And as for your nativity, in the day you were born your navel was not cut, neither were you washed in water to cleanse you; you were not rubbed with salt at all, nor swaddled at all.
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George Leo Haydock
AD 1849
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. (Theodoret, in Canticle of Canticles)
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, (St. 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. (Haydock)
