Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, on Ezek 16:4

“And when thou wast born, in the day of thy nativity thy navel wits not cut, neither wast thou washed with water for thy health, nor salted with salt, nor swaddled with clouts.”

“Israel's helplessness in her first struggling into national existence, under the image of an infant (Hos 2:3) cast forth without receiving the commonest acts of parental regard. Its very life was a miracle (Exo 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.”

Imported from an open dataset — not yet checked against the printed edition.