European International Journal of Philological Sciences
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TYPE
Original Research
PAGE NO.
27-30
DOI
OPEN ACCESS
SUBMITED
21 January 2025
ACCEPTED
25 February 2025
PUBLISHED
23 March 2025
VOLUME
Vol.05 Issue 03 2025
COPYRIGHT
© 2025 Original content from this work may be used under the terms
of the creative commons attributes 4.0 License.
The Symbolic and
Religious Significance of
The Shepherd Image
Mamadiyorova Iroda
Gulistan State Pedagogical Institute, Department of Uzbek Language and
Language Teaching, Uzbekistan
Abstract
: This article explores the image of the
shepherd as one of the oldest and most universal
symbols in history, reflecting the human connection
with nature, as well as the ideas of wisdom, simplicity,
and care. The paper examines its symbolic and religious
roo
ts, the evolution of the shepherd’s image in modern
life, and its significance across different historical
periods and cultures.
Keywords:
Shepherd, pastor, Israel, Amos, Sikhism,
symbolism, nature, mythology, association, flock.
Introduction:
Shepherding is one of the oldest forms of
human activity, originating approximately 5,000 years
ago in Anatolia, i.e., Asia Minor. Sheep were bred
primarily for milk, meat, and especially wool. Over the
following millennia, sheep herding and pastoralism
spread across Eurasia. Henri Fleisch suggested that the
Neolithic pastoral culture in Lebanon might date back to
the Epipaleolithic period and could have been used by
one of the earliest nomadic shepherding cultures in the
Bekaa Valley.
Initially, a few sheep were kept on family farms along
with other animals such as chickens and pigs. However,
in order to maintain a large flock, sheep needed to move
from one pasture to another. This led to the emergence
of a profession distinct from that of farming. Shepherds
were responsible for keeping their flocks safe,
protecting them from predators, and guiding them to
markets in time for shearing. In ancient times,
shepherds also regularly milked their sheep and
produced cheese from the milk
—
a practice that only a
few still maintain today.
In many societies, shepherds played a vital role in the
economy. Unlike farmers, they often worked for wages,
tending to the livestock of others. Shepherds typically
lived apart from the rest of society, leading a mostly
nomadic life. It was predominantly a job for single,
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childless men, and new shepherds had to be hired
externally. Often, the youngest sons of farming
families who did not inherit land became shepherds. In
other societies, every family had a member
responsible for tending the flock
—
usually a child,
youth, or elder unable to perform heavy labor. These
shepherds were fully integrated into the social
structure.
Shepherds typically worked in groups, either tending
to one large flock together or managing their own
flocks while sharing responsibilities. They lived in small
huts, often together with their sheep, and purchased
food from local communities. Less commonly,
shepherds resided in covered wagons that moved
along with the herds.
Sheep farming developed only in specific regions. In
lowlands and river valleys, growing grain crops was far
more efficient than grazing sheep. As a result, sheep
herding was concentrated in remote and mountainous
areas. Thus, in pre-modern times, pastoralism was
primarily practiced in regions such as the Middle East,
Greece, the Pyrenees, the Carpathians, Scotland, and
Northern England.
Hiring a shepherd could be costly. Additionally, in some
parts of the world, the extermination of predators that
hunted sheep has reduced the need for shepherds.
MTHOD
In a figurative sense, the term "shepherd" (or "pastor")
is used to refer to God, particularly in the Judeo-
Christian tradition (e.g., Psalm 23, Ezekiel 34). In
Christianity, it is also used to describe Jesus, who
referred to Himself as the Good Shepherd. The ancient
Israelites were a pastoral people, and many among
them were shepherds. It is worth noting that
numerous biblical figures were shepherds, including
the patriarchs Abraham and Jacob, the twelve tribes of
Israel, the prophet Moses, King David, and the Old
Testament prophet Amos, who tended flocks in the
mountainous region around Tekoa. In the New
Testament, angels announced the birth of Jesus to
shepherds.
The same metaphor is applied to priests: Roman
Catholic, Lutheran, and Anglican bishops traditionally
carry a shepherd’s
staff as a symbol of their office (see
also Lycidas). In both religious contexts, believers are
viewed as a "flock" that requires guidance and care.
This image is partly rooted in Jesus' instruction to
Peter: "Feed My sheep," which serves as a
foundational metaphor for pastoral care, including in
literary works such as Milton’s Lycidas. The term
pastor, originally meaning “shepherd” in Latin, is now
used almost exclusively to refer to clergy across most
Christian denominations.
The "Good Shepherd" is one of the central themes of the
Holy Scriptures. This image conveys a range of ideas,
including God’s care for His people. The tendency of
humans to put themselves in danger and their inability
to guide and care for themselves without direct divine
help is reinforced by the metaphor of sheep in need of
a shepherd.
