4. Israel's helplessness in her first struggling into national
existence, under the image of an infant
(Ho 2:3)
cast forth without receiving the commonest acts of parental regard. Its
very life was a miracle
(Ex 1:15-22).
navel . . . not cut--Without proper attention to the navel cord, the
infant just born is liable to die.
neither . . . washed in water to supple thee--that is, to make the
skin soft. Rather, "for purification"; from an Arabic root
[MAURER].
GESENIUS translates as the Margin, "that thou mightest (be presented
to thy parents to) be looked upon," as is customary on the birth of
a child.
salted--Anciently they rubbed infants with salt to make the skin firm.
JFB.
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