{The days of their purification} (hai h(886d)erai tou
katharismou aut(936e)). The old manuscripts have "their" (aut(936e))
instead of "her" (aut(8873)) of the later documents. But it is not
clear whether "their" refers to Mary and Joseph as is true of
"they brought" or to Mary and the child. The mother was
Levitically unclean for forty days after the birth of a son ( Le
12:1-8 ). {To present him to the Lord} (parast(8873)ai t(9369) Kuri(9369)).
Every first-born son was thus redeemed by the sacrifice ( Ex
13:2-12 ) as a memorial of the sparing of the Israelitish
families ( Nu 18:15f. ). The cost was about two dollars and a
half in our money.