Leviticus 12 – God’s Grace For Being A Woman And A Mom

Translation & Sermon by Nate Wilson for Christ The Redeemer Church, Manhattan, KS 26 June 2016

Intro

· The newspaper in Wichita recently ran a full-page ad proclaiming, “...it’s clear that the Bible shows an utter disregard for human life.” This was capped by a photo of Margaret Sanger, a modern pro-abortion activist, and a quote from her, “No woman can call herself free who does not own and control her body... No gods – No masters.” It was sponsored by the Freedom FROM Religion Foundation.

· This is a wake-up call to the war upon Christian virtue that is being waged around us. Christians must push back and offer the truth of God’s word in every area of life – especially the area of women’s issues.

· The passage today is about women’s issues. Maybe you haven’t heard any sermons about childbirth, but it is a vitally-important topic for us as human beings, so it’s important that we as Christians not shy away from it.

Exegesis

1 Now Yahweh spoke to Moses saying, 2 “Speak to the sons of Israel saying,

· This is God speaking. Remember that!

2b ‘A woman who conceives and gives birth to a boy will be unclean seven days, like the days she is unclean [during] the separation of her infirmity.

· The first chapter of Genesis tells us that God made human beings in two genders: male and female, and that He created both together in His image[1]. There is something about both genders which reflects what God is like, therefore both men and women are valuable, both show forth the image of God in different ways, and when God was done making man and woman He pronounced them not just “good” (like He did the rest of creation), but “very good” (Gen. 1:31).

· The first point of a Biblical view of womanhood is that God made women, and there is nothing substandard or inferior in her design – nothing bad or even second-rate about women. Any man who thinks otherwise is Satanically-inspired, no matter how superior a Christian he thinks he is. Women are not bad; women are not weak; women are not stupid; women are not gross – get those lies out of your head and believe that women are, as God says in Psalm 139, “fearfully and wonderfully made” and to be treated as a holy creation and reflection of God Himself.

· A second point in a Biblical view of womanhood is the roles, privileges, honors, protections, etc. of a woman who is united to a man in marriage. There is a whole array of teachings from Genesis through Revelation dealing with the issues surrounding the role of woman as wife or daughter, but Leviticus 12 does not really get into that, so I won’t go deep into that this morning.

· What Leviticus 12 does talk about is the role of a woman as child-bearer. Here is the third plank in a Biblical view of womanhood which it is absolutely crucial to get right. It is a point which many humanists are at war against – the reality that God made women with the absolutely amazing and wonderful ability to nurture offspring.

· Most of the things we recognize as differences between men and women have to do with her ability to gestate young:

o The womb of a mature woman fills each month with rich nutrients to nourish a new human being at the very beginning of its life, and then flushes out those nutrients for about seven days only to prepare once again to be able to nourish new life (this is what our Hebrew text refers to in v.2 as the “separation (or flowing out) of her infirmity.” This does not mean she is sick[2], by the way; it is just that when the cycle happens, there has not been a strong, healthy pregnancy, so her body purifies and tries again.

o Another thing we guys notice is her wide hips, through which that whole baby must go when it is ready to be born – another stunningly clever design by God (and it is about this time of birth to which Leviticus 12 refers)

o There’s also a woman’s breasts which are designed in the most amazing way to provide the perfect dynamic nourishment to a newborn child.

o So many people ignore the patently-obvious truth about these design features of women; women were made to nurture children! Sure these design features may have other functions, but anyone who fails to appreciate the truth that these features were God’s design to enable women to bear children is perverse and seeking to bend God’s design according to a will other than God’s.

o As the people of God who are stepping out of rebellion against God’s design, it should be our joy to embrace what God has designed us for physically – marriage and childbearing.

o These are good things in God’s eyes:

§ Malachi 2:15 “Did he not make them one, with a portion of the Spirit in their union? And what was the one God seeking? Godly offspring. So guard yourselves in your spirit, and let none of you be faithless to the wife of your youth.” (ESV) What is God seeking? Godly offspring! So don’t be faithless, have kids!

