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.

LEVITICUS 12:5KJV
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Leviticus 12:5 (KJV)

What does Leviticus 12:5 mean?

Leviticus 12:5 says that if a woman gives birth to a female child, she is considered ritually unclean for two weeks, just as during her menstrual separation, and then she must continue in a period of purification for sixty-six more days. This instruction sets out a specific time frame for ritual impurity and purification after the birth of a daughter.

In this verse, God is giving instructions to Moses for the Israelites about ritual purity after childbirth. The focus is on the ceremonial status of the mother, not on moral wrongdoing. The period of uncleanness and purification is longer for a female child than for a male child, as described in the surrounding verses, and these rules are part of the broader system of ritual laws in ancient Israel.

The Hebrew behind Leviticus 12:5

  • "Unclean" (טָמֵא, tame): This word means ritually impure, not sinful or dirty in a moral sense. It refers to a state that affects participation in worship and community life.
  • "Separation" (נִדָּה, niddah): This term is used for the time of menstrual impurity, linking the childbirth impurity to other bodily processes that made someone ritually unclean.
  • "Blood" (דָּם, dam): The mention of blood connects the purification period to the physical realities of childbirth, which involved bleeding and recovery.
  • "Purifying" (טָהֳרָה, tohara): This word means cleansing or purification, highlighting that the focus is on restoring ritual readiness, not on punishment.

Why Leviticus 12:5 matters

  • Leviticus 12:5 clarifies that ritual impurity after childbirth was a matter of ceremonial law, not a statement about a woman's worth or sinfulness.
  • The verse shows that the rules for ritual purity were detailed and specific, reflecting the importance of order and holiness in Israelite worship.
  • Understanding this verse helps explain the context for later New Testament references to purification after childbirth, such as in the story of Mary after Jesus’ birth.

Where else these words appear

“purifying” Hebrew H2893 · used in 13 verses

  • Leviticus 12:4 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.
  • Leviticus 14:23 And he shall bring them on the eighth day for his cleansing unto the priest, unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, before the LORD.
  • 1 Chronicles 23:28 Because their office was to wait on the sons of Aaron for the service of the house of the LORD, in the courts, and in the chambers, and in the purifying of all holy things, and the work of the service of the house of God;

“weeks” Hebrew H7620 · used in 17 verses

  • Genesis 29:27 Fulfil her week, and we will give thee this also for the service which thou shalt serve with me yet seven other years.
  • Deuteronomy 16:10 And thou shalt keep the feast of weeks unto the LORD thy God with a tribute of a freewill offering of thine hand, which thou shalt give unto the LORD thy God, according as the LORD thy God hath blessed thee:
  • Daniel 9:24 Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.

“child” Hebrew H5347 · used in 22 verses

  • Genesis 1:27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
  • Leviticus 3:6 And if his offering for a sacrifice of peace offering unto the LORD be of the flock; male or female, he shall offer it without blemish.
  • Leviticus 27:5 And if it be from five years old even unto twenty years old, then thy estimation shall be of the male twenty shekels, and for the female ten shekels.

“separation” Hebrew H5079 · used in 24 verses

  • Leviticus 12:2 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.
  • Leviticus 18:19 Also thou shalt not approach unto a woman to uncover her nakedness, as long as she is put apart for her uncleanness.
  • Ezra 9:11 Which thou hast commanded by thy servants the prophets, saying, The land, unto which ye go to possess it, is an unclean land with the filthiness of the people of the lands, with their abominations, which have filled it from one end to another with their uncleanness.