God the Shepherd of His people

Abstract

The Old Testament nomadic herdsman is one of the earliest figures of the Near East. Hebrew tradition recognizes this and places Abel the shepherd at the beginning of its story of primitive man. As sheep and goats constitutes one of the principal livestock in biblical times shepherds were numerous and their shepherds' ways always regarded as superior to those of the farmer remained a feature of everyday life throughout Old Testament times. In fact, in the early period the pastoral economy is the only economy of which mention is made. "The men are shepherds" said Joseph to Pharoah" Gen. 45, 32 even though they may have practiced some primitive agriculture. Throughout Genesis the keeping of the flocks is the honoured profession. The story of Cain and Abel Gen. 4:2 reflects a pastrorlist view of the perpetual feud between peasant and shepherd. Each regards the other as hostile to the interests of the other. Land cultivation restricts right or free pasture, and pasture of flocks damages the land and crops of peasants. The land of Palestine is most suitable for sheep raising.