Shepherd

A shepherd looked after a flock of sheep and goats from morning to night. He found grass and water, led the flock out each day and brought it back to the fold at evening, went after animals that strayed and fought off wild beasts and thieves. Amos describes a shepherd snatching from a lion’s mouth “two legs or a piece of an ear” (Amos 3:12) — the remains were evidence for the owner, as the Law required (Exodus 22:13). David went out with a staff, a sling and a shepherd’s bag (1 Samuel 17:40).

Herding is among the first occupations in Genesis: Abel kept sheep, and the patriarchs were mainly herdsmen who moved their flocks across common pasture. Jacob’s sons told Pharaoh, “Your servants are shepherds” (Genesis 47:3), and Rachel was a shepherdess. After Israel settled in the land, flocks still grazed the poorer ground where crops would not grow, and the tribes east of the Jordan stayed herdsmen. Because the work meant guarding and leading, the kings of Assyria, Babylon and Egypt called themselves shepherds of their people, and the Bible uses the same word for rulers.