Summary
The chapter begins with God speaking to Moses, who is instructed to tell Israel that a woman who has given birth to a son is unclean for seven days, while a girl’s uncleanness lasts for two weeks. On the eighth day the newborn boy’s foreskin must be circumcised. The mother remains in the blood of her purification for thirty days for a son and sixty‑six days for a daughter, during which she may not touch holy objects or enter the sanctuary. After the purification period, she must bring a lamb of the first year as a burnt offering and a young pigeon or turtledove as a sin offering to the tabernacle, where the priest will make atonement for her. If she cannot bring a lamb, she must instead offer two pigeons or turtledoves—one for each type of offering—to achieve purification.