According to Muhammad, the Prophet of Islam, every
messenger of God was at some point in his life a
shepherd, as was he in his youth. Jabir ibn Abdullah
narrated: “We were with the Messenger of All
ah when
he was gathering fruits from the arak trees, and he said,
‘Pick the black ones; they are the best.’ The companions
asked, ‘Were you a shepherd?’ He replied, ‘There has
never been a prophet who was not a shepherd.’” (Sahih
al-Bukhari, Book of Prophets, Volume 4, Book 55, Hadith
618). This includes Jesus, Moses, Abraham, and all other
prophets, according to Islamic tradition.
Pastoral imagery also appears frequently in Sikhism.
There are many related references, such as: “We are the
cattle; the Almig
hty is our Shepherd.”
The image of the shepherd is one of the most significant
messianic symbols in the Bible. Both the Old and New
Testaments contain numerous references to shepherds.
This is unsurprising, as herding and livestock raising
were the primary occupations of the ancestors of the
ancient Hebrew people. Even in the early chapters of
the Bible, we read that the sacrifice of Abel, a shepherd,
was more pleasing to God than that of his brother.
Even in later times, shepherding was regarded as a
highly honorable occupation. This is evident in the
example of David, who was called from tending sheep
to become king: "I took you from the pasture, from
tending the flock, and appointed you ruler over my
people Israel" (2 Samuel 7:8). It is likely no coincidence
that Amos, the first of the writing prophets in the Bible,
was called to prophetic service from shepherding: "I was
neither a prophet nor the son of a prophet, but I was a
shepherd, and I also took care of sycamore-fig trees"
(Amos 7:14; see also Amos 1:1).
In the Book of the Prophet Isaiah, God refers to the
Persian king Cyrus as His shepherd: "who says of Cyrus,
‘He is my shepherd and will accomplish all that I please’"
(Isaiah 44:28). In his eschatological prophecies, the
prophet Jeremiah speaks of future shepherds who will
tend the people with knowledge and understanding:
"Then I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who
will lead you with knowledge and understanding"
(Jeremiah 3:15).
The image of the shepherd is also found in the writings
of the Prophet Micah, a contemporary of Isaiah and
Amos. In Micah’s prophecy regarding the birth of the
Messiah in Bethlehem, it is foretold that the Messiah
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Himself will be a shepherd to the children of Israel: "He
will stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the
Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God"
(Micah 5:4).
This prophecy is followed by a passage mentioning
seven shepherds who will stand against the Assyrian
invasion: "When the Assyrian invades our land and
marches through our fortresses, we will raise against
him seven shepherds, even eight commanders, who
will rule the land of Assyria with the sword, the land of
Nimrod with drawn sword. He will deliver us from the
Assyrian when he invades our land and marches into
our borders" (Micah 5:5
–
6). It is apparent that the
"shepherds of the people" here symbolize the leaders
or rulers of the nation.
In Chapter 4, describing the eschatological times, the
prophet Micah presents God as the One who will
compassionately gather the lame, the scattered, and
the exiled
—
that is, the broken and previously rejected
people
—
under His rule on Mount Zion (Micah 4:6
–
7).
Biblical commentators see in these words a reference
to the foundation of the Church of Christ, whose loving
Shepherd is the Lord Jesus Himself. Although God is not
directly called a shepherd in this passage, His actions
align closely with the pastoral role as described in
many other biblical texts.
In Chapter 7 of the same prophet, we encounter a
comparison between God’s people and sheep, and
God as their shepherd. The prophet speaks of the
people of God as a lost flock. Although God punished
His people, He is also the one who will heal them
(Micah 7:11
–
20).
In prophetic texts, there is often a contrast between
good shepherds
—
including God Himself as the
ultimate Shepherd
—(“I myself will tend my sheep and
have them lie down, declares the Sovereign Lord
” –
Ezekiel 34:15), and corrupt, self-serving shepherds
(“Woe to the shepherds of Israel who only take care of
themselves! Should not shepherds take care of the
flock?” –
Ezekiel 34:2; see also Isaiah 56:11). The good
shepherds care for their flocks
—
that is, the people
—
while the bad ones look only after themselves.
The image of the shepherd takes on particular
significance in the writings of the prophet Ezekiel, a
visionary who was taken into Babylonian captivity and
prophesied between 592 and 563 BCE [2, p. 462].
Ezekiel saw the heavenly gates opened and witnessed
the glory of God. He prophesied about the Good
Shepherd
—
the Son of Man (Ezekiel 34:30
–
31), and of
the resurrection, of which Jesus Christ became the
firstborn (Ezekiel 37:6
–
27).
