I’m your host Lance Smith. Join us each week as we dive headfirst into the most perplexing, intriguing, and downright baffling passages of the Bible—from the chaotic beginnings in Genesis to the mind-bending visions of Revelation. We’re not just reading; we’re unraveling, exploring, and making sense of it all in a way that’s as entertaining as it is enlightening. Whether you’re a scripture novice or a seasoned theologian, get ready for a journey that promises to be anything but ordinary. Fasten your seatbelts; your scriptural adventure awaits!
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I’m your host Lance Smith. Join us each week as we dive headfirst into the most perplexing, intriguing, and downright baffling passages of the Bible—from the chaotic beginnings in Genesis to the mind-bending visions of Revelation. We’re not just reading; we’re unraveling, exploring, and making sense of it all in a way that’s as entertaining as it is enlightening. Whether you’re a scripture novice or a seasoned theologian, get ready for a journey that promises to be anything but ordinary. Fasten your seatbelts; your scriptural adventure awaits!
Leviticus 12:5-7—Why New Moms Had to Offer Sacrifices: Leviticus 12 Explained
The Bible Difficulties and Answers Podcast
13 minutes
1 week ago
Leviticus 12:5-7—Why New Moms Had to Offer Sacrifices: Leviticus 12 Explained
Episode 189 unpacks Leviticus 12:5–7 to explain why new mothers brought purification offerings, why the waiting period differs for sons and daughters, and how ancient ritual, medical ideas, and theology interacted.
Host Lance Smith shows the difference between ceremonial impurity and moral guilt, highlights the protective rest the law provided, and points to Mary and Jesus as the ultimate fulfillment of the purification rites.
References to items discussed and/or used on this podcast may be found at the following:
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Email Address: bibledifficultiesandanswers@gmail.com
Geisler, Norman L., and Thomas Howe. The Big Book of Bible Difficulties. Baker Books, 1992. Available at: https://a.co/d/7shn4hI
MacArthur, John. The MacArthur Study Bible: NASB. Thomas Nelson, 1995. (Notes on Leviticus 12:1-8.) Available at: https://www.thomasnelsonbibles.com/product/the-macarthur-daily-bible-2nd-edition-nasb/
Thiessen, Matthew. "The Legislation of Leviticus 12 in Light of Ancient Embryology." Vetus Testamentum 68, no. 3 (2018): 297-319. Full open-access article: https://www.academia.edu/32175503/The_Legislation_of_Leviticus_12_in_Light_of_Ancient_Embryology
"In Leviticus chapter 12, why is a woman unclean longer if she gives birth to a daughter than if she gives birth to a son?" GotQuestions.org. Accessed November 2025. https://www.gotquestions.org/unclean-daughter-longer-son.html
Mowczko, Marg. "Periods of Purification after Childbirth (Leviticus 12:1–8)." Marg Mowczko Blog, February 2023. https://margmowczko.com/purification-after-giving-birth-leviticus-12/
Masonheimer, Phylicia. "Levitical Purification After Childbirth." Phylicia Masonheimer, March 2019. https://phyliciamasonheimer.com/levitical-purification-after-childbirth/
Wright, David P. "The Rationale of the Laws of Clean and Unclean in the Old Testament." Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 20, no. 4 (1977): 319-328. Free PDF via BiblicalStudies.org.uk: https://biblicalstudies.org.uk/pdf/jets/clean_sprinkle.pdf (Note: This is the core excerpt on impurity symbolism; full JETS archive at https://www.etsjets.org/).
Guzik, David. "Enduring Word Bible Commentary: Leviticus Chapter 12." Enduring Word, 2022. https://enduringword.com/bible-commentary/leviticus-12/ (Hosted on Blue Letter Bible: https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/guzik_david/study-guide/leviticus/leviticus-12.cfm)
"Leviticus 12: Purification After Childbirth." Sefaria Texts & Sheets, Sheet by Rabbi Shmuel Herzfeld (Sheet #167321). https://www.sefaria.org/sheets/167321?lang=bi (Interactive rabbinic commentary with midrashic insights).
Amador, Melanie. "In the Bible, Why Is a Woman Unclean for Twice as Long After Giving Birth to a Girl?" Where I Am Blog, October 8, 2021. https://whereiam.blog/2021/10/08/in-the-bible-why-is-a-woman-unclean-for-twice-as-long-after-giving-birth-to-a-girl/
"Postpartum Impurity: Why Is the Duration Double for a Girl?" TheTorah.com, by Rabbi Dr. Shmuel Herzfeld (based on ancient Near Eastern parallels). https://www.thetorah.com/article/postpartum-impurity-why-is-the-duration-double-for-a-girl
The Bible Difficulties and Answers Podcast
I’m your host Lance Smith. Join us each week as we dive headfirst into the most perplexing, intriguing, and downright baffling passages of the Bible—from the chaotic beginnings in Genesis to the mind-bending visions of Revelation. We’re not just reading; we’re unraveling, exploring, and making sense of it all in a way that’s as entertaining as it is enlightening. Whether you’re a scripture novice or a seasoned theologian, get ready for a journey that promises to be anything but ordinary. Fasten your seatbelts; your scriptural adventure awaits!
