People & groups
Shepherd
Someone who leads, feeds, and tends sheep; Scripture also uses this picture for God’s care and leaders’ responsibility.
Also called · Sheepherder · Pastor
What it means
Genesis 4 introduces Abel as a keeper of sheep. Shepherd can refer to someone doing the actual work of tending a flock.
Psalm 23 calls God a shepherd and describes being led to green pastures and water. The speaker does not fear in the dark valley because God is present.
Ezekiel 34 condemns Israel’s shepherds for feeding themselves and neglecting weak and injured sheep. God promises to rescue the flock from them, seek it out himself, and appoint his servant David as one shepherd over it.
How it appears in the Bible
In the picture Jesus gives in John 10, sheep know the shepherd’s voice and follow him. Jesus calls himself the good shepherd who lays down his life for the sheep. He contrasts this with the hired hand in the story, who abandons them when a wolf comes. He says that he gives his life willingly and has authority to take it again.