§ God commanded it from the very beginning: Genesis 1:28 “And God blessed them. And God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it...’” Having children is a blessing AND it is a command! When we obey God and have children we are blessed! How awesome is that?!

· Because God made women with this holy and wonderful functionality, God talks about it in His word, and it is right and good for us to also consider it, as long as we treat this creation of His with the sacredness it deserves.

o Husbands, when she hits those seven days in her monthly cycle, and also when you come to the days following childbirth, show honor to her for this wonderful design that God has given uniquely to your wife; don’t ever despise or disparage her for it. God made her body to operate this way, so give God the respect He deserves by accepting His design as good.

o Ladies, on the days when you feel yucky, praise Him for how He created you, and don’t allow the evil one to smuggle thoughts into your head that you are somehow despicable because of how you feel. You are fearfully and wonderfully made. Believe it with all your heart!

· Leviticus 12 refers to the aftermath of childbirth, where there’s a lot of amazing things going on in a woman’s body as well as the neonate’s body, but the uncleanness of bleeding is what God focuses on here.

o There is a videotaped lecture that my wife and I like to share with our childbirth education classes. It is delivered by Dr. David Menton, at the time, associate professor of anatomy at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. He describes the cause of some of the initial bleeding in the final stage of delivering a child: “When that placenta unplugs, approximately 20 good-sized arteries, virtually truncated at their ends, are now open to... spray blood at approximately a half quart per minute. You think this is bad? You haven’t heard the whole story yet! There is a mechanism in the placenta that suppresses blood clotting. Now, get the picture. A hemophiliac [someone who can’t clot his blood] with 20 severed arteries releasing blood at a little over half a quart a minute. Anybody see a problem here? How on earth does anyone survive this? People have said that this is the biggest wound that any human being gets and lives to tell the story.... How bleeding to death is prevented is so amazing! When the blood vessel breaks apart – part goes with the placenta, part stays with the uterus – there is a little muscular sphincter like a string on a purse that – oh, fortunately – is on the side of the break towards the uterus. It squeezes suddenly and pinches off the blood, sort of like a surgeon would use a hemostat to pinch a blood vessel. It all closes down so that under normal delivery, you may loose a [scant] cup of blood or something like that. Is this not amazing? Absolutely incredible! Flat-out miracle.”

o Now there is much more that goes on following the birth of a child, and one thing that Lev. 12 teaches us is that we need to take special care of a woman who has just had a child.

o In the childbirth studies that my wife and I have pursued over the decades, we have run into a curious and destructive myth which seems to keep coming up, and that is the myth of the native woman, the “real” woman, the Amazon woman who can work a man’s job, even while pregnant, then stop for a few minutes to deliver a baby, put the baby in a basket and get right back to work. That is a perverse myth which women themselves seem to perpetuate. It holds up a ridiculously impossible standard to measure up to, and therefore makes normal women feel inadequate.

o What should be normal is that the new mother gets a week or two of bed-rest! That’s what Leviticus 12 says, in effect.

§ She needs that time for her and the new baby to get used to nursing,

§ for her body to heal up after all the trauma of giving birth,

§ for the hormones to stabilize past the postpartum euphoria and subsequent depression that many women experience.

§ The more she has to be up and around on her feet the longer it is going to take to heal all up.

· What is the application for Christians today?

o First, remember that laws like this are not there to show you how to earn God’s favor. As the Apostle Paul put it in the book of Romans (3:20-22) “For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his [God’s] sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law... the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe.” (ESV) It is only through trusting in Jesus Christ to save you that you will be made right.

o But this law does demonstrate the righteousness and goodness of God. It tells us that God understands the unique design and needs of women, and He cares enough to give them instructions in good hygiene regarding bleeding, and He cares enough to give them time to sit apart from the rat-race of everyday life and recover after having a baby – or a miscarriage. A woman has to go through the pains of childbirth and recovery for a miscarriage too, only there is no baby to hold as a reward, and that is the hardest of all.

o And husbands can take our cues from God and care for our women, protect them from having to do too much work after this, and nurture and cherish them!

