And if her hand find not sufficiency, and she is not able to offer a lamb, she shall take two turtles, or two young pigeons, one for a holocaust, and another for sin: and the priest shall pray for her, and so she shall be cleansed.
וְאִם־לֹ֨א תִמְצָ֣א יָדָהּ֮ דֵּ֣י שֶׂה֒ וְלָקְחָ֣ה שְׁתֵּֽי־תֹרִ֗ים א֤וֹ שְׁנֵי֙ בְּנֵ֣י יוֹנָ֔ה אֶחָ֥ד לְעֹלָ֖ה וְאֶחָ֣ד לְחַטָּ֑את וְכִפֶּ֥ר עָלֶ֛יהָ הַכֹּהֵ֖ן וְטָהֵֽרָה׃
3 Church Fathers comment on this verse
The law required that male Hebrew infants be presented to God along with an offering of two turtledoves or two young pigeons. These gentle, caring birds symbolize the innocence and tender nature of the infants, conveying a lesson that similar qualities lead to purification. Furthermore, Scripture refers to infants as lambs, contrasting them with those who, in their wildness, forsake their true essence and act like goats.
The Lord establishes in the Law that anyone who can is to present a lamb for a son or daughter, along with a turtledove or a pigeon. Those who cannot afford a lamb are instructed to bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons instead. With this in mind, the Lord, motivated by his deep concern for our shared salvation, chose to become not just a man, despite being God, but also willingly embraced poverty for our benefit. In doing so, through his humble state and human existence, he opened the way for us to share in his blessings and partake of his divine nature (cf. 2 Cor. 8:9; Lk. 2:24).
Following the completion of the designated days of purification—forty days after the birth of a son and eighty days after the birth of a daughter—the mother is to present herself at the tabernacle of the vision. There, she is to offer a lamb as a burnt offering to the Lord, signifying her gratitude for His deliverance from the trials of childbirth and the potential perils associated with it. This act also serves as a symbol of her complete dedication to God. In addition to the lamb, she should offer a young pigeon or turtledove as a sin offering, which reflects her awareness of her shortcomings before the Lord and her reliance on His grace.
This sense of guilt encompasses both personal shortcomings—such as any involuntary sins arising from the agony of childbirth, like frustration with God or impatience—as well as the inherent guilt described by David: “In iniquity I was conceived, and in sins my mother bore me,” which pertains to both the mother and child.
After these offerings, the priest would declare the mother to be ceremonially clean. If she cannot afford a lamb along with a dove or turtledove due to her financial situation, she may instead present two doves or two turtledoves: one for a burnt offering and the other for a sin offering, in accordance with the scriptural text. The priest will then perform the necessary prayers as part of the sacrificial rite and declare her clean. It is important to note that these purification rites pertain solely to the mother and not to the child. The following parimia references God's command in the book of Numbers regarding the substitution of the firstborn with Levites.
Passages read together with this verse.
THEOSIS