Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Ezekiel 16:4
And [as for] thy nativity, in the day thou wast born thy navel was not cut, neither wast thou washed in water to supple [thee]; thou wast not salted at all, nor swaddled at all.
4. as for thy nativity ] The circumstances of thy birth were these, as follows. The family of Israel, represented by Jerusalem, is compared to an exposed infant, for whom the things absolutely necessary to preserve its life were not done. The reference is to the history of the family in Canaan, and in its descent to Egypt, when it was feeble, unprotected and in danger of perishing.
to supple thee] The word is otherwise unknown. Targ. “for purification,” probably guessed, but some such sense is required. Fried. Del. refers to an Assyrian root signifying to wash.
wast not salted at all ] An ancient custom was to rub the newborn infant with salt “tenera infantium corpora solent ab obstetricibus sale contingi ut sicciora sint et restringantur,” Jerome. The ceremony was probably partly religious as well as healthful.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
To supple thee – i. e., to cleanse thee.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 4. As for thy nativity, c.] This verse refers to what is ordinarily done for every infant on its birth. The umbilical cord, by which it received all its nourishment while in the womb, being no longer necessary, is cut at a certain distance from the abdomen: on this part a knot is tied, which firmly uniting the sides of the tubes, they coalesce, and incarnate together. The extra part of the cord on the outside of the ligature, being cut off from the circulation by which it was originally fed, soon drops off, and the part where the ligature was is called the navel. In many places, when this was done, the infant was plunged into cold water in all cases washed, and sometimes with a mixture of salt and water, in order to give a greater firmness to the skin, and constringe the pores. The last process was swathing the body, to support mechanically the tender muscles till they should acquire sufficient strength to support the body. But among savages this latter process is either wholly neglected, or done very slightly: and the less it is done, the better for the infant; as this kind of unnatural compression greatly impedes the circulation of the blood, the pulsation of the heart, and the due inflation of the lungs; respiration, in many cases, being rendered oppressive by the tightness of these bandages.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
In the day thou wast born; either in the day I called Abraham to leave his idolatry; or when in Egypt you began to multiply into a nation; or when you were brought out of Egyptian bondage. Or whether you fix any other time, it was a helpless and miserable state they were in.
Thy navel was not cut: as the new-born infant cannot do this for its own preservation, and as there is great danger if not carefully and skilfully done, as it is the early care of the hand that delivers the child, so was the care and love of God towards this people when they could not, and others would not, help them, and this will be declared in a continued allegory. The preventing mercy of God was showed in this.
Washed in water. Born in blood, unpleasant to behold, thou must have weltered therein, and perished; none washed thee, that thou mightest be handled, but I; I purged away the blood and uncleanness of thy birth, took thee up, nursed, provided for, and disposed of thee.
Thou wast not salted: salt is of a drying, abstersive, and cleansing nature, and was used to purge, dry, and strengthen the new-born child, to make it the more lovely and lively.
Nor swaddled: this usage for the continued preservation of the infant, for strengthening it, setting its limbs, and keeping them in their right and orderly posture, is most necessary to be observed, and yet there was none that would do this for this infant: so forlorn was the state of the Jews in their birth, without beauty, weltering in blood, without strength, new-born, without friend that might act the mothers or midwifes office.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
4. Israel’s helplessness in herfirst struggling into national existence, under the image of aninfant (Ho 2:3) cast forthwithout receiving the commonest acts of parental regard. Its verylife was a miracle (Ex1:15-22).
navel . . . not cutWithoutproper attention to the navel cord, the infant just born is liable todie.
neither . . . washed in waterto supple theethat is, to make the skin soft. Rather, “forpurification”; from an Arabic root [MAURER].GESENIUS translates as theMargin, “that thou mightest (be presented to thy parentsto) be looked upon,” as is customary on the birth of achild.
saltedAnciently theyrubbed infants with salt to make the skin firm.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And [as for] thy nativity, in the day thou wast born,…. Which refers either to the time when Abraham was called out of Ur of the Chaldeans, who had before been an idolater; or rather to the time when the children of Israel were in Egypt, and there grew and multiplied, and became a numerous body of people; who, upon their coming out of it, were brought into some form, and became a nation or body politic, which may be called the day of their birth as a people; see Ho 2:3;
thy navel was not cut; alluding to what is done to a newborn infant, when the midwife immediately takes care to cut the navel string, by which the child adheres to its mother, and takes in its breath and nourishment in the womb; but now, being of no longer use that way, it is cut and tied up, for the safety both of mother and child, who otherwise would be in great danger; and this denotes the desperate condition the Israelites were in when in Egypt, where they were greatly oppressed and afflicted, and in very imminent danger of being destroyed; to which the Targum refers it:
neither wast thou washed in water to supple [thee]: which also is done, to an infant as soon as born, to cleanse it from the menstruous blood, to make the flesh sleek, and smooth, and amiable; which, as Kimchi and Ben Melech observe, is done in hot water:
thou wast not salted at all; which was done, either by sprinkling salt upon it, or using salt and water h, as a detersive of uncleanness, to prevent putrefaction, to dry up the humours, and harden the flesh, and consolidate the parts:
nor swaddled at all; to bring the several members of the body into form and shape; see Lu 2:7; and these things being of necessity to be done immediately, were, as Kimchi observes, lawful to be done even on a sabbath day, according to the traditions of the elders i.
