But then he called to her from beneath her: "Do not be sad, your Lord has made below you a stream."
Translation endnotes
[19:24-25] The recommendation to Mary has medical benefits. The sound of water and mature dates have a regulating effect on human muscles and thus reduce the birth pain. Indeed, some modern birth clinics provide birth-in-water services. The oxytocin found in dates regulates contraction and stimulates lactation, and thus is given to pregnant women as a drug to ease their labor. See 4:82. This verse gives a clue regarding the season in which Jesus was born. In the Middle East, dates get ripe in the end of September, and in the beginning of October. Jesus was born in Nazareth, not Bethlehem (beit/house+lahm/meat) as a majority of Christians believe today. The information in the Gospels regarding the origin of his parents is contradictory; Luke points to Nazareth, while Matthew points to Bethlehem (Matthew 1:18-25; 2:1-12; Luke 2:4- 7). Jesus was called the Nazarene in the New Testament (Mark 1:24,10:47,14:67,16:6), yet Christian scholars are not sure why he was called Nazarene. Perhaps, this is because the Old Testament does not mention Nazareth, but mentions Bethlehem (Genesis 35:16,19; 48:7; Ruth 4:11; 1 Samuel 17:12; 2 Samuel 23:13-17). Since we see the Gospel authors trying hard to find as many as prophecies from the Old Testament regarding the coming Messiah, the discrepancy and "mystery" between the name and the birthplace might be explained. The Old Testament praises Bethlehem for being the birthplace of the awaited ruler (Micah 5:2).