Journal: Bibliotheca Sacra
Volume: BSAC 163:649 (Jan 2006)
Article: The Imagery of Shepherding in the Bible, Part 1
Author: Thomas A. Golding

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BSac 163:649 (January-March 2006) p. 18

The Imagery of Shepherding in the Bible, Part 1

Thomas A. Golding

Thomas A. Golding is Principal, Adelaide College of Ministries, Adelaide, Australia.

Shepherding is one of the most frequent and powerful images in the Bible. “One thing is certain: the shepherd and flock symbol is constantly in evidence and retains its vitality to the end.. .. It is perhaps the most enduring symbol which man has created.”1 Yet many people today overlook the rich shepherd imagery intended in the word “pastor” and phrases like “pulling up stakes” or “moving on to greener pastures.” In addition modern shepherding practices, when known to readers, may differ from those of the ancient Near East.2

Concerning the process of how meaning is lost over time, Caird writes, “Through constant use it [a metaphor] then becomes a faded or worn metaphor, and finally a dead one. This last stage has arrived when speaker and hearer are unaware of the duality of vehicle and tenor, and treat the word as a new literalism.”3 Macky prefers the description “retired metaphor” rather than “dead metaphor.”4 By this he means that it can be called back into service at any time. Either way, the speaker or reader of the figure is no longer aware that a figure is being used, and thus its vividness, not to mention its inherent meaning, is lost. A substantial hermeneutical challenge is posed by this gap of language, history, geography, and culture that separates the text from the reader.5

BSac 163:649 (January-March 2006) p. 19

Although its rich imagery is often not fully appreciated, the shepherd image can and must be pressed back into service. Ryken’s advice about what to do when encountering a figure of speech in the Scriptures is especially apt here. “The first [step] is to identify and experience the literal level of a metaphor. Metaphors are images or pictures first of all. Their impact depends on letting the literal level sink into one’s consciousness before carrying over the meaning to a figurative or second level. If this is not done, the whole point of speaking in metaphor evaporates.”6 Once the interpreter has explored the literal level of the image, the challenge is then to identify the specific points of comparison intended by the figure of speech.7

Ironically figures of...

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