Birth
Summary
The act of bringing forth children, ordained by God to involve sorrow since the Fall, yet accompanied by joy at the arrival of new life.
☩Childbirth in the Ancient World
In the East, childbirth was generally attended with less difficulty than in more northern climates, though all women remained under the common doom pronounced upon Eve: 'in sorrow shalt thou bring forth children.' Hebrew midwives assisted at births, and various customs surrounded the care of newborns, including washing, rubbing with salt, and swaddling.
☩Spiritual and Figurative Uses
The pangs of childbirth are frequently used as a metaphor for sudden and acute suffering, particularly the distress that will overtake those unprepared for the Lord's coming. The Messianic hope was closely tied to childbearing, and barrenness was considered a reproach, while birth was an occasion for rejoicing.
Related Verses22 mentions
References
- 1.Andrew Robert Fausset, "Birth," in The Englishman's Critical and Expository Bible Cyclopædia (Hodder & Stoughton, 1878).
- 2.James Orr (ed.), "Birth," in International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, vol. I (Howard-Severance Company, 1915).