The Bible
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And she (Sarah) said, Who would have said unto Abraham, that Sarah should have given children suck?
Genesis XXI, 7
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But Hannah did not go up; for she said unto her husband, So soon as the child shall be weaned, then I will bring him, that he may appear before the Lord, and abide there for ever. And Elkanah her husband said unto her, Do what seemeth good in thy eyes; tarry until though has weaned him; only may the Lord fulfill his word.
So the woman remained behind, and gave her son suck until she weaned him.
Samuel I, I, :22-23
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From the God of thy father, who will help thee; and from the Almighty, who will bless thee, with blessings of heaven above, with blessings of the breasts, and of the womb;
Genesis. XLIX, 25-26
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Like a shepherd will he feed his flock: with his arm will he gather the lambs, and in his bosom will he carry them, will he lead gently those that suckle their young.
Isaiah XL, 11-12
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Yet Zion said, The Eternal hath forsaken me, and the Lord hath forgotten me. Can a woman forget her sucking child, not to have mercy on the son of her body? yea, should these even forget, yet would I not forget thee.
Isaiah LI, 14-16
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Rejoice ye with Jerusalem, and be delighted over her, all ye that love her; be highly glad with her, all ye that mourn for her. In order that ye may suck, and be satisfied with the breast of her consolations; in order that ye may sip and find pleasure from the abundance of her glory. For thus hath said the Lord, Behold, I will extend to her peace like a river, and like a rapid stream the glory of nations, that ye may suck; upon the arm shall ye be borne, and upon knees shall ye be dandled.
Isaiah LXVI, 10-13
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Instead that thou wast forsaken and hated, without one to pass through (thee), will I render thee an excellency of everlasting, a joy of all generations. And thou shalt suck the milk of nations, and the breast of kings shalt thou suck:
Isaiah LX, 15-16
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Now when she had weaned Lo-ruchamah, she conceived, and bore a son.
Hosea I, 8
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Give them, O Lord, what thou wilt give! give them a miscarrying womb and dried-up breasts.
Hosea IX, 14-15
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Yea, thou art he that took me from the womb; thou hast been my trust when I hung on my mother’s breasts.
Psalm XXII, 10-11
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Surely I have pacified and stilled my soul, like the suckling on its mother’s breast; like a suckling is in me my soul.
Psalm CXXXI, 2-3
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Oh that some one would make thee as my brother that hath sucked my mother’s breasts!
The Song of Solomon VIII, 1
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Shall women, then, eat their own fruit, the babes they have tenderly nursed?
Lamentations II, 20
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Even wild beasts offer the breast, they give suck to their young ones; the daughter of my people is become cruel, like the ostriches in the wilderness. The tongue of the suckling cleaveth to its palate by reason of thirst: babes ask for bread, there is not one to break it for them.
Lamentations IV, 3
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And Naomi took the child, and laid it in her lap, and she became a nurse unto it.
Ruth IV, 16
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And it happened, as He spoke these things, that a certain woman from the crowd raised her voice and said to him, "Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts which nursed you!"
Luke XI, 27
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And thou shalt take no bribe; for a bribe blindeth the clear-sighted and perverteth the words of the righteous.
Exodus, XXXIII, 8
Compiled by Jack Newman, MD, FRCPC