Wean
Webster's Dictionary [1]
(1): ( n.) A weanling; a young child.
(2): ( a.) Hence, to detach or alienate the affections of, from any object of desire; to reconcile to the want or loss of anything.
(3): ( a.) To accustom and reconcile, as a child or other young animal, to a want or deprivation of mother's milk; to take from the breast or udder; to cause to cease to depend on the mother nourishment.
Easton's Bible Dictionary [2]
Exodus 2:7-9 1 Samuel 1:23 Song of Solomon 8:1
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia [3]
wēn : "To wean" in English Versions of the Bible is always the translation of ( גּמל , gāmal ), but gāmal has a much wider force than merely "to wean," signifying "to deal fully with," as in Psalm 13:6 , etc. Hence, as applied to a child, gāmal covers the whole period of nursing and care until the weaning is complete ( 1 Kings 11:20 ). This period in ancient Israel extended to about 3 years, and when it was finished the child was mature enough to be entrusted to strangers ( 1 Samuel 1:24 ). And, as the completion of the period marked the end of the most critical stage of the child's life, it was celebrated with a feast ( Genesis 21:8 ), a custom still observed in the Orient. The weaned child, no longer fretting for the breast and satisfied with its mother's affection, is used in Psalm 131:2 as a figure for Israel's contentment with God's care, despite the smallness of earthly possessions. In Isaiah 28:9 there is an ironical question, 'Is God to teach you knowledge as if you were children? You should have learned His will long ago!'
Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature [4]
( גָּמִל from the Completion of the infant at that time) Most Oriental mothers suckle their children much longer than is usual in Europe, and the same custom seems to have prevailed among the ancient Hebrews. When Samuel was weaned, he was old enough to be left with Eli for the service of the tabernacle ( 1 Samuel 1:24). As no public provision was made for the children of priests and Levites until they were three years of age, it is probable that they were not weaned sooner ( 2 Chronicles 31:16; 2 Maccabees 7:27). In India, a boy is not taken from the breast until he is three years of age; but throughout the East a girl is generally weaned within the first or second year. "Abraham made a great feast when Isaac was weaned" ( Genesis 21:8), and the same custom prevails among the Hind Û s and Persians. (See Child).
