"And when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were accomplished, they brought him to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord."
When was Purification Necessary?
In trying to figure out why Mary had to go through 40 days of purification following the birth of Jesus, it is helpful to understand what made her unclean in the first place. In trying to make sense of this, according to Mosaic Law, I discovered that there were actually many things that made a person unclean, only one of which is giving birth. In fact, it would have been nearly impossible for a person to not be deemed unclean at one time or another, or even multiple time during his or her life.
Before delving into Mary's situation specifically, I would like to address some of these other cases, to give context and an indication of just how common it was to need purification. Below is a list of things that would make someone unclean, dating back to Old Testament times.
If one became defiled by one of these things, he or she was quarantined for a particular period of time and then had to undergo certain rituals, such as bathing or offering sacrifices, in preparation for returning to his or her prior status of purity. While a person was unclean, he or she couldn't enter the sanctuary or touch anything sacred, lest that setting or thing should also become unclean. Defiled objects had to be purified in prescribed manners, or sometimes broken and discarded.
Before delving into Mary's situation specifically, I would like to address some of these other cases, to give context and an indication of just how common it was to need purification. Below is a list of things that would make someone unclean, dating back to Old Testament times.
If one became defiled by one of these things, he or she was quarantined for a particular period of time and then had to undergo certain rituals, such as bathing or offering sacrifices, in preparation for returning to his or her prior status of purity. While a person was unclean, he or she couldn't enter the sanctuary or touch anything sacred, lest that setting or thing should also become unclean. Defiled objects had to be purified in prescribed manners, or sometimes broken and discarded.
Affliction
|
Duration of Uncleanness
|
Consequences
|
Purification Required
|
References
|
DISCHARGE OF BODILY FLUIDS: |
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| Menstruation | 7 Days from when it began | Can't enter sanctuary Can't touch holy things |
Lev. 12:2, 15:9 | |
| Woman gives birth to boy |
7 days unclean + 33 days semi-isolation |
Offerings: 1 Yearling lamb 1 Young pigeon/turtledove, or 2 Young pigeons 2 Turtledoves |
Levitcus 12:1-4 |
|
| Woman gives birth to girl |
14 days unclean + 66 days semi-isolation |
Offerings: 1 Yearling lamb 1 young pigeon/turtledove, or 2 Young pigeons 2 Turtledoves |
Leviticus 12:5-8 |
|
| Longer than 7 days, Irregular menstruation |
7 Day after last discharge |
Can't enter sanctuary Can't touch holy things |
Leviticus 15:25 |
|
| Abnormal bleeding (as with the woman who had an issue of blood for 12 yrs) |
7 days after last issue |
Can't enter sanctuary Can't touch holy things |
Lev. 15:19-33 Matthew 9:20-22 Mark 5:25-34 Luke 8:43-48 |
|
| Contact with menstruating or otherwise bleeding woman |
Until next evening | Leviticus 15:19 |
||
| Contact with menstruating woman's bed |
Until next evening | Bathe Wash clothes |
Lev. 15:20-23 |
|
| Menstruation starts during sex | Man/woman for 7 days | Leviticus 15:24 | ||
| Sex when already menstruating | Indeffinitely | Man/woman cast out | Leviticus 20:18 | |
| Man with discharge |
7 Days after last discharge |
Wash clothes Bathe in flowing water Offering: 2 turtledoves or young pigeons |
||
| Involuntary emission, such as during a dream or because of an impure thought |
Until next evening |
Bathe Wash clothes and anything exposed |
Lev. 15:16-17 |
|
| Emission during sex |
Both until next evening |
Bedding/man's clothes washed Man and woman bathe |
Leviticus 15:18 | |
SKIN AILMENTS:
|
||||
| Infectious skin disease |
Unknown |
Separation from others |
Bathe Shave head Request re-admittance |
Leviticus 13-14 |
CONTACT WITH UNCLEAN PERSON, THINGS AND ANIMALS:
|
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| Contact with a dead person | 7 days | Wash on the third day | Numbers 19:11-13 | |
| Person dies in a tent | All in the tent for 7 days | Open vessels broken | Numbers 19:14-15 | |
| Contact with one slain by the sword in an open field |
7 days |
Numbers 19:16 |
||
