The Shepherd Motif in the Old and New Testament

The motif of the shepherd is found throughout the scripture. In the Old Testament God has words of strong rebuke and warning for bad shepherds, and prophecies of a good shepherd that is to come. In the New Testament, Jesus identifies himself as the Good Shepherd and we find in the epistles the notion of good shepherding extended to those who would lead in the church.

This paper will attempt to explore the shepherding motif in some detail. In specific it will answer the following three questions: Why might have God chosen to use this particular image? What are the characteristics of a good shepherd? Who is the Shepherd that is to come referred to in the Old Testament?

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