6745. 'And nurse him for me' means that she should instill into him good compatible with that kind of religion. This is clear from the meaning of 'nursing' as instilling good, dealt with below; and from the representation of' Pharaoh's daughter' as a kind of religion, dealt with in 6729. And since Pharaoh's daughter says that the woman should nurse him for her, the meaning is that she should instill good compatible with that kind of religion.

[2] The fact that 'nursing' means instilling good is evident from the meaning of 'a wet nurse' as the instillation of good, dealt with above in 6740. In addition to the places there which are quoted from the Word there are also the following: In Moses,

They will call peoples to the mountain; there they will offer sacrifices of righteousness, because they will suck the plentifulness of the sea, and the hidden treasures of the secrets of the sand. Deuteronomy 33:19.

This is a prophetic utterance made by Moses concerning Zebulun and Issachar. 'Calling peoples to the mountain, there offering sacrifices of righteousness' means worship arising out of love. 'Sucking the plentifulness of the sea' means that they will at that time take in a large amount of true factual knowledge, that is, such knowledge will be instilled into them. For 'sucking' here is the same expression as 'being nursed', as it also is in the places commented on below.

[3] In Isaiah,

I will make you an eternal magnificence, a joy of generation after generation; and you will suck the milk of the nations, indeed the breasts of kings will you suck. Isaiah 60:15-16.

This refers to Zion and Jerusalem, which are the celestial Church, 'Zion' being the internal part of it and 'Jerusalem' the external. 'Sucking the milk of the nations' stands for the instillation of celestial good, 'sucking the breasts of kings' for the instillation of celestial truth. Anyone can see that these words conceal a meaning that is not apparent in the letter and that since it is the Divine Word there is a holiness concealed within that meaning. If this were not so what would 'sucking the milk of the nations' or 'sucking the breasts of kings' be? The holy meaning concealed there is not at all evident unless one knows what is meant by 'sucking', 'milk', 'the nations', 'breasts', and 'kings'. 'Milk' is the celestial-spiritual or the truth of good, see 2184;'the nations' are forms of good contained in worship, 1259, 1260, 1416, 1849, 6005; 'breasts' are affections for goodness and truth, 6432; 'kings' are truths, 1672, 2015, 2069, 3009, 4575, 4581, 4966, 5044, 5068, 6148; and 'sucking' is the instillation of good.

[4] From all this one may now know what the meaning of these words is when they apply to the celestial Church, which is Zion and Jerusalem. When Zion and Jerusalem are mentioned together, they mean the celestial Church, 'Zion' the internal part of it and 'Jerusalem' the external, as stated above. But when Jerusalem is mentioned without Zion it in most cases means the spiritual Church.

[5] In the same prophet,

That you may suck and be satisfied with the breast of Jerusalem's consolations, and that you may press out and be delighted by the splendour of her glory. Behold, I spread peace over her like a stream, and the glory of the gentiles like an inundating torrent, in order that you may suck; you will be lifted onto her side and find pleasure on her knees. Isaiah 66:11-12.

Here also 'sucking' stands for the instillation of good.

[6] In Jeremiah,

Even the sea monsters present the breast, they nurse their young; the daughter of My people is cruel, the tongue of the nursling has cleaved to the roof of its mouth because of thirst. Lamentations 4:3-4.

'The daughter of My people' stands for the spiritual Church, here for that Church when it has been laid waste. Its failure, unlike even the sea monsters, to nurse its young stands for no instillation of truth. 'The tongue of the nursling has cleaved to the roof of its mouth because of thirst' stands for the want of such truth, so that every trace of innocence perishes, 'nursling' being innocence and 'thirst' the want of truth.