The Good Shepherd: A Thousand-Year Journey from Psalm 23 to the New Testament

"The Lord is my shepherd."

Thus begins the most beloved of all Psalms—and thus begins a thousand-year journey through the Bible. Prophets, apostles and Jesus himself took up this image from David, reshaping it, developing it and applying it to their own situations and needs. Kenneth Bailey uses his celebrated insights into Middle Eastern culture and especially his familiarity with Middle Eastern shepherding customs to bring new light and life to our understanding of this central image of the Christian faith.

With each of nine major Old and New Testament passages, Bailey reveals the literary artistry of the Biblical writers and summarizes their key theological features. His work is also enriched by his unique access to very early Middle Eastern commentaries on these passages, bringing fresh understanding from within the mindset of these ancient worlds. The Good Shepherd invites us to experience a rich, biblical feast of ethical, theological and artistic delights.

• Preface
• Introduction
• Major Accounts of the Shepherd and the Sheep in the Old Testament
  • 1. The Good Shepherd in Psalm 23
  • 2. The Good Shepherd and Jeremiah 23:1-8
  • 3. The Good Shepherd and Ezekiel 34:1-31
  • 4. The Good Shepherd and Zechariah 10:2-12
• Major Accounts of the Shepherd and the Sheep in the New Testament
  • 5. The Good Shepherd in Mark 6: 7-52
  • 6. Jesus the Good Shepherd and the Good Woman in Luke 15:1-10
  • 7. The Disciples as Good Shepherds in Matthew 18:10-14
  • 8. The Good Shepherd amid Thieves and Wolves in John 10:1-18
  • 9. The Good Shepherd and I Peter 5:1-4
• Postscript
• Bibliography