Why a Sin offering?
 

Lev 12:6 And when the days of her purifying are fulfilled, for a son, or for a daughter, she shall bring a lamb of the first year for a burnt offering, and a young pigeon, or a turtledove, for a sin offering, unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, unto the priest:

Gen 9:1 And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.

Re: Why a Sin offering?
 

Leviticus 12:7 helps us with this a little bit: "... and she shall be cleansed from the issue of her blood."

It's not the birth of the child that is a "sin," but the issuance of blood is considered "unclean" for purposes associated with the ritual at the Tabernacle/Temple.

A typical human birth will involve the shedding of blood. Since "the life of the flesh is in the blood," this shedding or issuance of blood is dealt with as being "unclean." Leviticus 15 deals with menstruation and also with men who suffer an "issue of blood."

The use of the term "sin offering" also may be something of a short hand and not intended to identify the condition of those involved as being "sinful." If the question arose, "What do we do about an issue of blood?" Then the answer would be to give a "token offering" such as a "sin offering" as described in the preceding chapters of Leviticus.

It's the spilt blood that must be atoned for, not the birth of the child.

Re: Why a Sin offering?
 

Weren't their ritual cleasings / mikveha also for menstruation and the spillage of other bodily fluids?

Re: Why a Sin offering?
 

Leviticus 15 repeatedly states the requirement for the "unclean" person to be "washed." In Jerusalem itself the mikvaot would have been the place for this since there are no large streams or natural bodies of water.

I took Esther's question to have been about the requirement for a "sin offering" after the birth of a child.

Re: Why a Sin offering?
 

But an offering doesn't cleanse anything literally. It is for regaining God's approval, yes? So, it seems that God marks giving birth (or the bleeding that accompanies it, if you prefer) in the "sin" column, for some reason, and requires atonement for it before erasing that mark.

Just sayin'.

Re: Why a Sin offering?
 

And it's interesting that v 7 mentions that the offering was to come only after the time of purifying. The purifying would seem to take care of any physical needs, so there must have further been some kind of spiritual "need" to take care of.

Re: Why a Sin offering?
 

Some interesting thoughts, but couldn't it have been a burnt offering instead of sin?

Re: Why a Sin offering?
 

Good point Timmy.

Re: Why a Sin offering?
 

Really?

:woohoo:happydance:hanky

:D

Re: Why a Sin offering?
 

And just what needs are "taken care of" whenever any "offering" is made?