The shepherd metaphor in the Old Testament, and its use in pastoral and leadership models
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Authors
Gan, Jonathan
Issue Date
2019-01
Type
Thesis
Language
en
Keywords
Shepherd , Shepherd metaphor , Shepherd image , Metaphor , Rhetorical criticism , Leadership , Pastoral models , Pastoral care and counselling model , Christ-centred model , Shepherd image model , Servant leadership model , Good shepherd , Messianic shepherd , Shepherd-god , Shepherd-king , Ancient Near East , Deuterocanonical , Genre , Visions , Oracles , Action reports , Leading , Protecting , Providing , Caring , Feeding , Delivering , Blessing , Guarding , strengthening , Supervising , Parenting , Ensuring , Directing , Mediating , Guiding , Distressing , Disciplining
Alternative Title
Abstract
The shepherd metaphor is a prominent and significant one in the Old Testament.
However, it has shifted from an agrarian context, of shepherd and sheep in the literal
sense, to a socio-political context, of rulers and people in the political sense: a king is a
shepherd to the people. A careful review of the given metaphor raises the question
whether the metaphor should be the basis of the pastoral and leadership models that
are derived from the image of the shepherd, and whether such models can be enriched
by the analysis of the said metaphor as applied to the implementation of the
shepherding responsibility described in the Old Testament.
This research aims to examine various pastoral and leadership models and their use of
the shepherd metaphor in the light of the significance of the said metaphor in the Old
Testament. It utilises rhetorical criticism in consultation with metaphorical theory to
examine the given metaphor used in the models of pastoral and leadership roles and
their relationship with the shepherd metaphor in the New Testament. The objective is
threefold: (1) exploring the use of the shepherd metaphor in the Old Testament; (2)
examining the use of the shepherd metaphor in pastoral and leadership models, which
could include pointing out that some of these models rely heavily on their understanding
of New Testament uses of this metaphor; and (3) comparing the Old Testament and
pastoral/leadership models’ uses of the shepherd metaphor and drawing conclusions
based on this comparison. To achieve that end, the discussion also includes the ancient
Near Eastern literature and deuterocanonical texts. The thesis shows that a careful analysis of the uses of the shepherd metaphor in the Old Testament could enrich the
literature on Christian leadership as well as pastoral models that use this metaphor as
their point of departure.
Description
Bibliography: leaves 441-459