Psalm 23 and Who Are the Shepherds?
“The Lord is my shepherd.”—Psalm 23.
Marko Andras
In an article titled “Who Is My Shepherd?” on ChristianCentury.org (July 19, 2018), Malinda Elizabeth Berry reminds us of a common misconception about the gender of shepherds. In biblical times, young girls were often shepherds, as were boys and men. For example, Berry notes that beautiful Rachel was tending her father Laban’s sheep when Jacob first saw her and fell in love with her (Genesis 29:9-10). Likewise, Zipporah and her sisters were trying to water their father’s sheep when Moses drove away other shepherds who were bothering them (Exodus 2:16-17).
We may also infer that these young, fair maidens were just as adept with a slingshot as young David!
Berry asks us whether we have seen Bible story pictures or paintings featuring girls as shepherds. I could find only a few, including one by Hungarian painter Marko Andrea (1887) titled Shepherd Girl. Berry then challenges us to consider having girls and boys dress up as shepherds in this year’s Christmas pageant! (At our staff meeting, Luke, our Family Ministries Coordinator at St. Mark’s, reminded me that, unknown to me, St. Mark’s has been including girl shepherds for years!)
This is another example of a tradition that doesn’t align with historical facts: that shepherds should be only boys or men. It makes me wonder why I didn’t think of girls as shepherds, even after reading the stories of Rachel and Zipporah more times than I can remember. Now it is so apparent.
I hope you can share my excitement about Berry’s new insights into stories we thought we knew so well. Berry’s thoughts remind us not to gloss over old Bible stories but to look for new insights each time we read them. They also encourage us to continue researching what others are discovering in their study of the Bible. Finally, they remind us that the Holy Spirit is alive and well, continually teaching us new insights from old stories.
Joanna. https://www.joannaseibert.com/