1 Then the LORD said to Moses,
2 “Say to the Israelites, ‘A woman who becomes pregnant and gives birth to a son will be unclean for seven days, as she is during the days of her menstruation.
3 And on the eighth day the flesh of the boy’s foreskin is to be circumcised.
4 The woman shall continue in purification from her bleeding for thirty-three days. She must not touch anything sacred or go into the sanctuary until the days of her purification are complete.
5 If, however, she gives birth to a daughter, the woman will be unclean for two weeks as she is during her menstruation. Then she must continue in purification from her bleeding for sixty-six days.
Note · Lévitique 12.1–5
Un calendrier rituel, pas un verdict sur la maternité
La circoncision du garçon et les durées de purification sont précisées. Le chapitre ne raconte aucune faute commise par la mère. Le vocabulaire peut paraître blessant aujourd’hui s’il est détaché de ses distinctions : l’impureté décrite ici n’autorise pas à traiter le corps féminin comme moralement mauvais.
6 When the days of her purification are complete, whether for a son or for a daughter, she is to bring to the priest at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting a year-old lamb for a burnt offering and a young pigeon or a turtledove for a sin offering.
7 And the priest will present them before the LORD and make atonement for her; and she shall be ceremonially cleansed from her flow of blood. This is the law for a woman giving birth, whether to a male or to a female.
8 But if she cannot afford a lamb, she shall bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons, one for a burnt offering and the other for a sin offering. Then the priest will make atonement for her, and she will be clean.’”
Note · Lévitique 12.6–8
Une possibilité prévue pour les personnes pauvres
L’agneau peut être remplacé par des oiseaux lorsque les moyens manquent. Luc 2.22-24 reprend ce cadre pour la présentation de Jésus. La lecture chrétienne peut ainsi reconnaître le contexte de ce récit évangélique sans transformer l’offrande maternelle en réparation d’une faute sexuelle ou d’une culpabilité attachée à l’enfant.