter treats of the purification of a new mother, the time of whose purification for a man child was forty days, and for a maid child eighty, Le 12:1-5 at the close of which she was to bring her offerings to the priests, to make atonement for her, Le 12:6-8.