A nurse was a woman who took care of an infant that was not her own, or a man who took care of young children. The work focused on feeding and caring for an infant. Most women took care of their own children, like Sarah and Hannah (Genesis 21:7; 1 Samuel 1:23).
A wet nurse (a woman who breastfeeds another woman's child) often became part of the family and had a special position. Rebekah had a nurse, and when this woman died, she was even mentioned in the Bible: “Now Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse, died and was buried under the oak below Bethel. So Jacob named it Allon-bachuth” (Genesis 35:8).
Moses's mother became his nurse when Pharaoh's daughter paid her to care for him (Exodus 2:7). Royal sons were cared for by nurses, as in the case of Joash. His aunt Jehosheba hid him with his nurse (2 Kings 11:2). Since Joash was hidden for six years and was seven when he became king, he was about one year old when he was hidden. His nurse must have been a wet nurse.
Royal sons received special care and were supervised by a nurse after they finished breastfeeding. Children were nursed until about three years old, and when they were weaned (stopped breastfeeding), there was a feast (Genesis 21:8; 1 Samuel 1:23–24). After weaning, a nurse-teacher took charge of the child. Mephibosheth was five years old when his nurse fell while carrying him. This caused him to be unable to walk properly (2 Samuel 4:4). Naomi took care of her grandson as a nurse (Ruth 4:16).
It is likely that male nurses worked as teachers for young nobles. For example, 2 Kings 10:1 says that Ahab’s children had tutors (compare 2 Kings 10:5). In this way, we should understand Moses's reference to himself as a “nurse”: “Did I conceive all these people? Did I give them birth, so that You should tell me, ‘Carry them in your bosom, as a nurse carries an infant,’ to the land that You swore to give their fathers?” (Numbers 11:12). Paul also saw himself as a “nurse” to the church (1 Thessalonians 2:7).