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Nurse
NURSE, NURSING (מֵינֶ֫קֶת, H4787, wet nurse; אֹמֶֽנֶת, governess; τρόφος, nurse). A nurse, as described in the OT, was a woman who suckled a very young child or who helped bring up children. Pharaoh’s daughter readily complied with Miriam’s suggestion to find a Heb. woman to supply the needs of the infant Moses (
There is evidence to suggest that a nurse was given an important place in the family even after a child grew to maturity. When Rebekah decided to leave her own family and go with Abraham’s servant to marry Isaac “they sent away Rebekah their sister and her nurse” (
Just as this type of nurse took care of the needs of a physical child, so God and His chosen ones were like nurses to those who were children spiritually. Isaiah spoke prophetically of the voice of the Lord concerning His people.
“Kings shall be your foster fathers, and their queens your nursing mothers” (
Paul gives the picture of God as nurse of the children of Israel while they wandered in the wilderness (
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1915)
In the solitary passage in the New Testament where "nurse" occurs, it renders the Greek word trophos. In this case the word does not mean a hired nurse, but a mother who nurses her own children (