Topical Bible: Children: Nurses For

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In biblical times, the role of a nurse for children was an important and respected position, often filled by women who provided care and nurturing to infants and young children. This role is highlighted in several key biblical narratives, illustrating the significance of nurses in the upbringing and protection of children.

One of the most notable examples is found in the account of Moses. When Pharaoh's daughter discovered the infant Moses in the basket among the reeds of the Nile, his sister Miriam offered to find a Hebrew woman to nurse the child. Exodus 2:7-9 recounts this event: "Then his sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, 'Shall I go and call one of the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you?' 'Go ahead,' Pharaoh’s daughter told her. And the girl went and called the child’s mother. Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, 'Take this child and nurse him for me, and I will pay your wages.' So the woman took the child and nursed him." This passage highlights the practice of employing a nurse, often the child's own mother, to provide care and nourishment.

Another significant mention of a nurse is found in the account of Rebekah. When Rebekah left her family to marry Isaac, she was accompanied by her nurse, Deborah. Genesis 24:59 states, "So they sent their sister Rebekah on her way, along with her nurse and Abraham’s servant and his men." Deborah's presence underscores the importance of a nurse in providing continuity and support during significant life transitions.

The role of a nurse extended beyond mere physical care; it often included emotional and spiritual nurturing. In 2 Samuel 4:4 , we read about Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan, who was crippled as a child. "Now Saul’s son Jonathan had a son who was lame in both feet. He was five years old when the news about Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel. His nurse picked him up and fled, but as she hurried to leave, he fell and became disabled. His name was Mephibosheth." This account demonstrates the nurse's protective role, even in times of crisis.

The presence of nurses in these biblical accounts reflects the broader cultural and familial structures of the time, where extended family and household members played crucial roles in child-rearing. Nurses were entrusted with the well-being of children, ensuring their physical health and safety, and often becoming integral members of the family unit.

In summary, the biblical depiction of nurses for children emphasizes their vital role in nurturing and protecting the young, serving as caregivers who were deeply involved in the lives of the children they tended. These narratives highlight the value placed on the care and upbringing of children within the biblical tradition.

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Exodus 2:7-9
Then said his sister to Pharaoh's daughter, Shall I go and call to you a nurse of the Hebrew women, that she may nurse the child for you?
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Acts 7:20
In which time Moses was born, and was exceeding fair, and nourished up in his father's house three months:
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Ruth 4:16
And Naomi took the child, and laid it in her bosom, and became nurse to it.
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2 Samuel 4:4
And Jonathan, Saul's son, had a son that was lame of his feet. He was five years old when the tidings came of Saul and Jonathan out of Jezreel, and his nurse took him up, and fled: and it came to pass, as she made haste to flee, that he fell, and became lame. And his name was Mephibosheth.
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2 Kings 11:2
But Jehosheba, the daughter of king Joram, sister of Ahaziah, took Joash the son of Ahaziah, and stole him from among the king's sons which were slain; and they hid him, even him and his nurse, in the bedchamber from Athaliah, so that he was not slain.
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Library

The Name Children Does not Imply Instruction in Elementary ...
... a mother. And calling her children to her, she nurses them with holy milk,
viz., with the Word for childhood. Therefore she had ...
/.../clement/the instructor paedagogus/chapter vi the name children does.htm

This Let Nurses
... By this let nurses, and those parents that desire Holy Children learn to make them
possessors of Heaven and Earth betimes; to remove silly objects from before ...
/.../traherne/centuries of meditations/11 by this let nurses.htm

Children and Childlike Men
... Now this does not refer to innocence; for, as a matter of fact, children are not
innocent, as all schoolmasters and nurses know, whatever sentimental poets may ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture d/children and childlike men.htm

Home as a Nursery.
... it over to nurses. The whole subject warns parents against giving over
their children to dissolute nurses. What a blushing shame ...
//christianbookshelf.org/philips/the christian home/chapter xiii home as a.htm

For Where There are Weddings, Marriages, Births, Nurses, Arts...
... For where there are weddings, marriages, births, nurses, arts, [4228] and weaknesses;
where ... operation; or that he at one time cut off the children sprung from ...
/.../the seven books of arnobius against the heathen/28 for where there are.htm

The Comfort of the Milk
... However, he speaks of nurses who suckled him; no doubt these were servants or slaves
of the ... Besides, with them children are weaned much later than with us. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/bertrand/saint augustin/iii the comfort of the.htm

Security of Christians.
... I have seen that great men's little children must go no whither without
their nurses be at hand. If they go abroad, their nurses ...
/.../bunyan/the riches of bunyan/xvi security of christians.htm

"For if Ye Live after the Flesh, Ye Shall Die; but if Ye through ...
... that belong to life, should make us willing to yield ourselves over to the Spirit
of God, as blind men to their leader, as children to their nurses, as orphans ...
/.../binning/the works of the rev hugh binning/sermon xxxv for if ye.htm

Jean Jacques Rousseau.
... woman. He rebuked the ladies of France for intrusting their children to
nurses, and yet placed his own in a foundling-hospital. His ...
//christianbookshelf.org/schaff/the person of christ/jean jacques rousseau.htm

The Mission of the Christian Home.
... with their children. They commit their children, with all the family interests,
to nurses and servants. They regard their offspring ...
/.../christianbookshelf.org/philips/the christian home/chapter ii the mission of.htm