Amy Bernhardt Essays - Book Of Leviticus, Hebrew Calendar

Amy Bernhardt Dr. Karin Hooks Response Paper 1 February The Extreme Burden and Requirements for Childbirth Upon reading from The New Oxford Annotated Bible so far it has been a very brutal beginning. One book in particular has stuck in my mind making me wonder sometime why even create a woman? Leviticus, it sets a no nonsense feel about how the Levites are truly in debt to God for their liberation from Pharos tight grip. The development of the Ten Commandments , worship rituals, holiday s , animal sacrifices , and how to carefully prepare the offerings from animal s to tithing. This book is jam packed with insanely strict rules sent from God . The Commandments are seemingly impossible to live by, particularly for the women at this time. With God' s wrath and death for anything considered a sin looming over your head, I would think it would be terrifying especially if you have broken one of these rules. "The LORD spoke to Moses, saying: Speak to the people of Israel, saying: If a woman conceives and bears a male child, she shall be c eremoniously unclean seven days; as at the time of her menstruation, she shall be unclean. On the eighth day the flesh of the foreskin shall be circumcised. Her time of blood purification shall be thirty-three days; she shall not touch any holy thing, or come into the sanctuary, until the days of her purification are completed. If she bears a female child, she shall be unclean two weeks, as in her menstruation; her time of blood purification shall be sixty-six days (Leviticus 12: 1-5 OAB )." Child bearing would have not been easy at this time. A woman, after giving birth may as well just stay in a room by herself until she is dubbed clean again. If you could not touch anything that is holy, how could you prepare Sabbath dinner, be around your husband or anyone who was considered holy at the time. It is almost as if child bearing was sh ameful or even a sin. How could this be if you were married under God's watchful eye and he blesses the people to procreate? On top of not being able to touch anything, if you have a girl the purification time is doubled! It is really difficult to process in my mind that the Levite women had to carry this shameful burden when it is the natural process of life. After the time of her purification a woman must go and offer a sacrifice to become clean once again. Again, another hitch in the road for women in what is a so called natural process. "When the days of her purification are completed, whether for a son or daughter, she shall bring to the priest at the entrance of the tent of meeting a lamb in its first year for a burnt offering, and a pigeon or a turtledove for a sin offering. He shall offer it before the LORD and make atonement on her behalf; then she shall be clean from her flow of blood. This is a law for her who bears a child, male or female (Leviticus 12: 6-7)." Not only are we calling childbirth a sin, but now we must sacrifice two innocent animals to make things right with Him. God seems not care for the women in this time period due to all these even more harsh, strict laws she must follow. Reading the Old Testament is rough. From the killing to the elevated standards the Levites and others who follow LORD God had difficult tasks to uphold in His name. Looking at the passages and understanding God liberated His people there are at God's mercy and must hold their end of the bargain for their freedom. To be honest, to me being a slave working from sun up to sun down for some self-righteous pharaoh who could care less about the people who built his empire would be worse than following God's law. Freedom is everything. Work Cited Coogan , Michael D. Editor. Full Revised Fourth Edition: The New Oxford Annotated Bible New Revised Standard Version with the Apocrypha. Ed. 4 th ed . New