Sunday 2 August 2015

Leviticus 12: Did Mary offer a sin offering?

Before anyone TRIES to use this article to say Mary never sinned, read the following before you read on:
http://answering-judaism.blogspot.co.uk/2014/12/shoehorning-roman-doctrines-into.html
http://answering-judaism.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/catholic-dogmas-three-things-worthy-of.html
http://answering-judaism.blogspot.co.uk/2014/10/mary-greatest-woman-who-ever-lived.html

With that issue out of the way, let us continue.

Let's read the section in question where Mary herself gives an offering.

"Luke 2:22 And when the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord 23 (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”) 24 and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the Law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.”"

This occurs after Jesus is born and the verse in question being referenced is this from Leviticus 12:
"Leviticus 12:12 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to the people of Israel, saying, If a woman conceives and bears a male child, then she shall be unclean seven days. As at the time of her menstruation, she shall be unclean. 3 And on the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised. 4 Then she shall continue for thirty-three days in the blood of her purifying. She shall not touch anything holy, nor come into the sanctuary, until the days of her purifying are completed. 5 But if she bears a female child, then she shall be unclean two weeks, as in her menstruation. And she shall continue in the blood of her purifying for sixty-six days.

6 “And when the days of her purifying are completed, whether for a son or for a daughter, she shall bring to the priest at the entrance of the tent of meeting a lamb a year old for a burnt offering, and a pigeon or a turtledove for a sin offering, 7 and he shall offer it before the Lord and make atonement for her. Then she shall be clean from the flow of her blood. This is the law for her who bears a child, either male or female. 8 And if she cannot afford a lamb, then she shall take two turtledoves or two pigeons,[a] one for a burnt offering and the other for a sin offering. And the priest shall make atonement for her, and she shall be clean.”"

The uncleanliness here is NOT to do with sin or moral uncleanliness, this is to do with ceremonial uncleanliness, namely being made unclean by bodily fluid. Leviticus 15 talks about the handling of bodily discharges, read here for more information: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Leviticus+15

So as a text to use to say Mary sinned doesn't work, however, you DON'T need this verse to prove that as that can be proved elsewhere as mentioned above in the articles I posted.

Answering Judaism

No comments:

Post a Comment