Running head: SHEEP AND SHEPHERD

New Testament Background: Sheep and Shepherd

Elizabeth M. Cole

Big Sandy Community and Technical College

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Introduction

In the United States, very few people have experienced or witnessed live sheep and lambs,

a shepherd, or know anything about shepherding. I chose this topic to learn more about it myself

and to share this information with others, to help them comprehend and appreciate the meaning

in the New Testament.

Sheep

Sheep were one of the most common domesticated farm animals during Bible times. There

are over five hundred mentions of sheep in the Bible; most of the Old Testament references are

literal, and almost all the New Testament references are metaphorical, with Christ as the

shepherd and his followers as the flock (Kohler-Rollefson, 2011).

The earliest evidence for domestication of sheep dates back to 9000 BCE. Wild sheep do

not have significant wool, so sheep were not utilized for wool production until 4000 BCE

(Kohler-Rollefson, 2011). They were raised not only for their meat, but also wool, milk and

dairy products (yogurt, butter, cheese), skins (fleeces), bones, and horns, and dung (Borowski,

Sheep, 2000). Horns were used as containers for oil and as musical instruments (Kohler-

Rollefson, 2011). In fact, we call some modern wind instruments “horns” because of this ancient

origin from the sheep’s horn.

Sheep prefer flat or slightly hilly, rolling grassy land, and they graze on grasses and plants

down to the root (Kohler-Rollefson, 2011). They can graze on the barley and wheat fields of

stubble after harvest time (Kohler-Rollefson, 2011). Much of the land in Israel and surrounding

areas has adequate grass cover to support sheep grazing; even the desert can become pasture land

after the rainy season, when it blooms (McKenzie, 1995). Sheep need to be watered only once a

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day (McKenzie, 1995), and perhaps twice a day in morning and evening in the heat of the

summer (Borowski, Herding, 2000).

The ordinary Israelite or Jew would only eat mutton at a festival (McKenzie, 1995), not on

a daily basis (Borowski, Sheep, 2000). The male sheep or ram was the sacrificial animal, and the

fat was esteemed as nutritious and a delicacy (McKenzie, 1995). Today, we look to reduce fat in

our diets, but in biblical times, it was a challenge for people to eat enough calories. Milk was a

major form of nutrition and often mentioned with another whole and complete food, honey, and

together these were offered in sacrifice in many ancient societies—hence the Promised Land

being referred to as a land flowing with milk and honey as in Exodus 3:8 (Borowski, Sheep,

2000).

Shepherd

The shepherd dedicated himself to tending the sheep in his flock, either as a nomad or in a

designated property (Borowski, Herding, 2000). Nomads would shelter their sheep in pens built

of thorny plants, and fixed-property shepherds would have built pens of stone, or even in the

animal pen portion of the ground floor of the house (Borowski, Herding, 2000). Sheltering could

take place in caves. The shepherd would have a heavy cloak to protect against the elements, a

rod or staff, a food bag, and a sling to fend of wild animals such as lions, bears, and wolves

(Mattingly, 2000). Sometimes they use dogs to help herd the sheep (Mattingly, 2000). Sheep are

meek animals and require constant care and supervision; they learn the voice of the shepherd and

follow only that shepherd and not a stranger (Mattingly, 2000). The shepherd would have to

count the sheep and make sure they were all there, and if any had wandered off, they would go

seek them out and bring them back to the flock (Mattingly, 2000). Special attention was given to

ewes about to deliver, lambs, and sick or injured animals (Mattingly, 2000).

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Biblical Imagery

The first shepherd mentioned in the Bible was Abel, and other important shepherds were

Abraham, Jacob, and David (Hahn, 2009). In the ancient world, the shepherd was often a

metaphor for a ruler, and this was clearly used in reference to David (Kaiser, Garrett, & Wanner,

2005). The metaphor was also applied to gods, such as Shamash and in Genesis and the Psalms,

to Israel’s god Yahweh (McKenzie, 1995). It is also used for royal officers, elders, religious

leaders, and all who have authority over the people (McKenzie, 1995). Psalm 23 is a notable

example of the trustful relationship Israel has in Yahweh as the shepherd (Hahn, 2009). When

leadership is poor or absent, Israel is likened to sheep without a shepherd; Ezekiel 34 is an

important prophecy of the one shepherd God will provide, a messianic descendent of David who

will feed them and be their shepherd (Hahn, 2009). In Matthew 9, Jesus has compassion on the

people as sheep without a shepherd (Kohler-Rollefson, 2011). In John 10, Jesus talks about

himself as the Good Shepherd who lays down his life for the sheep; this theme is echoed in the

other three Gospels, in Matthew 18, Mark 6, and Luke 15 (Hahn, 2009). Jesus entrusts his flock

to Peter in John 21, and his ministers are to be shepherds (Acts 20, Ephesians 4, 1 Peter 5)

(Hahn, 2009). Indeed, the word pastor is Latin for shepherd (McKenzie, 1995). Jesus discusses

the Last Judgment as sorting the sheep from the goats in Matthew 25 (McKenzie, 1995).

Conclusion

This paper was intended to describe sheep and shepherds to students of the Bible who are

not familiar with these things, to aid their comprehension of what they read and hear in the Old

and New Testaments—whether the passage intends a literal or metaphorical meaning.

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References

Borowski, O. (2000). Herding. In D. N. Freedman, A. C. Myers, & A. B. Beck (Eds.), Eerdmans

Dictionary of the Bible (pp. 576-577). Grand Rapids, MI: W. B. Eerdmans.

Borowski, O. (2000). Sheep. In D. N. Freedman, A. C. Myers, & A. B. Beck (Eds.), Eerdmans

Dictionary of the Bible (p. 1203). Grand Rapids, MI: W. B. Eerdmans.

Hahn, S. (2009). Catholic Bible dictionary. New York: Doubleday.

Kaiser, W. C., Garrett, D. A., & Wanner, J. D. (Eds.). (2005). Archaeological Study Bible. Grand

Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

Kohler-Rollefson, I. U. (2011). Sheep. In M. A. Powell (Ed.), The HarperCollins Bible

Dictionary (Revised and Updated). New York: HarperCollins.

Mattingly, G. L. (2000). Shepherd. In D. N. Freedman, A. C. Myers, & A. B. Beck (Eds.),

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (p. 1208). Grand Rapids, MI: W. B. Eerdmans.

McKenzie, J. L. (1995). Dictionary of the Bible. New York: Touchstone.

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Figure Captions

Figure 1. Christ as the Good Shepherd, from the Catacomb of Priscilla, mid-second to mid-third

century AD.

Figure 2. Christ as the Good Shepherd, marble, 92 cm high, ca. 300 AD, from Vatican Museum

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Figure 3. Good Shepherd icon, from Eastern Christianity

Figure 4. L’Innocence, by 19th

century French Academy painter William Bouguereau, depicting

the young Virgin Mary holding the child Jesus and a lamb.