Breastfeeding was the normal way to nourish a newborn. A mother might nurse her child for a considerable period before weaning. Feeding an infant required frequent care and created a close dependence between the baby and its caregiver.
A newborn needed milk from the beginning of life. For most families, that meant breastfeeding.
Some infants could be nursed by another woman when the mother could not provide milk. Such arrangements depended on the family's circumstances.
Weaning was gradual rather than an immediate change from milk to an adult diet.
Breastfeeding was normal throughout the ancient Mediterranean world. Ancient writers also knew of wet nurses who breastfed children other than their own.
The use of a wet nurse was more practical for some families than others. We should not picture it as the ordinary experience of every Jewish household.
Infants could continue nursing well beyond the short period common in some modern societies.
Feeding a baby was a repeated part of the mother's day. The infant depended heavily on her during this stage of life.
As the child grew, other foods could gradually be introduced.
Weaning marked an important step away from the complete dependence of early infancy.
Infant feeding is difficult to reconstruct from ordinary household remains.
Small feeding vessels are known from the ancient world, but their presence does not tell us how most Jewish infants were fed.
Ancient Jewish and Greco-Roman writings refer to nursing and weaning. They show that breastfeeding could continue for an extended period.
References to wet nurses also show that another woman could sometimes nurse a child.
Breastfeeding and weaning appear naturally in Scripture. Sarah nursed Isaac, and Genesis 21:8 describes a feast when he was weaned.
Hannah also nursed Samuel until the time came to wean him.
Luke 11:27 refers naturally to a mother nursing a child. The image would have been immediately familiar to Jesus' listeners.
The Gospels do not tell us how long Jesus Himself was nursed or when He was weaned.
Breastfeeding was the normal means of feeding an infant. Wet nurses were also known in the ancient world.
Children could be nursed for a substantial period before they were fully weaned.
We cannot assign one exact age of weaning to every Jewish child.
Family circumstances and the health of mother and child could affect how feeding was handled.
The infancy of biblical figures can seem distant from ordinary life. In reality, babies required the same constant nourishment and care that infants always have.
Remembering that dependence helps us picture the humanity of the families we meet in Scripture.