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Texts -- Leviticus 12:4-8 (NET)

Context
12:4 Then she will remain thirty-three days in blood purity . She must not touch anything holy and she must not enter the sanctuary until the days of her purification are fulfilled . 12:5 If she bears a female child, she will be impure fourteen days as during her menstrual flow , and she will remain sixty-six days in blood purity . 12:6 “‘When the days of her purification are completed for a son or for a daughter , she must bring a one year old 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 . 12:7 The priest is to present it before the Lord and make atonement on her behalf, and she will be clean from her flow of blood . This is the law of the one who bears a child, for the male or the female child. 12:8 If she cannot afford a sheep , 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 .’”

Pericope

NET
  • Lev 12:1-8 -- Purification of a Woman after Childbirth

Bible Dictionary

  • Children

    [smith] The blessing of offspring, but especially of the male sex, is highly valued among all eastern nations, while a the absence is regarded as one of the severest punishments. (Genesis 16:2; 7:14; 1 Samuel 1:6; 2 Samuel 6:23...
    [nave] CHILDREN In answer to prayer: To Abraham, Gen. 15:2-5, with Gen. 21:1, 2; Isaac, Gen. 25:21; Leah, Gen. 30:17-22; Rachel, Gen. 30:22-24; Haah, 1 Sam. 1:9-20; Zacharias, Luke 1:13. Treatment of, at birth, Ezek. 16:4-6; Luke ...

  • CLEANSE

    [isbe] CLEANSE - klenz: "Make clean," "purify" being a frequent rendering of the original. It is found often (American Revised Version) instead of "purge," "purify" (the King James Version), renders nearly the same roots, and has t...

  • Israel

    [nave] ISRAEL 1. A name given to Jacob, Gen. 32:24-32; 2 Kin. 17:34; Hos. 12:3, 4. 2. A name of the Christ in prophecy, Isa. 49:3. 3. A name given to the descendants of Jacob, a nation. Called also Israelites, and Hebrews, Gen. 4...

  • Defilement

    [nave] DEFILEMENT Laws relating to, Lev. 7:18-21; 11:43; 22:2-7. Caused by leprosy, Lev. 13:3, 44-46; 14; 22:4-7; gonorrhea, Lev. 15:1-15; 22:4; copulation, Lev. 15:17; emission of semen, Lev. 15:16, 17; childbirth, Lev. 12:2-8; L...

  • Ablution

    [ebd] or washing, was practised, (1.) When a person was initiated into a higher state: e.g., when Aaron and his sons were set apart to the priest's office, they were washed with water previous to their investiture with the priestl...

  • LAW IN THE NEW TESTAMENT

    [isbe] LAW IN THE NEW TESTAMENT - lo The Term "Law" Austin's Definition of Law I. LAW IN THE GOSPELS 1. The Law in the Teaching of Christ (1) Authority of the Law Upheld in the Sermon on the Mount (a) Christ and Tradition (b) Sin o...

  • JOSEPH, HUSBAND OF MARY

    [isbe] JOSEPH, HUSBAND OF MARY - 1. References in New Testament: (For etymology, etc., of Joseph, see JOSEPH): Joseph, the carpenter (Mt 13:55), was a "just man" (Mt 1:19 the King James Version), who belonged to Nazareth (Lk 2:4). ...

  • JESUS CHRIST, 4A

    [isbe] JESUS CHRIST, 4A - PART III. COURSE OF THE EARTHLY LIFE OF JESUS 1. Divisions of the History: The wonderful story of the life of the world's Redeemer which we are now to endeavor to trace falls naturally into several divisio...

  • Clean

    [ebd] The various forms of uncleanness according to the Mosaic law are enumerated in Lev. 11-15; Num. 19. The division of animals into clean and unclean was probably founded on the practice of sacrifice. It existed before the Floo...

  • Birth

    [ebd] As soon as a child was born it was washed, and rubbed with salt (Ezek. 16:4), and then swathed with bandages (Job 38:9; Luke 2:7, 12). A Hebrew mother remained forty days in seclusion after the birth of a son, and after the ...

