The following verse adds a touch of grace for the poor—including Mary and Joseph—and what they were to offer: “But if she cannot afford a lamb, then she shall take two turtledoves or two young pigeons, the one for a burnt offering and the other for a sin offering; and the priest shall make atonement for her, and she will be clean” (Lev. 12:8). Luke 2:24 states that Mary came “to offer a sacrifice according to what was said in the Law of the Lord, ‘A pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.’ ” This
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