Why was a woman, in Biblical times, considered "ceremonially unclean" for 40/80 days to enter the temple after giving birth?

Answer by  malone (4817)

The rules were not created by God. They were created by the men who wrote down the various installments of the Bible. The notion of "unclean" was based on ignorance of the time and practical concerns for health. A good example is the Hebrew ban on pork.

Answer by  andyha7396 (6)

Menstrual blood(and childbirth) was unclean in the Old Testament, but not because women are any worse. The same is true for semen(Leviticus 15). God views men and women equally(Genesis 1:27,Galatians 3:28). For male and female children, male circumcision might have taken some of the cleansing.

Answer by  Rose (6804)

Women were considered unclean due to the fact that they were still bleeding due to child birth and like her menstural period this was considered to be an unclean act.

Answer by  SandyG (807)

Blood is a big deal in the old testament. The birthing process can result in a woman hemoraging or menstruating continually for several weeks. It was required that women not visit the temple during their menstrual time, and were required to wash before entering the temple. Many of the old testament rules were kept by early new testament christians.

Answer by  Shawnsgrandma (156)

While the Bible does not give reasons for making folks unclean, there are advantages we can infer. For example, an unclean woman could not participate in sexual intercourse. Doctors today recommend six weeks of abstinence to allow a woman to heal from the stresses of pregnancy and childbirth.

Answer by  tamarawilhite (17883)

Any discharge of blood and bodily fluids was considered unclean. Her blood and the placenta that were considered doubly unclean. A daughter was considered half as good or twice as negative as a son, hence the difference in how long she was unclean after childbirth. And the mother had to be present for the son's name at 40 days.