3. The Redemption, Circumcision, and Purification of Baby Jesus (Luke 2.21–24)

In this episode we look at Mary and Joseph's obedience to three commandments in Luke 2.21–24: the commandment for the redemption of the firstborn (Exodus 13:11-15; Numbers 3:40-41; Numbers 18:15-16), the commandment to circumcise every male child on the eighth day (Genesis 17.10-14), and the commandment for parturient purification (Leviticus 12.1–8). Our discussion goes through the commandments in their context in the Old Testament and explain how Luke is portraying Jesus' family as being obedient to Torah (while responding to objections that Luke is unfamiliar with first-century Jewish practice). We also explore the theological implications of the fact that Jesus acquired ritual impurity at his birth!

Secondary Sources referenced in this episode:

Roy Gane, Cult and Character: Purification Offerings, Day of Atonement, and Theodicy (Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns, 2005). Link: https://www.eisenbrauns.org/books/titles/978-1-57506-101-6.html

Andrew Rillera, Lamb of the Free: Recovering the Varied Sacrificial Understandings of Jesus’s Death (Eugene: Cascade, 2024). Link: https://wipfandstock.com/9781666703047/lamb-of-the-free/

Matthew Thiessen, 'The Legislation of Leviticus 12 in Light of Ancient Embryology’, Vetus Testamentum 68 (2018): 297-319. Link: https://www.jstor.org/stable/26566777

Further reading:

D. Erbele-Küster, Body, Gender and Purity in Leviticus 12 and 15 (London: The Library of Hebrew Bible/Old Testament Studies; Bloomsbury Academic, 2017). Link: https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/body-gender-and-purity-in-leviticus-12-and-15-9780567708762/

Sarah Whitear, 'Solving the Gender Problem in Leviticus 12: From Philo to Feminism' Annali di Storia dell’Esegesi 37 (2020): 299–320. Link: https://asejournal.net/category/issues/page/4/

Matthew Thiessen, ‘Luke 2:22, Leviticus 12, and Parturient Impurity’, Novum Testamentum 54 (2012): 16–29. Link: https://www.jstor.org/stable/23253627

Jonathan Klawans, 'Notions of Gentile Impurity in Ancient Judaism' AJS Review 20 (1995): 285–312. Link: https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/1486819.pdf