Leviticus 12:1-8
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 firsta 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.
Leviticus
*Worship the *LORD in the Beauty of *Holiness
Leviticus
Gordon Churchyard
This commentary has been through Advanced Checking.Words in boxes are from the Bible, except for the words in brackets (…).
Chapter 12
The birth of children to a woman
v1 The *LORD said (this) to Moses.
v2 ‘Tell (this) to the *Israelites. A woman may become *pregnant and then give birth to a son. She will be *unclean for 7 days. This will be as it is during her monthly *period.
v3 On the 8th day, they must *circumcise the boy.
v4 Then the woman must wait 33 days to become *clean after she bled. She must not touch anything that is sacred. She must not go to the *LORD’s house until she is *clean again.
v5 If she gives birth to a daughter, (the woman) will be *unclean for 2 weeks. This will be as it is during her monthly *period. After this, she must wait 66 more days to become *clean after she bled.
v6 At the end of the days for her to become *clean again, she must do this. Whether the baby is a boy or a girl, the woman must go to the entrance of the *meeting tent. She must bring to the priest there a *lamb that is one year old. This is for a *whole offering. (She must also bring) a young *pigeon or a *dove for a *sin offering.
v7 (The priest) must offer them to the *LORD to make *atonement for her. Then she will be *clean after she bled. These are the rules for a woman that has a baby boy or a baby girl.
v8 If she cannot afford a *lamb, she must bring two *doves or two young *pigeons. One will be for a *whole offering, and the other one will be for a *sin offering. So the priest will make *atonement for her and she will be *clean.
Notes
Verse 2 Bible students do not agree why a woman is *unclean after the birth of her baby. There are two main explanations:
The woman is *unclean because she bled during the birth. She is also *unclean each month during the period when she bleeds (15:19). So, she is *unclean because of the blood.
The woman is *unclean because of original *sin, which affects her baby too. See the explanation of original *sin in the notes at the start of chapter 4. Because of the birth of her baby, *sin continues in the world. Of course, the birth of her baby should be good news. But the fact that *sin affects even her new baby is very sad.
The birth of a baby is an important occasion. Because the woman became *unclean then, she would become especially aware of *holiness. And she would think about how God wants her to bring up her new child. As the mother, she had a special responsibility to teach that child about God.
Verse 3 People *circumcise a boy when they cut a small piece of skin from the end of his *penis. That is, the part of the body that only boys and men have. The *Jews do this because of the promises that God gave to Abraham (Genesis chapter 17). It is a way to say that they believe God’s promises. However, many people do it because of tradition, not because they believe.
Verse 4 The woman can become *clean after 40 days (that is, 7 + 33). 40 is an important number in the Bible. ‘Sacred’ means that it has a connection with her religion. In order to become *clean, the woman must first offer the *sacrifices in verses 6 to 8.
Verse 5 We do not know why there is a longer period for a girl. Perhaps it is because both the father and the mother used to teach a boy. But the mother alone used to teach a girl.
Verse 6 A *lamb is a young sheep. *Pigeons and *doves are birds that behave in a gentle manner. People often keep them at home.
Verse 7 ‘*Atonement’ means that the woman was ‘at one’ or united as friends with God. So afterwards, she could go near to God’s house. And she could *worship with God’s people.
Something to do
1. Study these verses that have the number 40 in them.
1 Samuel 17:16
1 Kings 19:8
In all these verses, something new happened after 40 days!
2. Read Luke 2:22-24. Mary and Joseph could not afford a *lamb.
worship ~ to praise someone (usually God). You tell him that you believe him to be very, very great. Also, you love him and you will obey him.
LORD ~ a special name for God. In the Hebrew Bible it translates YHWH. YHWH probably means ‘he is always alive’. So the word LORD (which means ‘master’) is not a proper translation.
Hebrew ~ the language that the Jews spoke.
Jews ~ another word for the Israelites.
Israelites ~ the LORD’s people whom Moses led out of Egypt. Afterwards, they lived in the countries called Judah and Israel.
