Leviticus 12:6-8
6 “‘When ▼▼tn Heb “And when” (so KJV, NASB). Many recent English versions leave the conjunction untranslated.
the days of her purification are completed for a son or for a daughter, she must bring a one-year-old lamb ▼▼tn Heb “a lamb the son of his year”; KJV “a lamb of the first year” (NRSV “in its first year”); NAB “a yearling lamb.”
for a burnt offering ▼ and a young pigeon or turtledove for a sin offering ▼ to the entrance of the Meeting Tent, to the priest. 7The priest ▼ is to present it before the Lord and make atonement ▼▼sn See the note on Lev 1:4 “make atonement.” The purpose of sin offering “atonement,” in particular, was to purge impurities from the tabernacle (see Lev 15:31 and 16:5-19, 29-34), whether they were caused by physical uncleannesses or by sins and iniquities. In this case, the woman has not “sinned” morally by having a child. Even Mary brought such offerings for giving birth to Jesus (Luke 2:22-24), though she certainly did not “sin” in giving birth to him. Note that the result of bringing this “sin offering” was “she will be clean,” not “she will be forgiven” (cf. Lev 4:20, 26, 31, 35; 5:10, 13). The impurity of the blood flow has caused the need for this “sin offering,” not some moral or relational infringement of the law (contrast Lev 4:2, “When a person sins by straying unintentionally from any of the commandments of the Lord”).
on her behalf, and she will be clean ▼▼tn Or “she will be[come] pure.”
from her flow of blood. ▼▼tn Heb “from her source [i.e., spring] of blood,” possibly referring to the female genital area, not just the “flow of blood” itself (as suggested by J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:761). Cf. ASV “from the fountain of her blood.”
This is the law of the one who bears a child, for the male or the female child. 8If she cannot afford a sheep, ▼▼tn Heb “If her hand cannot find the sufficiency of a sheep.” Many English versions render this as “lamb.”
then she must take two turtledoves or two young pigeons, ▼ one for a burnt offering and one for a sin offering, and the priest is to make atonement on her behalf, and she will be clean.’” ▼▼tn Or “she will be[come] pure.”
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