To warm, to cherish, to tenderly care for — like a bird warming eggs or a mother nursing a child. One of the most intimate and tender words in the NT vocabulary.
Paul uses thalpō twice with profound theological weight. In Ephesians 5:29, Christ 'cherishes' the church — the same tender word used of a nursing mother. In 1 Thessalonians 2:7, Paul describes his own ministry as 'gentle among you, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children.' This demolishes any image of God or godly leadership as cold and distant. Divine love is maternal warmth.