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Leviticus 22 · a question people ask

Why couldn't a cow and her calf be killed on the same day?

In the text

The chapter doesn't say. It gives two rules and no reason: a newborn bull, sheep or goat "shall remain seven days with its mother" before it can be offered (22:27), and "Whether it is a cow or ewe, you shall not kill it and its young both in one day" (22:28). Exodus gave the first rule for the firstborn of cattle and sheep: "It shall be with its mother seven days, then on the eighth day you shall give it to me" (Exodus 22:30). Two more laws speak of a mother and her young. One gives no reason: "You shall not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk" (Exodus 23:19). The other, of a bird's nest, "you shall not take the hen with the young" (Deuteronomy 22:6), ends with a promise: "that it may be well with you, and that you may prolong your days" (Deuteronomy 22:7).

The verses

““When a bull, a sheep, or a goat is born, it shall remain seven days with its mother. From the eighth day on it shall be accepted for the offering of an offering made by fire to the LORD. Whether it is a cow or ewe, you shall not kill it and its young both in one day.”
Leviticus 22:27-28 · World English Bible
““You shall not delay to offer from your harvest and from the outflow of your presses. “You shall give the firstborn of your sons to me. You shall do likewise with your cattle and with your sheep. It shall be with its mother seven days, then on the eighth day you shall give it to me.”
Exodus 22:29-30 · World English Bible
“You shall bring the first of the first fruits of your ground into the house of the LORD your God. “You shall not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.”
Exodus 23:19 · World English Bible
“If you come across a bird’s nest on the way, in any tree or on the ground, with young ones or eggs, and the hen sitting on the young, or on the eggs, you shall not take the hen with the young. You shall surely let the hen go, but the young you may take for yourself, that it may be well with you, and that you may prolong your days.”
Deuteronomy 22:6-7 · World English Bible

From Favor's study of Leviticus 22

Leviticus 22: To be accepted

Leviticus 22 guards the holy things at both ends: the priest who eats them must be clean, and the animal offered must be "without defect" to be accepted (22:19). In Hebrew, the "defect" that kept an animal from the altar is the word used for the priests in chapter 21. The chapter ends: "I am the LORD who makes you holy" (22:32).

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Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Every answer cites the verses it rests on. What we believe · All Bible questions