Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Luke 2:24

"and to offer a sacrifice according to that which is said in the law of the Lord, A pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons." — Luke 2:24 (ASV)

It is important to understand the sequence and background of these events. According to Jewish law a woman became ceremonially unclean on the birth of a child. On the eighth day a male child was circumcised (cf. 1:59; Genesis 17:12), after which the mother was unclean an additional thirty-three days (Leviticus 12:1–5). At the conclusion of this period, the mother offered a sacrifice, either a lamb or, if she was poor, two doves or two young pigeons (Leviticus 12:6–8). In addition, the first son was to be presented to the Lord and then, so to speak, bought back with an offering (Numbers 18:15). Luke, conflating the performance of these OT obligations into this single narrative, shows how Jesus was reared in conformity with them. His parents obeyed the Lord (1:31) in naming him. The offering of birds instead of a lamb shows that he was born into a poor family. Perhaps this helped him identify with the poor of the land (cf. 6:20).