The book of Ezekiel contains an extended prophecy
dedicated to the shepherds of God’s people. The
prophet criticizes the corrupt shepherds
—
interpreted
as leaders, rulers, and priests
—
who failed to care for
their flocks and instead looked only after themselves:
"Woe to the shepherds of Israel who only take care of
themselves! Should not shepherds take care of the
flock? You eat the curds, clothe yourselves with the
wool, and slaughter the choice animals, but you do not
take care of the flock. You have not strengthened the
weak or healed the sick or bound up the injured. You
have not brought back the strays or searched for the
lost. You have ruled them harshly and brutally." (Ezekiel
34:2
–
4)
As a result of such negligence, the flock was scattered:
"So they were scattered because there was no
shepherd, and when they were scattered they became
food for all the wild animals. My sheep wandered over
all the mountains and on every high hill. They were
scattered over the whole earth, and no one searched or
looked for them." (Ezekiel 34:5
–
6)
God declares that He will remove the flock from these
wicked shepherds and will shepherd His people Himself:
"For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I myself will
search for my sheep and look after them. As a shepherd
looks after his scattered flock when he is with them, so
will I look after my sheep. I will rescue them from all the
places where they were scattered on a day of clouds and
darkness. I will bring them out from the nations and
gather them from the countries, and I will bring them
into their own land. I will pasture them on the
mountains of Israel, in the ravines and in all the
settlements in the land. I will tend them in a good
pasture, and the mountain heights of Israel will be their
grazing land. There they will lie down in good grazing
land, and there they will feed in a rich pasture on the
mountains of Israel." (Ezekiel 34:11
–
14)
God promises to be the true Shepherd
—
good, caring,
and just:
"I myself will tend my sheep and have them lie down,
declares the Sovereign Lord. I will search for the lost and
bring back the strays. I will bind up the injured and
strengthen the weak, but the sleek and the strong I will
destroy. I will shepherd the flock with justice." (Ezekiel
34:15
–
16)
At the same time, the prophet Ezekiel speaks of how
God will appoint a new shepherd
—
David (i.e., the
Messiah)
—
over His people:
“I will place over them one shepherd, my servant David,
and he will tend them; he will tend them and be their
shepherd. I the Lord will be their God, and my servant
David will be prince among them. I the Lord have
spoken. I will make a covenant of peace with them and
rid the land of savage beasts so that they may live in the
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wilderness and sleep in the forests in safety.” (Ezekiel
34:23
–
25)
From the prophetic text of Ezekiel, it is clear that God
cares deeply for His people: He gathers the lost, heals
the wounded, and provides His people with what they
need
—
help, comfort, and promise.
The image of the shepherd holds great significance in
the Old Testament, where both God and the Messiah
are depicted as shepherds. The Old Testament
prophets condemned the corrupt shepherds, foretold
the coming of new, righteous shepherds, described
their qualities, and likened the people to a lost flock
that would be gathered and healed by God Himself.
They spoke of God and David as the true shepherds of
the people.
The Christian Church has long interpreted the "lost
sheep" as representing fallen humanity, expanding the
metaphor beyond the boundaries of the Israelite
nation. In the image of the Good Shepherd, the Church
has always seen Jesus Christ
—
the incarnate Word of
God
—
who bore upon Himself all of human nature.
In the New Testament, Jesus Christ frequently used the
image of the shepherd, identifying Himself with it
directly. In doing so, He undoubtedly referred back to
the prophetic texts we have examined. For this reason,
Christians often see in Christ the fulfillment of the
image of the Good Shepherd.
Saint Simeon the New Theologian, with fervent prayer,
addressed Christ
—
the Good Shepherd and Lover of
mankind: “Yes, compassionate Shepherd, good and
gentle, who desires that all who believe in You may be
saved, h
ave mercy, hear my prayer…”
The image of Christ as the Good Shepherd is also
deeply rooted in Christian liturgical tradition. During
worship, the bishop symbolizes Christ as the Good
Shepherd. This is reflected in the small episcopal
omophorion, which depicts the lost sheep
—
symbolizing both each individual sinner and fallen
human nature as a whole.
CONCLUSION
The figure of the shepherd in literature serves as a
multifaceted symbol reflecting the cultural, social, and
philosophical transformations of different historical
periods. Its study not only offers insights into key
aspects of literary heritage but also invites a deeper
contemplation of eternal questions of human
existence
—
such as the search for harmony, care for
others, and the pursuit of wisdom. Exploring the image
of the shepherd also contributes to fostering a spirit of
patriotism among younger generations.
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