No surprise, prothrombin and vitamin K (for clotting) are at their highest levels on the eighth day.
When we come to Leviticus 12, we remind ourselves of a simple definition of what is true and right: it’s whatever God thinks about something. He wants us to think about these issues, too—not to make up our own minds, but to understand His. I have found it helpful to have this verse at my elbow as I study: “As for God, His way is perfect; the word of the Lord is proven” (2 Sam 22:31). God always has it right, whether we understand the reasons behind it or not! Having dealt with food laws, God now turns our attention to childbirth issues. Oh, the wonder of a child’s birth! The Lord lays out a three-step purification procedure required of a woman who gives birth: a period of impurity, a longer period of purification, and, finally, a purification offering. Up front, it should be understood that the woman being “unclean” (Heb, tumah) does not imply sinfulness or inferiority. It is ritual impurity because of the blood flow involved in childbirth. For a male child, there was the addition of circumcision on the eighth day: “If a woman has…borne a male child, then she shall be unclean seven days…And on the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised. She shall then continue in the blood of her purification thirty-three days. She shall not touch any hallowed thing, nor come into the sanctuary until the days of her purification are fulfilled” (Lev 12:2-4). So a male child, after his mother spent seven days in privacy, was then brought to be circumcised. We thought about this seal of the covenant when we studied Genesis 17. This physical sign was placed where they were reminded of their link with God in raising their children for Him. “Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord” (Ps 127:3), and parents do well to remember this.