Shepherds part 6

Let's take another look at the article Shepherd's Status. We have seen that Mr. Alcorn offers no evidence for his statement, in paragraph four that shepherds were on the bottom of the Palestinian social ladder in the first century.

Paragraph five goes on to show that Genesis and Exodus imply shepherding is a noble occupation because many of the so called patriarchs were shepherds. I would add Abel, Abraham, And Moses to the list of notable Bible shepherds.

Paragraph six says that the Egyptians despised shepherds because they were agriculturalists. Mr. Alcorn gives no resource for that information. It is true that in Genesis 43 we are told the Egyptians would not eat with the Hebrew because it was detestable for them, but it does not say that it was because they were Shepherds. In chapter 46, we are told that shepherds were detestable to the Egyptians but it doesn't say why. Nevertheless, in chapter 47, Paroah allow the Hebrews to settle in the land of Goshen and tells Joseph that some of them can take care of the Pharoah's own livestock. Here is proof that the Egyptians of the Bible were not solely agriculturalists. Perhaps Philo was correct in saying that it was the rich ruling class of Egyptians that considered shepherds beneath them in social value.

Here is a very interesting article, "Shepherds and Eating with Hebrews: An Abomination to the Egyptians?" Its authors are Jewish and have expertise in Jewish and Egyptian history. They explain that the kind of purity of the table mentioned in Gen. 43 did not happen until later in Egypt's history than when Joseph would have been alive, if he lived. The authors then describe what form these purity rules took.

Mr. Alcorn also implies that a historical enmity between shepherds and farmers goes back to Cain's murder of Abel. I am not disputing that there have been grievances between farmers, or land owners, and shepherds. We will encounter that prejudice in other forms as we continue. However, I would like us to remember that the Cain and Abel story is mythology. Plus, the historicity of the Genesis account is dubious at best, and was written hundreds of years after the supposed events, probably by Israelite religious leaders. Could those religious leaders have had a reason for portraying Egyptians as despising shepherds, the main occupation of the Israelites' legendary patriarchcal leaders? Could the story of Cain the farmer murdering Abel the shepherd have been symbolic of how the Israelites, who saw themselves as historically nomadic shepherding people, felt about those who were farmers and land owners. In other words, a classic case of projection. We do have only one side of the story in the bible. It has often been assumed the biblical account  is the right/true side and the only side that matters. Life is more complicated than that.

To be continued.