“Say to
the Israelites: ‘A woman who becomes pregnant and gives birth to a son will be
ceremonially unclean for seven days, just as she is unclean during her monthly
period.’” Leviticus 12:2
The process of giving birth involves
the shedding for some blood and since God created quarantine rules for those
who touch blood, that needed to be applied to the woman giving birth (and those
who helped her too).
Blood, as we know today, transfers
certain deadly diseases, from Ebola to AIDS.
God developed a quarantine system—separation from the community for
seven days—to make sure those diseases weren’t spread. The woman had time to bond with her child and
was given a little vacation, so it probably wasn’t so bad.