| Contact with human bones | 7 days | Wash in water of separation | Numbers 19:16 | |
| Contact with a grave | 7 days | Wash in water of separation | Numbers 19:18 | |
| Administering water of separation | Until the next evening | Wash clothes | Numbers 19:21 | |
| Touching dead, unclean animal | Until the next evening | Wash clothes | Numbers 19:21 | |
EATING UNCLEAN ANIMALS:
|
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| Examples: Not cloven-footed, chewing cud Water creatures w/out fins/scales Some birds (owls, vultures...) Some creeping things (lizards etc) Clean animals that die naturally Food in contact w/ unclean things |
Until the next evening? |
Numbers 11 |
Chart Summary
Unclean until the next evening:
Contact with menstruating or abnormally bleeding woman or something she touched
Involuntary discharge such as during an explicit dream etc (man unclean, anything exposed must be washed)
Emission during sex (both man and woman unclean)
Person who cleanses another with the water of separation (clothes must be washed)
Touching an unclean animal that has died (must wash clothes)
Eating an unclean animal or food that touched something unclean
Unclean for 7 days:
Menstruating woman (7 days from start)
Woman menstruating longer than 7 days (7 days after last discharge)
Woman with irregular menstruation (7 days from last discharge)
Menstruation starts during sex (both man and woman)
Unusual bleeding or abnormal discharge from sexual organs (man or woman, 7 days after last discharge)
Contact with a dead person (must wash on the third day or will still be unclean by the seventh day)
Person dies in a tent (any who enter are unclean for 7 days, items therein are unclean, open vessels must be broken)
Contact with one slain by the sword in an open field
Contact with human bones or a grave (must wash in the water of separation)
Unclean for 7 days + 33 Days in Semi-Isolation:
Giving birth to a son (after 40 days mother must offer 1 yearling lamb + 1 young pigeon or turtledove, or 2 young pigeons + 2 turtledoves)
Unclean for 14 days + 66 days in Semi-Isolation:
Giving birth to a daughter (after 80 days mother must offer the same sacrifice as if she'd birthed a son)
Unclean for unknown or Indefinite Period of Time:
Infectious skin disease (separation from others, bathe, shave head, request re-admittance)
Intentionally having sex with a menstruating woman (both man and woman cast out)
Anyone unclean could not enter the sanctuary or touch anything holy. Someone clean touching someone unclean, or something the unclean person came in contact with, then became unclean. Touching an unclean animal was fine as long as it wasn't dead. Thus, riding a camel was completely acceptable, though one was not permitted to eat it. A man could comfort his wife who just gave birth, but this would make him temporarily unclean. She would not be able to cook for him while unclean, or she would make his food unclean. Basically, everyone was likely to be unclean at one point or another, or many times during his or her lifetime, and it was necessary to take proper steps of purification in order to be allowed to continue with certain activities, such as entering the sanctuary.
Possible Reasons for These Laws
Likely, there were several reasons for these very specific restrictions being given by God. One was surely for health reasons. For example, if one touched a decaying carcass and then straightway started helping a woman give birth, infection would be almost inevitable. Childbirth fever would abound. Any number of deaths would result, given that they didn't understand germs and how they were spread. This knowledge did not come until thousands of years later. They needed very specific laws to preserve them as a people.
One can also see symbolism within some components of the Mosaic Law, foretelling of the coming of the Messiah and what His roll would be. For example, being cleansed in the water of separation could have symbolized being cleansed of our sins. I've often wondered if the general population fully understood the symbolism of what they were doing back in those days. Maybe they did, or maybe they didn't.
These rules could have also partially been given in order to test the people's level of obedience. Even if they didn't fully understand the reasons behind those laws, would they still obey with strictness and faith? Would they treat the unclean with tolerance and love, or would they be unkind and prideful? Surely, these laws were a purification of sorts, meant to cleans the outer body, as well as the inner self.
