Swaddling Clothes

"And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn." (Luke 2:7)

"And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger" (Luke 2:12).It is well known that most people interpret the two verses above as referring to the clothing new-born babies wear today, i.e. the bundling of a new-born baby.I, myself, did not understand the true interpretation of the word "swaddled" as used in the Middle East in times gone by. I ignorantly accepted these verses to mean the baby was bundled up in a blanket or other clothes. It was not until fairly recently that I stumbled across the word "swaddled" in a church booklet that clearly explained the meaning of the word through 1st-century Jewish eyes. With this in mind, let's take a look at the birth of the male-child Yeshua the Messiah.Before we go into the Scriptural and historical understanding of this custom that was practiced by the majority of Semites -- including the Jews -- we need to know what being "swaddled" meant to them. In Jewish marriages, one of the greatest gifts that could be bestowed upon them was to have children -- and especially to have sons. This is because the Jews awaited the coming of their Messiah, and every Jewish family lived in the hope that their son would be that promised Messiah. Therefore, children were truly considered to be the "salt of the earth." Following is the procedure of a new-born baby being "swaddled."A new-born child is not clothed, but "swaddled." The word "clothes" found in the old King James Bible, and other versions, is misleading to the neophyte Bible student. The word "clothes" in these verses should have read in a "swaddling band," as it is referred to in Job 38:9 -- "When I made the cloud the garment thereof, and thick darkness a swaddling band for it."Some versions of the Bible have "swaddling cloths" (without the "e"), which is a better way of translating it. However, "swaddling band" is the correct translation.

What exactly was a "swaddling band"? It was made from linen or cotton material and was five to six yards long (15-18 feet) we are told, and the width of the band was from four to five inches. Salt was pulverized by the mid-wife until it was in the form of a fine powder. When the baby was born, the mid-wife first washed the baby in water, then a piece of cloth about a square yard in size, was laid out and the baby placed on it in a diagonal position. As the custom was, the baby's body was sprinkled and gently rubbed with the finely powdered salt. Swaddled infants did not have the free movement of their arms and legs. The legs were placed closely together and then the baby's arms were placed at its sides and the piece of swaddled cloth was folded over the baby's feet and arms. Then the swaddle band was wrapped from under the baby's chin, over the forehead and wrapped around and around the infant all the way down to the ankles. When the baby was finished being wrapped in the swaddling band, it had all the appearance of a mummy. It is not certain from the Bible whether a mid-wife did the swaddling in the Messiah's case, or whether Mary did it herself. Either way, the infant Yeshua would have been swaddled.

Christmas wrappings"And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn."

Georges de la Tour, in addition to giving us a rare exception to the rule that Mary always wears blue, shows us exactly what a swaddled baby Jesus would have looked like.