Breastfeeding and the Bible

momnbaby Psalm 8:2 (English-KJV)
2 Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger.

momnbaby Genesis 49:25 (English-NIV)
25 Even by the God of thy father, who shall help thee; and by the Almighty, who shall bless thee with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lieth under, blessings of the breasts, and of the womb:

momnbaby I Samuel 1:21-23 (English-NIV)
1 When the man Elkanah went up with all his family to offer the annual sacrifice to the Lord and to fulfill his vow,
2 Hannah did not go. She said to her husband, "After the boy is weaned, I will take him and present him before the Lord, and he will live there always."
3 "Do what seems best to you," Elkanah her husband told her. "Stay here until you have weaned him; only may the Lord make good his word." So the woman stayed at home and nursed her son until she had weaned him.

momnbaby Joel 2:15-16 (English-NIV)
15 Blow the trumpet in Zion, declare a holy fast, call a sacred assembly.
16 Gather the people, consecrate the assembly; bring together the elders, gather the children, those nursing at the breast. Let the bridegroom leave his room and the bride her chamber.

momnbaby Psalms 22:9 (English-NIV)
9 Yet you brought me out of the womb; you made me trust in you even at my mother's breast.

momnbaby 1 Thessalonians 2:7 (English-NASB)
7 But we proved to be gentle among you, as a nursing mother tenderly cares for her own children.

momnbaby 1 Peter 2:1-3 (English-KJV)

~ After having nursed a newborn, verse two has so much more meaning to me. Ellen had a fervent desire to nurse, and she nursed frequently! ~

1 Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, all evil speakings,
2 As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:
3 If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.

momnbaby Isaiah 66:10-13 (English-NIV)
10 "Rejoice with Jerusalem and be glad for her, all you who love her; rejoice greatly with her, all you who mourn over her.
11 For you will nurse and be satisfied at her comforting breasts; you will drink deeply and delight in her overflowing abundance."
12 For this is what the LORD says: "I will extend peace to her like a river, and the wealth of nations like a flooding stream; you will nurse and be carried on her arm and dandled on her knees.
13 As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you; and you will be comforted over Jerusalem."

momnbaby Isaiah 60:15,16 (English-NIV)
15 "Although you have been forsaken and hated, with no one traveling through, I will make you the everlasting pride and the joy of all generations.
16 You will drink the milk of nations and be nursed at royal breasts. Then you will know that I, the LORD, am your Savior, your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.

momnbaby Isaiah 49:15, 16 (English-KJV)
15 Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee.
16 Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me.

momnbaby Exodus 2:1-10 (English-NIV) The Story of Baby Moses

~ God wonderfully spared Moses' life, and He made a way for Moses' mother to breastfeed him. They were able to share that special time together before Moses had to go live with Pharaoh's daughter. ~

1 Now a man of the house of Levi married a Levite woman,
2 and she became pregnant and gave birth to a son. When she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him for three months.
3 But when she could hide him no longer, she got a papyrus basket for him and coated it with tar and pitch. Then she placed the child in it and put it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile.
4 His sister stood at a distance to see what would happen to him.
5 Then Pharaoh's daughter went down to the Nile to bathe, and her attendants were walking along the river bank. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her slave girl to get it.
6 She opened it and saw the baby. He was crying, and she felt sorry for him. "This is one of the Hebrew babies," she said.
7 Then his sister asked Pharaoh's daughter, "Shall I go and get one of the Hebrew women to nurse the baby for you?"
8 "Yes, go," she answered. And the girl went and got the baby's mother.
9 Pharaoh's daughter said to her, "Take this baby and nurse him for me, and I will pay you." So the woman took the baby and nursed him.
10 When the child grew older, she took him to Pharaoh's daughter and he became her son. She named him Moses, saying, "I drew him out of the water."

momnbaby Luke 11:27, 28 (NASB)

~ It's kind of interesting to note that apparently breastfeeding was not a topic about which one needed to keep quiet. The lady in this passage raised her voice in the crowd! ~

27 While Jesus was saying these things, one of the women in the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, "Blessed is the womb that bore You and the breasts at which You nursed."
28 But He said, "On the contrary, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it."

Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NIV) are from THE HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSIONŽ. Copyright Š 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations designated (NASB) are taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLEŽ, Copyright Š1960,1962,1963,1968,1971,1972,1973,1975,1977,1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

You might also enjoy these links. . .

How Breastfeeding Honors God's Providence

by Mary P. Walker

Breastfeeding God's Way

by Nancy Campbell

Breastfeeding Bible Study

by Cyndi Egbert

Breastfeeding By Design

by Heidi Bingham

Design in Infant Nutrition

by Rex D. Russell, M.D., Institute for Creation Research

Breastfeeding Index Why Breastfeed? Help! FAQ Nursing Toddlers Solids Bible & BF Bottles Nestle Boycott

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