1. Leviticus 12:6 (ESV)
  2. Exposition

Why was a sin offering required after childbirth and purification?

Leviticus 12:6 (ESV)

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,

It is important to note that the act of childbearing was and is not a sin. It is not the birth that makes the woman unclean nor is there any mention of the baby being unclean, but it is about the discharge of blood. The sacrifice was followed by the report that the women was clean, not that she is forgiven. Ross notes, “No forgiveness is necessary because there was no sin, no moral impurity. The effect of the washing and sacrifice was automatic: the physical impurity was removed automatically.”1