The Purification Process
This depended upon the situation, as indicated by the chart above. Interestingly, those who come in contact with person's dead body must wash in a mixture made from the ashes of a red heifer, hyssop, cedar wood, and scarlet (see Numbers 19). The properties of these substances made this mixture, also known as the water of separation (Numbers 19:21), comparable to modern day antibacterial soap. These practices often had very real medical reasoning, not scientifically proven until thousands of years later.
What did the Law of Moses Require of Mary?
When a woman gave birth back in those days, she was considered to be unclean for a specified period of time following the birth. This allotment, strangely enough, depended upon whether she bore a girl or a boy. The mother could not fully resume her prior lifestyle for eighty days if she gave birth to a daughter. However, in Mary's case, having birthed a son, she could return to her normal routine in only forty days.
In Leviticus 12:2-5, the Lord instructed Moses in the following manner: "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. And in the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised. 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. 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."
So, basically, Mary was unclean for seven days, meaning anything she touched was unclean (her bed, anything she sat on, vessels she ate/drank from, etc). During this time, if Joseph touched her or anything she touched, he would also become unclean until the following evening. On the eighth day Jesus was circumcised, according to Mosaic Law. I doubt that Mary could have attend that ceremony, as she would not have been permitted to enter the sanctuary. Joseph probably attended, so long as he did not touch her, or anything she touched, for a day or so prior. After that, Mary remained in semi-isolation for thirty-three additional days, before everything returned to normal for her and Joseph.
It is interesting to note the wording in Leviticus 12:4-5: "the blood of her purifying". The very blood flow that made her unclean, was also the means of her cleansing. It appears that the idea was that the blood was carrying any contaminants, or possibilities thereof, out of her body. That may be the reason that this blood, with its impurities, was considered to be unclean.
Dedicated Obedience
In submitting to this requirement, Mary and Joseph showed their devotion to God and to the Law of Moses, under which they lived. For the first seven days, she was so unclean that no one could even speak with her, let alone touch her, without also being considered unclean. This would have even included her own dear husband.
By today's standards, those seven days would appear very lonely. In modern times, family members visit and friends gather to look upon the infant and congratulate the parents soon after the birth. The mother and father share intimate exchanges of pride and of indescribable joy. They take turns looking after their precious gift during the long, sleepless night and are a support to one another, both physically and verbally.
Not so, evidently, in Biblical times. Certainly, Joseph was proud of his wife and loved the son she bore, but he was unable to talk with her about it, or to hold her. I suppose that, since this was the norm at that time, the separation was not such a hardship as we might imagine, but it could not have been easy for them either. Or, perhaps, he spent time with her anyway, but only stayed away when needed right before Jesus' circumcision, as suggested above. Who's to say?
By today's standards, those seven days would appear very lonely. In modern times, family members visit and friends gather to look upon the infant and congratulate the parents soon after the birth. The mother and father share intimate exchanges of pride and of indescribable joy. They take turns looking after their precious gift during the long, sleepless night and are a support to one another, both physically and verbally.
Not so, evidently, in Biblical times. Certainly, Joseph was proud of his wife and loved the son she bore, but he was unable to talk with her about it, or to hold her. I suppose that, since this was the norm at that time, the separation was not such a hardship as we might imagine, but it could not have been easy for them either. Or, perhaps, he spent time with her anyway, but only stayed away when needed right before Jesus' circumcision, as suggested above. Who's to say?
After Jesus' circumcision at the age of eight days, Mary was allowed some privileges back. Joseph and others were finally able to talk with her, hugs, etc without becoming unclean, but she was still remained secluded and was not allowed inclusion in public worship, or to even to enter the sanctuary in which such took place, and could not touch anything that was considered to be holy.
What Can Be Learned From Their Example?
It is hard to imagine the full reasoning behind such requirements. What we do know is that there is no talk of any disobedience to this law, on the part of Joseph or Mary. They simply did as the Lord had commanded. Any uncleanness was dealt with, as required. Could we not learn a great lesson from this? We no longer observe specified days of purification following childbirth, but we would do well to spend time in thought and prayer, as surely Mary and Joseph did while they observed the law at that time. They submitted to the will of the Lord and dutifully did what was required of them without complaint. I would think that their intent was to honor God and to continue in righteousness to the best of their abilities.