h Vid. Alex. ab Alex. Genial. Dier. l. 2. c. 25. i Vid. T. Bab. Sabbat, fol. 129. 2.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Here the Prophet metaphorically describes that most miserable state in which God found the Jews. For we know that scarcely any nation was ever so cruelly and disgracefully oppressed. For when they were all driven to servile labor without reward, the edict went forth that their males should be cut off. (Exo 1:16.) No species of disgrace was omitted, and their life was worse than a hundred deaths. This, then, is the reason why God says that the Jews were so cast forth on the face of the earth without any supply of the common necessaries of life. He takes these figures from customary usage; for it is usual to cut the navel-string of infants: for the navel affords them nourishment in their mothers’ womb, and mother and child would both perish unless a separation took place; and if the navel-string were not tied the child would perish; for all the blood flows through that organ, as the child received its sustenance through it: and this is the midwife’s chief care as soon as the child is born, to cut away what must afterwards be restored to its place, and to bind up the part, and to do it, as I have said, with the greatest care, as the infant’s life depends upon it.
But God says, that the navel-string of the Jews is not cut off. Why so? because they were cast, says he, on the surface of the earth; that is, they were deserted and exposed, — using but a single word. He now adds, they were not washed with water: for we know how young infants require ablution; and unless it be performed immediately, they will perish. Hence he says, they were not washed with water. He adds, to soften or refresh, or “fettle” them, as the common phrase is; for water softens and smoothes the skin, though others translate it in the sense of causing it to shine: but we understand the Prophet’s meaning sufficiently. He afterwards adds, they were not rubbed with salt; for salt is sprinkled on the body of an infant to harden the flesh, while care must be taken not to render it too hard; and this moderate hardness is effected by the sprinkling of salt. The full meaning is, that the Jews at their birth were cast out with such contempt, that they were destitute of the necessary care which life requires. He adds, No eye pitied thee, so as to discharge any of these duties, and to show thee pity: and this is sufficiently evident, since the Israelites would have been destroyed had no one taken compassion on them; for they were in some sense buried in the land of Egypt; for we know how cruel was the conspiracy of the whole land against them. No wonder, then, if God here relates that they were cast upon the surface of the land, so that no eye looked upon them and showed them pity. He adds, they were cast to the loathing of their life. He simply means, that they were so despicable that they had no standing among men; for loathing of life means the same as rejection. It now follows —
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(4) Washed in water to supple thee.The various particulars of this and the following verse describe a child cast out into the field immediately upon its birth, unpitied by any one, and in a condition in which it must soon have perished. Neither the text nor the margin seems to have hit upon the sense of the word translated to supple, the probable meaning of which is to cleanse. The rubbing of the body of the new-born infant with salt, a custom still prevailing in some parts of the east, probably had a symbolical, as well as a supposed physical effect; and is recommended for the latter reason by Galen (De Sanit. i. 7). The wrapping the body tightly in swaddling-bands (Comp. Luk. 2:7) is still common, even in Italy. The time here referred to in the life of Israel is that in which it passed from its embryonic state in the family of the patriarchs to a nation in the bondage of Egypt. Despised, oppressed, and enslaved, no other people ever became a nation under such circumstances. Humanly speaking, national life was an impossibility for them.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
4. As for thy nativity The Hebrew nation, notwithstanding its boastfulness and contempt for the heathen ( goyem) is here declared to have come of heathen stock, with no original spiritual beauty or native endowment above other peoples. The ancestors of the Hebrews were idolaters, and in the Hebrew babyhood, first in Ur and then in Canaan, their parents gave them no spiritual culture or cleansing or training above their other children.
To supple R.V., “to cleanse.”
Not salted at all It was supposed in ancient times that to rub the newborn babe with salt was a healthful precaution. This is still done in Syria and Palestine. A native mother said of a European child, “Poor thing! It was not salted at all.” Dr. Fradenburgh makes it seem quite probable that this was a symbolic rite intended to consecrate the new life and bring it into visible covenant relationship with the tribe. All similar passages where salt is referred to in the Old Testament (see, for example, Num 18:19) are connected with covenant making, covenant confirming, consecrating, or devoting. (See Fradenburgh, in Methodist Review, November, 1898.)
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
“And as for your nativity, in the day that you were born your navel was not cut, nor were you washed in water to cleanse you. You were not salted at all, nor swaddled at all. No eye pitied you to do any of these things to you, to have compassion on you. But you were cast out in the open field because your person was abhorred in the day that you were born.”
