A
Anonymous
Guest
Hi Everyone,
Recently, I've been reading through the Bible again, and thought I'd offer tidbits of personal commentary for your information, amusement, comments, or questions--as you see fit. Hope you find it interesting!
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Leviticus 12
Lev 12:1 And Jehovah spoke to Moses saying,
Lev 12:2 Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, If a woman has conceived seed and has borne a male, then she shall be unclean seven days; as on the days of her menstrual impurity she shall be unclean.
Lev 12:3 And in the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised.
Lev 12:4 And she shall then continue in the blood of her purifying thirty-three days. She shall touch no holy thing, nor come into the sanctuary, until the days of her purifying are fulfilled.
Lev 12:5 But if she bears a female, then she shall be unclean two weeks, as in her menstruation. And she shall continue in the blood of her purifying sixty-six days.
Lev 12:6 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 turtle-dove, for a sin offering to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, to the priest.
Lev 12:7 And he shall offer it before Jehovah, and make an atonement for her. And she shall be cleansed from the issue of her blood. This is the law for her that has borne a male or a female.
Lev 12:8 And if her hand cannot reach to a lamb, then she shall bring two turtle-doves or two young pigeons. The one shall be for a burnt offering, and the other for a sin offering. And the priest shall make an atonement for her, and she shall be cleansed.
Years ago when I first read this passage, I was curious why the different treatment for males than females? Of course, it could have simply been God giving a specific sign or difference between them, but what if there was a physical reason as well?
After giving birth, a woman often experiences physical damage than needs time to quit bleeding, then afterward, time for the tissue to heal.
Here we see that, for male babies, a woman is considered "unclean" in for seven days, but for a female baby she is "unclean" for fourteen days. After birth, this amount of time allows the bleeding to stop and the surface tissues to heal. But why the time difference? I don't really know, but have a suggestion, which I will present below.
There is, after the period of uncleanness, a period of 33 days that a woman is in the "blood of her purifying" for a boy, and 66 days for a girl. Again, why the difference?
Even though the days of uncleanness are seven or fourteen, respectively, it seems that she still continues to be "unclean", or at least in an intermediate stage between clean and unclean, for the remainder of the time of her "blood of her purifying". We know this because Leviticus 12:7 says, "...then she will be cleansed..." and 12:8 says, "...then she will be clean".
During a time of menstrual or blood uncleanness, a husband and wife are not supposed to be together sexually (Leviticus 15:24-25)
So, for a male, a husband and wife are apart 40 days, while for a girl they are apart 80 days.
I believe there are two practical reasons for this.
The first is that a woman needs time to heal internally, and to be certain that she does not have an infection common to childbirth. While a week or two isn't really sufficient to allow complete healing, forty to eighty days is enough that she will heal.
The second is that mothers nurse their babies and secrete hormones in the milk. Research reveals that sex causes hormone changes that have profound effects on the human body. If these hormones are secreted in breast milk, they can cause changes in the baby's brain and body during growth.
It turns out that a male baby would experience these hormone surges 40 days earlier than a female baby would, if the parents engage in intercourse soon after the waiting period according to this law. It also turns out that the hormones may be responsible for helping boys become more masculine in their brains and bodies, while girls do not get these hormones for another 40 days, during critical stages of their development.
In other words, following the Law in this area may have helped men to be more masculine and women to be more feminine among the Israelites. This would help in family interaction, procreation, and would tend to lower the incidence of homosexuality among them (which is often linked to hormone issues).
Of course, it could all simply be a sign to the Israelites, but it's always interesting to see that God may have had a very practical reason for giving them instructions that would help the Israelites to become a great people.
John for Christ
Recently, I've been reading through the Bible again, and thought I'd offer tidbits of personal commentary for your information, amusement, comments, or questions--as you see fit. Hope you find it interesting!
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Leviticus 12
Lev 12:1 And Jehovah spoke to Moses saying,
Lev 12:2 Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, If a woman has conceived seed and has borne a male, then she shall be unclean seven days; as on the days of her menstrual impurity she shall be unclean.
Lev 12:3 And in the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised.
Lev 12:4 And she shall then continue in the blood of her purifying thirty-three days. She shall touch no holy thing, nor come into the sanctuary, until the days of her purifying are fulfilled.
Lev 12:5 But if she bears a female, then she shall be unclean two weeks, as in her menstruation. And she shall continue in the blood of her purifying sixty-six days.
Lev 12:6 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 turtle-dove, for a sin offering to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, to the priest.
Lev 12:7 And he shall offer it before Jehovah, and make an atonement for her. And she shall be cleansed from the issue of her blood. This is the law for her that has borne a male or a female.
Lev 12:8 And if her hand cannot reach to a lamb, then she shall bring two turtle-doves or two young pigeons. The one shall be for a burnt offering, and the other for a sin offering. And the priest shall make an atonement for her, and she shall be cleansed.
Years ago when I first read this passage, I was curious why the different treatment for males than females? Of course, it could have simply been God giving a specific sign or difference between them, but what if there was a physical reason as well?
After giving birth, a woman often experiences physical damage than needs time to quit bleeding, then afterward, time for the tissue to heal.
Here we see that, for male babies, a woman is considered "unclean" in for seven days, but for a female baby she is "unclean" for fourteen days. After birth, this amount of time allows the bleeding to stop and the surface tissues to heal. But why the time difference? I don't really know, but have a suggestion, which I will present below.
There is, after the period of uncleanness, a period of 33 days that a woman is in the "blood of her purifying" for a boy, and 66 days for a girl. Again, why the difference?
Even though the days of uncleanness are seven or fourteen, respectively, it seems that she still continues to be "unclean", or at least in an intermediate stage between clean and unclean, for the remainder of the time of her "blood of her purifying". We know this because Leviticus 12:7 says, "...then she will be cleansed..." and 12:8 says, "...then she will be clean".
During a time of menstrual or blood uncleanness, a husband and wife are not supposed to be together sexually (Leviticus 15:24-25)
So, for a male, a husband and wife are apart 40 days, while for a girl they are apart 80 days.
I believe there are two practical reasons for this.
The first is that a woman needs time to heal internally, and to be certain that she does not have an infection common to childbirth. While a week or two isn't really sufficient to allow complete healing, forty to eighty days is enough that she will heal.
The second is that mothers nurse their babies and secrete hormones in the milk. Research reveals that sex causes hormone changes that have profound effects on the human body. If these hormones are secreted in breast milk, they can cause changes in the baby's brain and body during growth.
It turns out that a male baby would experience these hormone surges 40 days earlier than a female baby would, if the parents engage in intercourse soon after the waiting period according to this law. It also turns out that the hormones may be responsible for helping boys become more masculine in their brains and bodies, while girls do not get these hormones for another 40 days, during critical stages of their development.
In other words, following the Law in this area may have helped men to be more masculine and women to be more feminine among the Israelites. This would help in family interaction, procreation, and would tend to lower the incidence of homosexuality among them (which is often linked to hormone issues).
Of course, it could all simply be a sign to the Israelites, but it's always interesting to see that God may have had a very practical reason for giving them instructions that would help the Israelites to become a great people.
John for Christ