· Now, the next component of this law has to do with the baby. If it’s a boy, then once the bleeding that causes uncleanness has subsided, a symbol of his relationship with God is applied to him – a symbol that also points to how God saves us from our sin.

3 Then during the eighth day, the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised.

· This is talking about cutting of a piece of skin that all boys are born with, but which can be removed without any real harm.

· This ceremony was first commanded by God to Abraham in Genesis 17:10-13 “This is my covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your offspring after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised... it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you. He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised. Every male throughout your generations, whether born in your house or bought with your money from any foreigner who is not of your offspring... So shall my covenant be in your flesh an everlasting covenant.” (ESV, cf. Acts 7:8)

· The cutting off of a piece of flesh symbolized that even at 8 days old, a child had a sin nature for which death was the punishment, but although he bled and part of him was put to death by the surgery, his life was spared by God’s grace, and that part of him that once was covered by flesh was no longer obscured by flesh.

· John Calvin, in his commentary made the point that “because the whole race of Adam is polluted and defiled... the woman contracts uncleanness from the offspring which she bears... The mother would not be unclean if the children were pure...[3]”

· Where did he get his sin nature? From his parents, and they from theirs all the way back to Adam and Eve. Matthew Henry’s comment on this was: “But this ceremonial uncleanness which the law laid women in child-bed under was to signify the pollution of sin which we are all conceived and born in, Psa_51:5. For, if the root be impure, so is the branch... And the exclusion of the woman for so many days from the sanctuary, and all participation of the holy things, signified that our original corruption (that sinning sin which we brought into the world with us) would have excluded us for ever from the enjoyment of God and his favours if he had not graciously provided for our purifying.”

· Geerhardus Vos, in his Biblical Theology explains, “[C]ircumcision has something to do with the process of propagation... It is not the act but the product, that is, human nature, which is unclean and stands in need of purification... Hence circumcision is not, as among pagans, applied to grown-up men, but to infants... [in paganism, circumcision is generally used as an initiation into manhood, but God used it to mean something different, that all humankind is ungodly.] The uncleanness and disqualification of nature must be taken away. Dogmatically speaking, therefore, circumcision stands for justification and regeneration plus sanctification.”

· God’s word makes it clear, that the physical surgery was not the main point, rather, the spiritual realities which it symbolized were the main point:

o Deuteronomy 10:15-16 ESV “Yet the LORD set his heart in love on your fathers and chose their offspring after them... Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no longer stubborn.” Circumcision was about not having a stubborn, rebellious, fleshly-oriented heart towards God.

o Later on we see the same concept in the prophets that circumcision symbolized turning toward God and away from idols: Jeremiah 4:1-4 ESV “...O Israel, declares the LORD, to me you should return... remove your detestable things from my presence... Circumcise yourselves to the LORD”

o And the Apostles confirm it: Romans 2:28-29 ESV “For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter...”

o Jesus fulfilled all of the law, so we read in Luke 2:21-24 ESV And at the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb. And when the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the Law of the Lord... and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the Law of the Lord, "a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons."

o But Jesus’ perfect fulfillment of the law and the shedding on His blood on the cross forever abolished the need for 8-day-old boys to bleed anymore. Jesus instituted a “new and living way” (Heb. 10:20).

o Colossians 2:11-13 ESV “In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead. And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses...”

o 1 Corinthians 7:18-19 ESV “Was anyone at the time of his call already circumcised? Let him not seek to remove the marks of circumcision. Was anyone at the time of his call uncircumcised? Let him not seek circumcision. For neither circumcision counts for anything nor uncircumcision, but keeping the commandments of God.”

o Galatians 5:6 ESV “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.”

· So the application for us today is that we must recognize that even from birth our children have fleshly natures which are dead in sin, that they need to put off rebellion and turn to God and trust Christ to give them eternal life and save them.

o We recognize this formally in the church through infant dedications and infant baptisms which do not involve blood.

o But we act upon it on a day-to-day basis by praying for our children, preaching the gospel to our children, and teaching and training them in righteousness. Don’t wait until your child is old enough to argue with you; start when they are newborns!

