"The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want..."
Look at this picture.
Do you find anything wrong with it? Probably not. This is how we picture Jesus as our shepherd, right?
Well wrong. This picture is one sided.
The fact is -
In the ancient Near Eastern reality, a shepherd was very different.
The Hebrew for shepherd is the word Ro'eh, which literally means a "feeder" or "tender."
However, the detailed meaning is much more nuanced. The role of a shepherd absolutely necessitated the heart and skills of a warrior.
In the ancient Hebrew context, you could not be a "good shepherd" without also being a fierce fighter. A warrior protector AND a provider and guide.
Here is the breakdown of why the connotation of "warrior-protector" is embedded in the concept of Ro'eh:
1. The Hostile Environment
Our modern image of shepherding often involves rolling green, fenced pastures where sheep are relatively safe.
In the ancient Levant (Israel), shepherding was done in the wilderness. The terrain was rugged, arid, and dangerous. A shepherd was leading defenseless animals through territories occupied by:
• Apex Predators: Lions, Asiatic bears, wolves, and leopards were common threats in biblical times.
• Human Threats: Bandits, raiders, and thieves who would try to steal the flock for food or wealth.
A shepherd who was pacifist or cowardly would lose their flock very quickly.
2. The Tools of the Trade: The Rod
The famous phrasing in Psalm 23 mentions the shepherd’s two primary tools: "Thy rod and thy staff they comfort me."
• The Staff (Mish'enet): This was the long, crooked stick used for guidance, leaning on while walking, and gently hooking a sheep to pull it away from a cliff edge. This is the peaceful tool.
• The Rod (Shevet): This was distinctly a weapon. It was a short, heavy wooden club, sometimes tipped with metal or flint, worn at the belt. It was used to beat back brush, but primarily, it was used to bash in the skulls of attacking predators or thieves.
When David says God’s rod "comforts" him, he means it is comforting to know that his Shepherd can protect him from any kind of an enemy.
3. The Biblical Prototype: David
The best evidence for the "warrior" connotation is found in David, the archetypal shepherd-king.
Before David fought Goliath, King Saul dismissed him as just a boy. David’s defense of his ability to fight a giant warrior was based entirely on his experience as a shepherd:
"But David said to Saul, 'Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them...'" (1 Samuel 17:34-36, NIV)
In Hebrew thought, David did not become a warrior after he left the sheepfolds. He became a warrior because he was in the sheepfolds. The wilderness was his boot camp.
Summary: The Defensive Warrior
The Hebrew connotation of Ro'eh is not an offensive warrior—a soldier who goes out to conquer new territory.
Rather, it connotes a fierce, defensive warrior.
The Ro'eh is motivated by deep care and possessiveness over the flock. The shepherd prefers peace and grazing, but if anything threatens what they love, they instantly shift into a violent, protective mode.
So, while Ro'eh means "tender companion," the ancient context demands that this companion also be ready to fight to the death to protect their charge. And which He did.
Now, when we change that mental picture of our Shepherd in our minds, does not the reality of the Psalms and other verses of the Bible truly come alive? Do not His promises of protection and provision become a reality? Does not the Bible and His word become our truth?
