Tredje MosebokenKapitel 12

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The LORD said to Moses:

Say to the Israelites: When a woman conceives and gives birth to a son, she is unclean for seven days, just as she is unclean during her monthly period.

On the eighth day the boy's foreskin is to be circumcised.

Then she must wait thirty-three days to be purified from her bleeding. She must not touch anything holy or enter the sanctuary until the days of her purification are complete.

If she gives birth to a daughter, she is unclean for two weeks, as during her period, and she must wait sixty-six days to be purified from her bleeding.

When the days of her purification are complete, whether for a son or a daughter, she is to bring to the priest at the entrance to the tent of meeting a year-old lamb for a burnt offering and a young pigeon or a turtledove for a sin offering.

The priest shall present it before the LORD and make atonement for her, and she will be clean from her flow of blood. This is the law for the woman who gives birth to a boy or a girl.

If she cannot afford a lamb, she is to bring two doves or two young pigeons, one for a burnt offering and the other for a sin offering. The priest shall make atonement for her, and she will be clean.

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Kapitel 12

Main Theme: Ritual purity laws for women after childbirth.

Content: When a woman gives birth to a boy, she is unclean for seven days, and the boy shall be circumcised on the eighth day. This is followed by a 33-day period of purification. In the case of giving birth to a girl, the period of uncleanness lasts 14 days, followed by 66 days. After the purification period, the woman must bring a one-year-old lamb as a burnt offering and a young pigeon or turtledove as a sin offering to the priest at the tent of meeting; if she cannot afford a lamb, she may offer two turtledoves or two young pigeons.

Key Terms/Images:

Uncleanness (טָמְאָה): A ritual state requiring separation and time before restoration.
Purification Period (דְּמֵי טָהֳרָה): The period during which the woman may not touch holy things or enter the sanctuary.
Circumcision (יִמּוֹל): The covenant sign performed on male infants on the eighth day.
Sin Offering and Burnt Offering: Sacrifices that bring atonement and restore full ritual purity.

Historisk kontext

Historical and Cultural Context for Leviticus 12

Events and Customs

This chapter deals with purity laws and purification rituals following childbirth, a practice widespread throughout the ancient Near East. The Israelite state of ritual impurity after birth was connected to blood discharge, not to viewing childbirth itself as sinful.

The period of impurity lasting seven days for a boy (followed by thirty-three days in the blood of purification) and fourteen days for a girl (followed by sixty-six days in the blood of purification) has parallels in other cultures. Hittite and Mesopotamian texts show similar purity regulations for women after childbirth, with varying time periods. The difference in duration between male and female infants (twice as long for girls) has been the subject of much discussion among scholars, without any single explanation achieving broad consensus.

Key Terms

תַזְרִיעַ (tazria) – "she conceives" or "she becomes pregnant" (literally: "she sows seed") – a verbal expression describing the woman's conception.

נִדָּה (niddah) – often translated as "menstrual impurity" or "separation period." The term refers to a state of ritual impurity connected with blood discharge, not moral uncleanness. The woman was not "sinful," but temporarily excluded from contact with the sanctuary.

דְּמֵי טָהֳרָה (demei tohorah) – "the blood of purification" – a special category describing the period after the initial unclean days. During this phase, the woman was not fully impure, yet still excluded from the sanctuary.

כִּפֶּר (kipper) – "atone" or "make atonement" – describes the priest's action that restores the woman's full access to the sanctuary.

Chapter-Specific Findings

Luke 2:22–24 in the New Testament refers directly to these laws when Mary and Joseph bring Jesus to the temple. The text mentions that they offered "a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons," indicating that they made use of the provision for those who were poor found in verse 8. This shows that the laws in Leviticus 12 were still being practiced in the first century C.E. and provides a glimpse into the social context of Jesus' family.

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Cleansing — The process of getting rid of impurities, both physical and spiritual, according to religious regulations.
Woman after childbirth — A woman who has recently given birth and is in a period of recovery and ritual purity.
Uncleanness — A state of being spiritually or ritually unclean according to religious laws and regulations.
Offering — A gift or act given to God as a form of worship, gratitude, or atonement for sins.
Sin offering — An offering given to make atonement for sins and receive forgiveness from God.
Burnt offering — An offering in which something, usually an animal, is burned on an altar as a holy act and a gift to God.
Priest — A person authorized to perform religious ceremonies and functions on behalf of God and people.