‘Your nativity.’ The time of birth and what immediately followed. The thought is probably that of the ‘birth of the nation’ in Egypt, a slave nation treated abominably. But the more general idea was that they were basically unwanted so that no one bothered with them, even those who had ‘fathered’ them. (The idea that it was the Abrahamic period mainly in mind is denied by the fact that the father was an Amorite and the mother a Hittite).
The meaning of the word translated ‘to cleanse’ is unknown. It is probably a technical term for cleaning up the baby and removing the stains of afterbirth. ‘Salting’ was probably for antiseptic purposes. Swaddling was wrapping up the baby for protection. But no one did this for Israel. They were unwanted. So they were, as it were, tossed into a field in their filthy state just as they came out of the womb, because they were hated. This, alas, was all too often the experience of an unwanted baby. The idea behind all this is that in themselves they had nothing to be proud of. Their state was such that they were only to be pitied.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Eze 16:4. And as for thy nativity “Thou wast abandoned like an infant, whereof no care is taken, and which is about to be exposed.” The expressions used in this verse allude to the customs observed by eastern nations at the birth of their children; and the design of the prophet is to mark out that state of impurity wherein the Hebrews were found in Egypt; plunged in idolatry and ignorance, and oppressed with cruel servitude.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
We have not only the weakness and helplessness of every man’s state by nature here represented to us, but, what is more to the purpose, and indeed the great object intended to be shown from Ezekiel’s preaching, we have the total ruin of that nature by the fall set forth. Every son and daughter of Adam may be truly said to be cast out to the loathing of their person, and left everlastingly to perish for any help or any pity all the creatures of God could give. Reader! pause over it, and contemplate a state so very awful! and then recollect, that this was and is both yours and mine, and both by original sin and actual transgression.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Eze 16:4 And [as for] thy nativity, in the day thou wast born thy navel was not cut, neither wast thou washed in water to supple [thee]; thou wast not salted at all, nor swaddled at all.
Ver. 4. Thy navel was not cut. ] None was so courteous as to do any of these necessary good offices for thee, a poor, forlorn, helpless wretch. No creature is so shiftless as a newly born babe, which, cast out and left to the wide world, must needs perish. a
a Plut., lib. De Amore Prolis.
to supple = to cleanse.
salted: i.e., rubbed, or washed with salt. This is the custom in the Land to = day.
for: Eze 20:8, Eze 20:13, Gen 15:13, Exo 1:11-14, Exo 2:23, Exo 2:24, Exo 5:16-21, Deu 5:6, Deu 15:15, Jos 24:2, Neh 9:7-9, Hos 2:3, Act 7:6, Act 7:7
to supple thee: or, when I looked upon thee
nor: Lam 2:20, *marg. Lam 2:22, Luk 2:7, Luk 2:12
Reciprocal: Job 3:12 – the knees Pro 3:8 – thy Isa 44:2 – formed Eze 16:9 – washed Eze 21:30 – in the Mat 14:11 – and given Joh 13:8 – If Rom 5:6 – For
Eze 16:4. This verse represents a possible though very unusual circumstance. It Is the case where a babe arrives who was not wanted and of whom its parents are ashamed even though they have nothing of which to be so proud. They have such a feeling of contempt for the helpless creature that they do not give it the usual treatment of cleansing and surgical care usually accorded every newborn infant. They do not even furnish it with the swaddling band which was commonly used at such times, but which was a very meager article of clothing at best.
Eze 16:4. As for thy nativity, &c. Jerusalem is here represented under the image of an exposed infant, whom God preserved from destruction, brought up, espoused and exalted in sovereignty. But she proved faithless and abandoned; and therefore God threatens her with severe vengeance, but graciously promises that afterward he would fulfil his early covenant with her. The allegory is easily understood; and has much force, liveliness, and vehemence of eloquent amplification. The images are adapted to a people immersed in sensuality. Bishop Newcome. Thy navel was not cut The navel-string, by which thou wast held to the body of thy mother, none took care to cut. By this and the other metaphorical expressions in this and the next verse, the prophet hints how despised a people Israel was, and in what a forlorn condition when they went first into Egypt. Neither wast thou washed in water to supple thee Hebrew, , ad aspectum meum, as Buxtorf renders it, that is, when I first beheld thee, or, ut jucunda aspectu esses, that thou mightest be pleasant to behold. Some render it, To make thee shine. The meaning is, to cleanse thee from the pollutions of thy birth. Thou wast not salted at all It seems it was then customary to rub new-born infants over with salt; probably to dry up the humours of their bodies. All the expressions here used allude to the custom observed by the eastern nations at the birth of their children; and the design of the prophet is to mark out that state of impurity wherein the Hebrews were found in Egypt, plunged in idolatry and ignorance, and oppressed with cruel servitude.
16:4 And [as for] thy nativity, in the day thou wast {b} born thy navel was not cut, neither wast thou washed in water to cleanse [thee]; thou wast not salted at all, nor swaddled at all.
(b) When I first brought you out of Egypt and planted you in this land to be my Church.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes