As for your birth, in the day you were born your navel was not cut. You weren’t washed in water to cleanse you. You weren’t salted at all, nor wrapped in blankets at all.
ExplanationCommentary
Verse 4. Cut. By this the infant received nourishment in the womb. Now it seems to be exposed by its parents. Calmet.—The Jews in Egypt were abandoned to idolatry and distress. Theod. in Cant.—Health. Many plunged the infant in cold water to brace its nerves, ( Calmet.) or to wash it. Salt was also used to dry up the humidity and stop the pores, (Saint Jerome) or it was mixed with water to harden the skin and navel. Avicen. Gall. San. i. 7.—Clouts, to keep the body straight. The negroes who neglect this are stronger and better proportioned, ( Calmet.) and too much restraint is known to be detrimental to the tender limbs. Bible.