As promised, we will look at the two articles I was given in support of the idea that shepherds in the first century were unclean, despised outcasts. Today, I will focus on the first: Shepherd's Status by Randy Alcorn. Notice that the Wikipedia article on Mr. Alcorn reads like an endorsement commercial. He's probably got people managing his public information. Here is information about his educational background. He apparently has had books on the NYT best seller's list. I'm guessing that very few Christians would question his sincerity, knowledge, and authority. If something he writes sounds reasonable, it is probably accepted without much thought. Most people don't question one of their own tribe who has reputation and influence. It's human nature.
Unless you are a skeptic. Then you are more likely to weigh what you hear against your personal experience and reality. You also ask yourself if there are alternate viewpoints that need to be considered. From where and when did the author's information originate? Is the original material reliable? Who was the author of that? Does it actually say what others claim it says? Is too much liberty taken with the original material, making it apply to things it doesn't mention? Are modern inferences being made about ancient attitudes and lifestyles? These are some questions I asked myself. I admit up front, it took me some time to figure out how to find what I was looking for, and how to find enough material to satisfy my curiosity.
For a skeptic, there are no ultimate authorities on any topic. Noone has all the answers. There are only resources and experts. Even experts can have biases and make mistakes. One doesn't have to be an expert to point out biases and mistakes, but everyone should be ready to back up their statements with some kind of reasonable evidence. We should also be ready to accept evidence that shows us to be wrong.
My personal experience reading the Bible shows me that the Bible, especially the Old Testament, is full of references to sheep and shepherds in positive ways. Just check a concordance. Mr. Alcorn, in the fourth paragraph of his article "Shepherd's Status" (linked above), states that things had changed by the first century. He says, "In Christ's day, shepherds stood on the bottom rung of the Palestinian social ladder. They shared the same unenviable position as tax collectors and dung sweepers. Only Luke mentions them."
That paragraph contains some elements of truth but not the whole truth. While it is true that only Luke mentions the shepherds of the nativity. The word shepherd is mentioned in Matthew, Mark, John, Hebrews, and 1 Peter. Mr. Alcorn's statement gives the impression that any New Testament mention of shepherds is solely in the book of Luke, because shepherds were so poorly thought of. Notice he does not give any 1st century biblical or extra-biblical references that actually say shepherds were considered as lowly as tax collectors and dung sweepers. Maybe he will later.
Some (NIV) Biblical references are: Matthew 9:36, 25:32, 26:31, Mark 6:34, 14:27, John 10:2, 10:11, 10:12, 10:14, 10:16, Hebrews 13:20, 1Peter 2:25, 5:2, 5:4. Most of these passages are similes or metaphors which refer to people as sheep and Jesus as a shepherd. Jesus is called the good shepherd, the great shepherd, and the chief shepherd. Nowhere does there appear to be any suggestion that shepherds were despised.
I will end today's post with a link to an excerpt from the writings of Philo of Alexandria, a first century Jewish philosopher, who lived in the time of Jesus but never mentioned him. In the section titled "On Husbandry," you will find paragraphs referring to shepherds from part IX to about XV. We will examine them next time.
To be continued.
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