The Torah · Old Testament
Leviticus 12
Purification after childbirth
General context
The Lord gives Moses instructions for a woman after childbirth. After a son is born, she is unclean for seven days, the boy is circumcised on the eighth day, and she continues in purification for thirty-three days. During her purification she is not to touch holy things or enter the sanctuary. After a daughter is born, the stated periods are two weeks and sixty-six days. At the end she brings a year-old lamb for a burnt offering and a pigeon or turtledove for a sin offering. If she cannot afford the lamb, two turtledoves or two pigeons are permitted. The priest makes atonement, and she is clean.
Cited passages: Leviticus 12:1, Leviticus 12:2, Leviticus 12:3, Leviticus 12:4, Leviticus 12:5, Leviticus 12:6, Leviticus 12:7, Leviticus 12:8
Leviticus 12 (KJV)
1And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
2Speak 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.
3And in the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised.
4And 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.
5But 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.
6And 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:
7Who 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.
8And 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.
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Historical context
The rules concern purification after childbirth and access to holy things and the sanctuary. The text gives different periods after the birth of a son or a daughter but does not explain why they differ. It prescribes a sin offering without narrating a moral offense committed by the mother in giving birth. The KJV's 'two turtles' in verse 8 means turtledoves, as the ASV makes explicit. The alternative offering depends on the woman's means.
Cited passages: Leviticus 12:2, Leviticus 12:3, Leviticus 12:4, Leviticus 12:5, Leviticus 12:6, Leviticus 12:7, Leviticus 12:8
Literary context
Two birth cases lead to the same instructions for offerings and priestly atonement. The chapter closes with an accommodation for someone unable to bring a lamb. Its movement is from a defined period of uncleanness and restricted access to purification and a declaration of cleanness.
Cited passages: Leviticus 12:2, Leviticus 12:3, Leviticus 12:4, Leviticus 12:5, Leviticus 12:6, Leviticus 12:7, Leviticus 12:8
Key moments
- Circumcision on the eighth day (Leviticus 12:3). The instruction places the son's circumcision on the eighth day.
- Offerings when purification is complete (Leviticus 12:6). The woman brings a burnt offering and a sin offering to the priest at the tabernacle entrance.
- An alternative for limited means (Leviticus 12:8). Two turtledoves or two pigeons replace the lamb and bird when she cannot afford a lamb.
For reflection
What does the chapter specify about purification, and which questions about the different periods does it leave unanswered?