· Now we go back to the mother and the extended postpartum time:

4 Thirty more days plus three days she shall sit in the blood of her purification; she must not come into contact with any holy thing, and she must not go to the sanctuary until the days of her purification are fulfilled.

· While is normal for it to take a while for the bleeding to taper off after some nine pounds of baby have been pushed right through the middle of her body, I think it is significant that this is not framed as something bad. It is called purification. The Hebrew word tahur is related to the same word in chapter 11 verse 32 which describes something that has become pure because it has been washed with water and dried. Women, do not think of yourselves as gross or unlovely, or disgusting; you are a special creation of God who is growing in purity!

· This time of confinement is actually a blessing.

o The Hebrew word is literally, “she should sit.” I don’t think that rules out lying down, but it does imply not being up on your feet much.

o Staying out of public places – even church services – can keep you and the new baby from getting everybody’s sicknesses. It’s o.k. to stay away from church for a few weeks with a new baby.

o Remaining scaled back from regular work and from travel gives you more opportunity to heal faster and more completely,

o and it gives you more opportunity to bond with that little baby and give him your full attention and show love like God loves us.

5 But if she gives birth to a girl, then she will be unclean for [two] weeks (like her separation), then sixty days plus six days she shall sit upon the blood of her purification,

· Nobody seems to know really why it’s 33 + 7 days for boys and 66 + 14 days for girls.

o The Bible doesn’t seem to explain it.

o It does seem that the bleeding after a birth often takes somewhat longer to heal after a girl than a boy, but I’m not aware of any medical reason for doubling the timeframe.

o John Calvin noted that, although there was the inconvenience of the extra time of confinement in the case of a daughter, there was, on the other hand the discomfort of the boy child’s circumcision that balanced that out.

o About the best explanation I’ve found was from Keil and Delitzsch that the numbers 40 and 80 must have had some symbolism about them that is lost on us.

6 and when the days of her purification are fulfilled for a son or for a daughter, she must bring a yearling lamb for a whole-burnt-offering and a young dove or pigeon for a sin-offering to the entrance of the Tent of Meeting to the priest. 7 Then he [the priest] shall offer it before the face of Yahweh and shall make atonement over her, and she shall be pure from the fountain of her blood. This is the instruction regarding the childbearing woman – for her boy or for her girl.

· God wants her back in His presence! He welcomes women and promises atonement for women’s offenses against Him just the same as He does for men!

· Women, do you realize that God wants you in church? He wants you here to worship Him! You are not some appendage that just provides nursery assistance while the guys worship God.

· Just as God called for women to offer sacrifices, so the women in the church have offerings of praise to give to Christ our high priest followed by affirmations of God’s acceptance, and confessions of sin (The Medieval rabbi Ibn Ezra said that the sin offering was to cover all the women who rashly vowed in the middle of the pains of child-birth to keep apart from their husband so as not to have to go through childbirth again!) but whatever the sin actually was, it was followed by affirmation of God’s cleansing from sin. The Gospel is for women just as much as it is for men, and women are just as welcome in God’s holy presence as men.

o Matthew Henry commented: “The morality of this law obliges those women that have received mercy from God in child-bearing with all thankfulness to own God's goodness to them, acknowledging themselves unworthy of it, and... to continue in faith, and charity, and holiness, with sobriety; for this shall please the Lord better than the turtle-doves or the young pigeons.”

· Women may have different sets of typical sins than men typically do, but God promises free and full forgiveness for the unique needs of women. He did in Moses’ day through the death of sacrificial animals, and He still offers forgiveness today to women through the death of Jesus Christ on the cross. (Galatians 3:26-28 ESV for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith... there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”)

· I know that little children can be distracting, and there are seasons of life where you are only going to catch the benefits of corporate worship in fits and snatches and may have to fight to tune in to what’s going on in worship, but, ladies, don’t ever fall victim to the lie that you are unwanted or unnecessary in worship. And fathers – and big brothers and sisters – do what you can to help Mama worship by helping care for the little kids that need attention during the worship service.

