Big Idea: God provides for people’s health, cleansing, and restoration regardless of social standing.

Understanding the Text

This chapter continues the laws of purity for all Israel that specify what can cause ceremonial uncleanness (Lev. 11–15). Uncleanness is caused by eating or touching unclean animals (Lev. 11), by childbirth (Lev. 12), by certain skin diseases and molds (Lev. 13–14), and by sexual emissions (Lev. 15). The discussion thus moves from external uncleanness (animals) to uncleanness related to one’s own person (bodily emissions and diseases).

The present chapter, on uncleanness due to childbirth, has baffled many readers. The discussion here attempts to make sense of this strange law.

Historical and Cultural Background

There was a similar purification ritual after the …