EXPOSITION. and some sort of offerbg was made. The amphidromia of the Greeks was a similar CHAPTER XII. lustmtion for the child, when the natne was UNCLEANNESS DERIVED FBOH OlIILDBIBTH. given, probably between the seventh and As there is a natural disgust felt for some tenth days " (Clark), kinds of food, which serves as a foundation Vere. 2-4.-She ahall be unolean seven for the precepts of the last chapter, so days, The mother is to be unclean seven there is an instinct which regards some of days, and after that to be in the blood of her the concomitants of childbirth, and some purifying three and thirty days (ver. 4). diseases, o.s foul and defiling. In accord- The difference between these two states may be seen by looking on to eh. xv, 19-28, ance with these instincts, purifying rites and comparing that pAssage with ver. 4 of are commanded for the restoration of those this chapter. In the first stage, during the affect.ed to ceremonial cleanness. These seven days, she me.de all that she touched instincts and consequent regulations re- unclean : in the second stage, dnring the specting women in childbirth exe found in thirty-three de.ye, she was only required to touoh no hallowed thing, nor oome into the very many different nations. " The Hindoo sanotnary, e.s she was progressing towards law prononnced the mother of a new-born cleanness. The number of days during child to be impure for forty de.ye, required which she is to be altogether unclean is to the father to bathe as soon as the birth had be aooording to the days of the sepe.re.tion taken place, and debarred the whole fe.mily for her in11rmity, that is, seven de.ye, as in for a period from religions rites, while they the case of her monthly courses (see eh. xv. 19). In the eighth day the flesh of his were 'to confine themselves to an inward foreskin she.11 be oironmcised, The Levitice.l remembrance of the Deity ; ' in a Brahmin legislation recognizes the regulation o.s to family this rule extended to all relations the day of the circumcision made e.t the within the fourth degree, for ten days, at time of the covenant with Abraham. "And the end of which they had to bathe. Ac- he that is eight days old (or o. son of eight days) shall be .circumcised among you, cording to the Parsee law, the mother and every man child in your generations " child were bathed, and the mother had to live (Gen. xvii. 12). Until the days of her puri- in seclusion for forty days, after which she fying be fulfilled. " When in a state of im- had to undergo other purifying rites. The purity, the Hebrews were forbidden to enter Arabs are ea.id by Burckhardt to regard the sanctuary, to keep the Passover, and to partake of holy food, whether of so.crificilll the mother as unclean for forty days. The meat, of sacred offerings and gifts, or of ancient Greeks suffered neither childbirth shew-bree.d, because the cleo.n only were flt nor death to take place within consecrated to approo.ch the holy God and o.ll that places ; both mother and child were bathed, appertains to him (Lev. vii. 19-21 ; xxii. and the mother was not allowed to approach 3; Numb. ix. 6; xviii. 11; 1 Sam. xxi. 5)" (Kalisch). an altar for forty days. The term of forty Ver. 5.-If she bear a maid ohild, then days, it is evident, was generally regarded she ahall be unolean two weeks ; , , . and aha as a critical one for both the mother and ahe.11 oontinue in the blood of her purifying the child. The day on which the Romans threeaoore and aix days, The reason wh, garn the name to the child-the eighth day the duration of the mother's uncleanness ia for a girl, and the ninth for a boy-was twice as long at a girl's birth as at a boy's, would appear to be that the unoleannt>es called lUBtricu diu, ' the day of purifica- attached to the child as well as to the tion,' because certain lustre.I rites in behalf mother, but as the boy was placed in o. state <•f the child were performed on the oceaaion, of ceremonial purity at once by the o.ot of cir- CH. XII. 1-8.] '1'IIE BOOK OF LEVITICUS. 189-
cumcision, which took ple.ca on the eighth pigeon, or a. turtledove, for a. Bill o:lfering. day, he thereupon ceased to be unclean, and Two things are noticeable here: first, thu the mother's unclea)!nese olone remained ; the burnt offering, symbolizing self-dev~ whereas in the cue of a girl, both mother tion, is far more costly and important than and obild were unclean during the period the sin offering, which had not to be offered that the former wu "in the blood of her for any individnal personal sin, but only for purifying,'' and therofore that period had human sin, "which bad been indirectly to be doubly long. See Luke ii. 20, where manifested in her bodily condition" (Keil); the right reading is, "When the days of and secondly, that in this one case the sin their purification, according to the Law of offering appears to succeed the burnt offer- Moses, were accomplished." For eight ing instead of preceding it. No doubt the days the infant Saviour submitted to legal changed order is owing to the co.use just n11cleanneSB in "fulfilling all righteous- mentioned; the idea of sin, though it may neBB " (Matt. iii. 15), and therefore the not be altogether put a.side (Gen. iii. I 6), ie whole forty days were spoken of e.s "the not to be prominent, u though it were days of their purification." peculiar to the special woman who was Vere. 6, 7.-T!Je previous verses having purified. stated the conditions and the term of continu- Ver. 8.-If ahe be not able to bring a lamb. ance of the uncleanness arising from c!Jild- A concession is made to poverty, which in birth, the three final verses describe the later times appears to have been largely offerings to be made by the woman for her acted on. It wo.s, u we know, to.ken ad'- purification. She shall bring a lamb of the vantage of by the mother of our Lord flnt year for a. burnt o:lfering, a11d a young (Luke ii. 24).
HOMILETICS.