· Finally, the chapter closes with God showing consideration for special financial needs of women.

8 Now, if her means cannot find enough for a lamb, then let her take two pigeons or two young doves, one for a whole-burnt-offering, and one for a sin-offering. Then the priest will make atonement over her and she shall be pure.

· God’s accommodations for the poor are amazing. Can’t buy a lamb? No problem; just do the doves.

· How often we encounter women in the Bible who are living in impoverished situations!

· God sees and cares if you are broke. Don’t let yourself fall into the prison of self-pity by believing the lie that destitute people are not as important to God.

o Remember, it was the widow who had only pennies to give who really caught Jesus’ attention, not the wealthy men who made the big donations.

· Maybe your poverty is not financial. Maybe you are low on energy, marginal in health, or have no free time to spare. God still is considerate of you in your special circumstances of need, and if you are willing to humble yourself and give of yourself to Him, even if it feels like nothing, He will receive you as warmly as ever.

Conclusion

· R.J. Rushdoony, in his Institutes of Biblical Law, made the interesting point that both the Old Testament sign of circumcision and the Old Testament purification of women after parturition “witness... to the fact that man’s hope is not in generation but in regeneration... [T]he ritual of purification was the witness to covenant membership for the daughters. It was a reminder that covenant righteousness was of the grace of God, to mother and child, and that grace, not race or blood, is the fountainhead of salvation.”

Comparative translations of Leviticus 12

When a translation adds words not in the Hebrew text, but does not indicate it has done so by the use of italics (or greyed-out text), I put the added words in [square brackets]. When one version chooses a wording which is different from all the other translations, I underline it. When a version chooses a translation which, in my opinion, either departs too far from the root meaning of the Hebrew word or departs too far from the grammar form of the original Hebrew, I use ~~strikeout~~. And when a version omits a word which is in the Hebrew text, I insert an X. (Sometimes I will place the X at the end of a word if the original word is plural but the English translation is singular.) I have also tried to use colors to help the reader see correlations between the various editions and versions when there are more than two different translations of a given word. Curiously, there is no known Dead Sea Scroll containing Lev. 12!