  • Women

    [nave] WOMEN Creation of, Gen. 1:27; 2:21, 22. Named, Gen. 2:23. Fall of, and curse upon, Gen. 3:1-16; 2 Cor. 11:3; 1 Tim. 2:14. Promise to, Gen. 3:15. Had separate apartments in dwellings, Gen. 24:67; 31:33; Esth. 2:9, 11. Ve...

  • Purification

    [smith] in its legal and technical sense, is applied to the ritual observances whereby an Israelite was formally absolved from the taint of uncleanness. The essence of purification, in all eases, consisted in the use of water, whethe...
    [nave] PURIFICATION, sanitary and symbolical. For women before marriage, Esth. 2:12; after childbirth, Lev. 12:6-8; Luke 2:22; after menstruation, Lev. 15:19-33; 2 Sam. 11:4. Of the Jews before the passover, John 11:55. For those ...

  • Atonement

    [isbe] ATONEMENT - a-ton'-ment: Translates kaphar; chaTa'; ratsah, the last employed only of human relations (1 Sam 29:4); translates the following Greek stems hilas-, simple and compounded with various prepositions; allag- in comp...
    [nave] ATONEMENT For tabernacle and furniture, Lev. 16:15-20, 33. In consecration of the Levites, Num. 8:21. For those defiled by the dead, Num. 6:11. Made for houses, Lev. 14:53. For sin, see below. By meat offerings, Lev. 5:...

  • Offerings

    [nave] OFFERINGS Offered at the door of the tabernacle, Lev. 1:3; 3:2; 17:4, 8, 9; of the temple, 2 Chr. 7:12; 1 Kin. 8:62; 12:27. All animal sacrifices must be eight days old or over, Lev. 22:27. Must be salted, Lev. 2:13; Ezek....

  • SACRIFICE, IN THE OLD TESTAMENT, 2

    [isbe] SACRIFICE, IN THE OLD TESTAMENT, 2 - V. The Mosaic Sacrificial System. 1. The Covenant Sacrifice: The fundamental function of Moses' work was to establish the covenant between Israel and God. This important transaction took ...

  • Pigeon

    [ebd] Pigeons are mentioned as among the offerings which, by divine appointment, Abram presented unto the Lord (Gen. 15:9). They were afterwards enumerated among the sin-offerings (Lev. 1:14; 12:6), and the law provided that those...
    [isbe] PIGEON - pij'-un (yonah; peristera; Latin pipire): A bird of the family Columbidae. See DOVE. The Hebrew yonah seems to be translated either pigeon or dove, yet almost every reference made to these birds proves that there we...
    [nave] PIGEON, used as sacrifice, Gen. 15:9; Lev. 1:14; 5:7; 12:8; 14:22; Luke 2:24. See: Dove.

  • Sin-offering

    [ebd] (Heb. hattath), the law of, is given in detail in Lev. 4-6:13; 9:7-11, 22-24; 12:6-8; 15:2, 14, 25-30; 14:19, 31; Num. 6:10-14. On the day of Atonement it was made with special solemnity (Lev. 16:5, 11, 15). The blood was th...

  • Poor

    [isbe] POOR - poor ('ebhyon, dal, `ani, rush; ptochos): I. In the Old Testament. The poor have great prominence in the Bible; it is said, indeed, that there should be no poor among the Hebrews because Yahweh should so greatly bless...
    [nave] POOR Atonement money of, uniform with that of the rich, Ex. 30:15. Inexpensive offerings of the poor, Lev. 5:7; 12:8; 14:21, 22. See: Beneficence; Giving; Liberality; Orphans; Poverty; Widow. Also See: Rich; Riches. Uncl...

  • Dove, Turtledove

    [nave] DOVE, TURTLEDOVE Sent out from the ark by Noah, Gen. 8:8-11. Mourning of, Isa. 38:14; 59:11; Nah. 2:7. Domesticated, Isa. 60:8. Nests of, Jer. 48:28. Harmlessness of, typical of Christ's gentleness, Matt. 10:16. Sacrifi...

