And when the days of her purification are expired, for a son, or for a daughter, she shall bring to the door of the tabernacle of the testimony, a lamb of a year old for a holocaust, and a young pigeon or a turtle for sin: and shall deliver them to the priest.
וּבִמְלֹ֣את ׀ יְמֵ֣י טָהֳרָ֗הּ לְבֵן֮ א֣וֹ לְבַת֒ תָּבִ֞יא כֶּ֤בֶשׂ בֶּן־שְׁנָתוֹ֙ לְעֹלָ֔ה וּבֶן־יוֹנָ֥ה אוֹ־תֹ֖ר לְחַטָּ֑את אֶל־פֶּ֥תַח אֹֽהֶל־מוֹעֵ֖ד אֶל־הַכֹּהֵֽן׃
2 Church Fathers comment on this verse
The mothers who had recently given birth were instructed to pray at the entrance of the tabernacle. This practice was also followed by the Gentiles, and in order to prevent the Hebrews from claiming that the pagan temples were more esteemed than the house of the Lord, the law required the mothers to remain at the door of the tabernacle, regardless of their piety, while allowing even unrighteous husbands to enter the tabernacle.
Following the completion of the required days of purification, specifically forty days after the birth of a male and eighty days following the birth of a female, the mother is to visit the sanctuary of the Lord and, through the priest, present a lamb as a burnt offering. This act symbolizes her gratitude to God for her safe delivery from the trials of childbirth and expresses her complete devotion to Him. Additionally, she must offer a young pigeon or a turtledove as a sin offering. This sacrifice reflects the mother's awareness of her guilt before God and her need for His mercy.
The guilt involved is both personal, arising from any unintentional sins committed during the pains of labor—such as frustration with God or impatience—and also the innate guilt that the psalmist acknowledges: “In iniquity I was conceived, and in sin my mother bore me,” which pertains to both the mother and the child. After making these offerings, the priest declares the mother to be ceremonially clean. Alternatively, she may present two doves or two turtledoves instead. If the woman is impoverished and unable to provide a lamb along with a dove or turtledove, she is permitted to offer just two doves or turtledoves, designating one for a burnt offering and the other for a sin offering, in accordance with the scripture. The priest will then perform the sacred act of sacrifice through prayer and subsequently declare her clean. All these purification rites pertain to the mother and not to the infant. The subsequent scripture references from the book of Numbers convey God's directive to substitute the firstborn with the Levites.
Passages read together with this verse.
THEOSIS