Meditations

Question from moody radio listener on June 24, 2017:

I would like to hear your insights on Leviticus 12 through 15 where it talks about the cleansing of women and women’s customary impurity and after she bears a female child, her impurity is twice as long as a male and also in chapter 15, during the customary impurity, she’s unclean during the impurity and after seven days afterward, it seemed that she spends about half her life being impure.

Passages referred to in this question:

Leviticus 12

12 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,

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.

³ And in the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised.

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.

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.

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:

⁷ 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.

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.  -kjv

Leviticus 15

¹⁸ The woman also with whom man shall lie with seed of copulation, they shall both bathe themselves in water, and be unclean until the even.

¹⁹ And if a woman have an issue, and her issue in her flesh be blood, she shall be put apart seven days: and whosoever toucheth her shall be unclean until the even.

²⁰ And every thing that she lieth upon in her separation shall be unclean: every thing also that she sitteth upon shall be unclean.

²¹ And whosoever toucheth her bed shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even.

²² And whosoever toucheth any thing that she sat upon shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even.

²³ And if it be on her bed, or on any thing whereon she sitteth, when he toucheth it, he shall be unclean until the even.

²⁴ And if any man lie with her at all, and her flowers be upon him, he shall be unclean seven days; and all the bed whereon he lieth shall be unclean.

²⁵ And if a woman have an issue of her blood many days out of the time of her separation, or if it run beyond the time of her separation; all the days of the issue of her uncleanness shall be as the days of her separation: she shall be unclean.

²⁶ Every bed whereon she lieth all the days of her issue shall be unto her as the bed of her separation: and whatsoever she sitteth upon shall be unclean, as the uncleanness of her separation.

²⁷ And whosoever toucheth those things shall be unclean, and shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even.

²⁸ But if she be cleansed of her issue, then she shall number to herself seven days, and after that she shall be clean.

²⁹ And on the eighth day she shall take unto her two turtles, or two young pigeons, and bring them unto the priest, to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.

³⁰ And the priest shall offer the one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering; and the priest shall make an atonement for her before the Lord for the issue of her uncleanness.

³¹ Thus shall ye separate the children of Israel from their uncleanness; that they die not in their uncleanness, when they defile my tabernacle that is among them.

³² This is the law of him that hath an issue, and of him whose seed goeth from him, and is defiled therewith;

³³ And of her that is sick of her flowers, and of him that hath an issue, of the man, and of the woman, and of him that lieth with her that is unclean.  -kjv

Answer from Dr Michael Rydelnik:

As for the impurity, it seems to me through reading the torah, that it was considered bodily discharges were considered ritually impure. Now, I don’t know why that is, but bodily discharges like for example an open sore that has oozing coming out of it would make someone ritually impure. So, obviously, the menstrual cycle was something that would make women ritually impure, doesn’t mean immoral or like there was something sinful but just something that would be considered an impurity.

Now as to why for women who give birth to a female child is considered impure for twice as long as when she gives birth to a male child, I am going to give you the answer as it is found in the moody bible commentary. This is from commentary on Leviticus, written by one of our favorite professors here at moody bible institute. Here’s what he writes, ” The birth of a female child double the period of impurity for the mother. No explanation for this is given” Don’t we hate that? “Though some speculate that the female child would some day be subject to ceremonial uncleanness through menstruation and child birth.” Because a female would one day menstruate, because a female would one day give birth, that makes her have, some people speculate because of that future, she causes double impurity and therefore, it’s like that. So, I don’t think it says in anyway that the female is inferior, it’s just dealing with the impurity aspects of it and I appreciate that John in his commentary that he states he don’t know but this is the speculated reason. That’s the speculation that most Old Testament interpreters hold to.  Then he says:” Whatever the case, the Lord uses His sovereign right to mark the distinction between the sexes, even from birth.” And I think he’s right, this is all the Lord’s sovereign decision and that’s how it is.

Question:

” So then how does the women get along with half her life being unclean?”

Answer:

Well, not half her life but for the time that she is menstruating. She starts menstruating when she’s at puberty and usually it’s in mid-life that menstruating stops.

Question:

And it still seemed a whole bunch of time to me

Answer:

I understand. What can I say? Some people have say, as a result, it’s more likely, obviously sexual relation is prohibited during this time of ritual impurity. Then, when a married couple would have sexual relations, when it was permitted, it was more likely a woman will get pregnant because the week after menstruation, she likely would not. So, maybe that was the design to encourage child bearing? I don’t know.

I do think that it’s interesting that a lot of times, people call menstruation a curse. That’s not the curse. The curse is pain in child birth. That’s really hard and I am amazed at the great strength of women, that they endure the awful pain during childbirth and that’s part of the curse.