“A pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons”
Luke 2:22–24
Legal referenceSettledNarrator
…to offer the sacrifice specified in the Law of the Lord: 'A pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.' (Luke 2:22–24 BSB)
What it sounds like today
A liturgical detail about birds.
The cultural key
Leviticus 12 prescribed a lamb for a new mother's purification offering, with an explicit poverty clause: 'If she cannot afford a lamb, then she shall take two turtledoves or two pigeons' (Leviticus 12:8). Luke quotes the poverty clause. Every hearer who knew the law heard the family's economic status announced in the sacrifice they could afford.
Recovered meaning
The one the angels called Messiah and Lord is presented at the temple with the poor family's offering. Luke's Gospel, which will announce good news to the poor throughout, plants the flag in its second chapter: he was one of them.
Parallels: Leviticus 12:8