LXX	KJV	NASB	NIV	NAW	MT
1 Καὶ ἐλάλησεν κύριος πρὸς Μωυσῆν λέγων	1 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,	1 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,	1 The LORD said to Moses,	1 Now Yahweh spoke to Moses saying,	12:1 וַיְדַבֵּר יְהוָה אֶל-מֹשֶׁה לֵּאמֹר:
2 Λάλησον τοῖς υἱοῖς Ισραηλ καὶ ἐρεῖς πρὸς αὐτούς Γυνή, ἥτις ἐὰν σπερματισθῇ καὶ τέκῃ ἄρσεν, καὶ ἀκάθαρτος ἔσται ἑπτὰ ἡμέρας, κατὰ τὰς ἡμέρας τοῦ χωρισμοῦ τῆς ἀφέδρου αὐτῆς ἀκάθαρτος ἔσται·	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.	2 "Speak to the sons of Israel, saying: 'When a woman ~~gives birth~~ and bears a male child, then she shall be unclean for seven days, as in the days of X X her ~~menstruation~~ she shall be unclean.	2 "Say to the Israelites: 'A woman who becomes pregnant and gives birth to a ~~son~~ will be ceremonially unclean for seven days, just as she is unclean [during] X X X her ~~monthly~~ X ~~period~~.	2 “Speak to the sons of Israel saying, ‘A woman who conceives and gives birth to a boy will be unclean seven days, like the days she is unclean [during] the separation of her infirmity.	12:2 דַּבֵּר אֶל-בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל לֵאמֹר אִשָּׁה כִּי תַזְרִיעַ^{^[a]} וְיָלְדָה זָכָר וְטָמְאָה שִׁבְעַת יָמִים כִּימֵי נִדַּת דְּוֹתָהּ^QN+3f תִּטְמָא:
3 καὶ τῇ ἡμέρᾳ τῇ ὀγδόῃ περιτεμεῖ τὴν σάρκα τῆς ἀκροβυστίας αὐτοῦ·	3 And in the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised.	3 'On the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised.	3 On the eighth day the X X ~~boy~~ X is to be circumcised.	3 Then during the eighth day, the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised^{^[b]}.	12:3 וּבַיּוֹם הַשְּׁמִינִי יִמּוֹל^{^[c]} בְּשַׂר עָרְלָתוֹ:
4 καὶ τριάκοντα ἡμέρας καὶ τρεῖς καθήσεται ἐν αἵματι ~~ἀκαθάρτῳ~~ αὐτῆς, παντὸς ἁγίου οὐχ ἅψεται καὶ εἰς τὸ ἁγιαστήριον οὐκ εἰσελεύσεται, ἕως ἂν πληρωθῶσιν αἱ ἡμέραι καθάρσεως αὐτῆς.	4 And she shall then continue in the blood of her purifying three and thirty days; she shall touch no X hallowed thing, nor come into the sanctuary, until the days of her purifying be fulfilled.	4 'Then she shall remain in the blood of her purification for thirty-three days; she shall not touch any consecrated thing, nor enter the sanctuary until the days of her purification are completed.	4 Then [the woman] must wait thirty-three days ~~to be~~ purified from her bleed~~ing~~. She must not touch anything sacred or go to the sanctuary until the days of her purification are over.	4 Thirty more days plus three days she shall sit in the blood of her purification; she must not come into contact with any holy thing, and she must not go to the sanctuary until the days of her purification are fulfilled.	12:4 וּשְׁלֹשִׁים יוֹם וּשְׁלֹשֶׁת יָמִים תֵּשֵׁב בִּדְמֵי טָהֳרָה בְּכָל-קֹדֶשׁ לֹא-תִגָּע וְאֶל-הַמִּקְדָּשׁ לֹא תָבֹא עַד-מְלֹאת^QNיְמֵי טָהֳרָהּ:
5 ἐὰν δὲ θῆλυ τέκῃ, καὶ ἀκάθαρτος ἔσται [δὶς] ἑπτὰ [ἡμέρας] κατὰ τὴν ἄφεδρον· καὶ ἑξήκοντα ἡμέρας καὶ ἓξ καθεσθήσεται ἐν αἵματι ἀκαθάρτῳ αὐτῆς.	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.	5 'But if she bears a female child, then she shall be unclean for [two] weeks, as in her menstruation; and she shall remain in the blood of her purification for sixty-six days.	5 X If she gives birth to a ~~daughter~~, for [two] weeks [the woman] will be unclean, as during her period. Then she must wait sixty-six days to be purified from her bleeding.	5 But if she gives birth to a girl, then she will be unclean for [two] weeks (like her separation), then sixty days plus six days she shall sit upon the blood of her purification,	12:5 וְאִם-נְקֵבָה תֵלֵד וְטָמְאָה שְׁבֻעַיִם כְּנִדָּתָהּ וְשִׁשִּׁים יוֹם וְשֵׁשֶׁת יָמִים תֵּשֵׁב עַל-דְּמֵי טָהֳרָה:
6 καὶ ὅταν ἀναπληρωθῶσιν αἱ ἡμέραι καθάρσεως αὐτῆς ἐφ᾿ υἱῷ ἢ ἐπὶ θυγατρί, προσοίσει ἀμνὸν ἐνιαύσιον [ἄμωμον] εἰς ὁλοκαύτωμα καὶ νεοσσὸν περιστερᾶς ἢ τρυγόνα περὶ ἁμαρτίας ἐπὶ τὴν θύραν τῆς σκηνῆς τοῦ μαρτυρίου πρὸς τὸν ἱερέα,	6 And 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:	6 'X When the days of her purification are completed, for a son or for a daughter, she shall bring to the priest at the doorway of the tent of meeting a one year old lamb for a burnt offering and a young pigeon or a turtledove for a sin offering.	6 "'X When the days of her purification for a son or daughter are over, 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 dove for a sin offering.	6 and when the days of her purification are fulfilled for a son or for a daughter, she must bring a yearling lamb for a whole-burnt-offering and a young dove or pigeon for a sin-offering to the entrance of the Tent of Meeting to the priest.	12:6 וּבִמְלֹאת יְמֵי טָהֳרָהּ לְבֵן אוֹ לְבַת תָּבִיא כֶּבֶשׂ בֶּן-שְׁנָתוֹ לְעֹלָה וּבֶן-יוֹנָה אוֹ-תֹר לְחַטָּאת אֶל-פֶּתַח אֹהֶל-מוֹעֵד אֶל-הַכֹּהֵן:
LXX	KJV	NASB	NIV	NAW	MT
7 καὶ προσοίσει ἔναντι κυρίου καὶ ἐξιλάσεται περὶ αὐτῆς [ὁ ἱερεὺς] καὶ καθαριεῖ [αὐτὴν] ἀπὸ τῆς πηγῆς τοῦ αἵματος αὐτῆς. οὗτος ὁ νόμος τῆς τικτούσης X ἄρσεν ἢ X θῆλυ.	7 X 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.	7 'Then he shall offer it before the LORD and make atonement for her, and she shall be cleansed from the flow of her blood. This is the law for her who bears a child, whether a male or a female.	7 X He shall offer ~~them~~ before the LORD X to make atonement for her, and then she will be [ceremonially] clean from her flow of blood. "'Th~~ese are~~ the regulations for the woman who gives birth to a boy or a girl.	7 Then he [the priest] shall offer it before the face of Yahweh and shall make atonement over her, and she shall be pure from the fountain of her blood. This is the instruction regarding the childbearing woman - for her boy or for her girl.	12:7 וְהִקְרִיבוֹ לִפְנֵי יְהוָה וְכִפֶּר עָלֶיהָ^{^[d]} וְטָהֲרָה מִמְּקֹר דָּמֶיהָ זֹאת תּוֹרַת הַיֹּלֶדֶת^QPTfs לַזָּכָר אוֹ לַנְּקֵבָה:
8 ἐὰν δὲ μὴ εὑρίσκῃ ἡ χεὶρ αὐτῆς τὸ ἱκανὸν [εἰς] ἀμνόν, καὶ λήμψεται δύο τρυγόνας ἢ δύο νεοσσοὺς περιστερῶν, μίαν εἰς ὁλοκαύτωμα καὶ μίαν περὶ ἁμαρτίας, καὶ ἐξιλάσεται περὶ αὐτῆς ὁ ἱερεύς, καὶ καθαρισθήσεται.	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.	8 'But if she cannot afford X a lamb, then she shall take two turtledoves or two young pigeons, the one for a burnt offering and the ~~other~~ for a sin offering; and the priest shall make atonement for her, and she will be clean.'"	8 If she cannot afford X a lamb, she is to ~~bring~~ two doves or two young pigeons, one for a burnt offering and the ~~other~~ for a sin offering. In this way the priest will make atonement for her, and she will be clean.'"	8 Now, if her means cannot find^{^[e]} enough for a lamb, then let her take two pigeons or two young doves, one for a whole-burnt-offering, and one for a sin-offering. Then the priest will make atonement over her and she shall be pure.	12:8 וְאִם-לֹא תִמְצָא יָדָהּ דֵּי שֶׂה וְלָקְחָה שְׁתֵּי-תֹרִים אוֹ שְׁנֵי בְּנֵי יוֹנָה אֶחָד לְעֹלָה וְאֶחָד לְחַטָּאת וְכִפֶּר עָלֶיהָ הַכֹּהֵן וְטָהֵרָה: פ

^{^[1]} Gen. 1:27 “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” (ESV)

^{^[2]} I recognize that Jewish scholars such as Ibn Ezra, Nachmanides, Rashbam, and Cohen, the editor of the Soncino Chumash felt the word should be interpreted “sickness.”

^{^[3]} “Hence,” he added, “the error of Pelagius is clearly refuted, who denied that the sin of Adam was propagated among his descendants and pretended that we contracted sin from our parents not by origin, but by imitation.”