Judah ~ the name of the southern part of the country where the Jews went to live.
Israel ~ the name of the country where the Jews went to live, especially the northern part of that country.
holiness ~ the quality of somebody who is holy, or very, very good.
holy ~ very, very good; only God is really holy. Or, a description of something that belongs to God.
Israelites ~ the LORD’s people whom Moses led out of Egypt. Afterwards, they lived in the countries called Judah and Israel.
LORD ~ a special name for God. In the Hebrew Bible it translates YHWH. YHWH probably means ‘he is always alive’. So the word LORD (which means ‘master’) is not a proper translation.
Judah ~ the name of the southern part of the country where the Jews went to live.
Israel ~ the name of the country where the Jews went to live, especially the northern part of that country.
Hebrew ~ the language that the Jews spoke.
Jews ~ another word for the Israelites.
pregnant ~ a woman’s state during the 9 months before her baby is born.
unclean ~ unsuitable for God or for God’s people. When someone was unclean, that person was unable to worship at God’s house.
worship ~ to praise someone (usually God). You tell him that you believe him to be very, very great. Also, you love him and you will obey him.
period ~ when women lose blood once a month.
circumcise ~ to cut a small piece of skin off the end of a boy’s penis.
penis ~ a part of the body that only males have.
clean ~ suitable for God or for God’s people. A clean person could go to God’s house to worship him.
worship ~ to praise someone (usually God). You tell him that you believe him to be very, very great. Also, you love him and you will obey him.
'meeting tent ~ the special tent where God met with Moses. The priests could enter it to worship; they burnt sacrifices on the altar in front of it.worship ~ to praise someone (usually God). You tell him that you believe him to be very, very great. Also, you love him and you will obey him.
sacrifice ~ something that people burned on an altar for God; or to burn on an altar for God. People also gave sacrifices to false gods.
altar ~ a special table where the priests burned incense, grain and animals.
incense ~ a material that gives a good smell when people burn it.
lamb ~ a young sheep.'whole offering ~ an offering that the priests burned completely on the altar. See the explanation in the note called ‘The 5 sacrifices’ near the beginning of this commentary.
offering ~ gift.
altar ~ a special table where the priests burned incense, grain and animals.
sacrifice ~ something that people burned on an altar for God; or to burn on an altar for God. People also gave sacrifices to false gods.
incense ~ a material that gives a good smell when people burn it.
pigeon ~ a type of bird which has a gentle character.
dove ~ a type of bird that has a gentle character.
sin ~ to do wrong things; not to obey God’s rules. Or, the things we do when we sin. Evil thoughts, words and deeds are all sin, whether we do them on purpose or not.
atonement ~ another word for what happens when God forgives us. After God forgives us, we are ‘at one’ with him. In other words, we are united as friends (or have friendly relations) with him.
holiness ~ the quality of somebody who is holy, or very, very good.
holy ~ very, very good; only God is really holy. Or, a description of something that belongs to God.
penis ~ a part of the body that only males have.
Jews ~ another word for the Israelites.
Israelites ~ the LORD’s people whom Moses led out of Egypt. Afterwards, they lived in the countries called Judah and Israel.
LORD ~ a special name for God. In the Hebrew Bible it translates YHWH. YHWH probably means ‘he is always alive’. So the word LORD (which means ‘master’) is not a proper translation.
Judah ~ the name of the southern part of the country where the Jews went to live.
Israel ~ the name of the country where the Jews went to live, especially the northern part of that country.
Hebrew ~ the language that the Jews spoke.
sacrifice ~ something that people burned on an altar for God; or to burn on an altar for God. People also gave sacrifices to false gods.
altar ~ a special table where the priests burned incense, grain and animals.
incense ~ a material that gives a good smell when people burn it.
pigeon ~ a type of bird which has a gentle character.
atonement ~ another word for what happens when God forgives us. After God forgives us, we are ‘at one’ with him. In other words, we are united as friends (or have friendly relations) with him.
worship ~ to praise someone (usually God). You tell him that you believe him to be very, very great. Also, you love him and you will obey him.