  • Sanitation

    [nave] SANITATION. Carcasses Lev. 5:2; Lev. 10:4, 5; Lev. 11:24-28, 31-40; Lev. 22:4, 6; Num. 9:6, 10; Num. 19:11-16; Num. 31:19; Deut. 21:22, 23 Childbirth Lev. 12:3; Ezek. 16:4 Circumcision See: Circumcision. Contagion Le...
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Resources/Books

Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

  • 8:1-5 When Moses wrote that God remembered someone (v. 1), he meant God extended mercy to him or her by delivering that person from death (here; 19:29) or from barrenness (30:22).311God's rescue of Noah foreshadows His delive...
  • "At first sight the book of Leviticus might appear to be a haphazard, even repetitious arrangement of enactments involving the future life in Canaan of the Israelite people. Closer examination will reveal, however, that quite...
  • Leviticus continues revelation concerning the second of three elements necessary for any nation to exist, namely, a people (Gen. 12:10--Exod. 19), their law (Exod. 20--Num. 10:10), and their land (Num. 10:11--Josh. 24).Leviti...
  • A change of subject matter indicates another major division in Leviticus. We move now from narrative to more legislation. These five chapters pick up the idea introduced in 10:10: ". . . make a distinction between the holy an...
  • "This chapter contains a selected list of creatures that divides each type of creature into various classes of purity. According to the final verse in the chapter, the decisive question was whether a class of animals was uncl...
  • We have here the same threefold division of animals that inhabit the land, sea, and air as the one that appears in the story of creation (Gen. 1:20-23)."It has long been recognized . . . that the order of the purity laws in L...
  • The laws of purification begun in this chapter connect in principle with the preceding ones that deal with unclean food and animals. The defilement dealt with in this group (chs. 12-15) proceeded from the human body. Pollutio...
  • This chapter concludes the regulations on uncleanness (chs. 11-15)."The uncleanness laws start with uncleanness that is permanent: that associated with various animals and food (ch. 11). Then they deal with the uncleanness of...
  • The sacrifices and offerings that Moses described thus far in the law were not sufficient to cleanse all the defilement that the sins of the people created. Much sinfulness still needed covering. Therefore God appointed a yea...
  • We learn from verse 1 that Moses received instructions regarding the Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur, immediately after the judgment of Nadab and Abihu (ch. 10). Consequently he must have inserted chapters 11-15 in the chronolog...
  • The preceding two chapters specify correct behavior. This one sets forth the punishments for disobedience. Chapters 18-19 already discussed most of the subjects dealt with in this chapter."The difference between the laws in t...
  • Genesis reveals how people can have a relationship with God. This comes through trust in God and obedience to Him. Faith is the key word in Genesis. God proves Himself faithful in this book.Exodus reveals that God is also sov...
  • Aharoni, Yohanan, and Michael Avi-Yonah. The Macmillan Bible Atlas. Revised ed. New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., 1977.Albright, William Foxwell, The Archaeology of Palestine. 1949. Revised ed. Pelican Archaeology series. H...
  • "Scenes 3 [vv. 19-20] and 4 [vv. 21-28a] are a pair, not unlike the pairing of 1 [vv. 3-8] and 2 [vv. 9-19]. They are the two scenes of resolution. . . . These two scenes are concerned not with the birth, but with Hannah comi...
  • 2:1-2 When did the Magi visit Jesus in Bethlehem?74There are several factors that point to a time about a year after Jesus' birth. First, Matthew described Jesus as a "child"(Gr. paidion, v. 11), not an "infant"(Gr. brephos, ...
  • The emphasis in this section is Simeon's prediction of Jesus' ministry (cf. 1:67-79). He pointed out the universal extent of the salvation that Jesus would bring and the rejection that He would experience.2:22-24 Under Mosaic...
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