Hearing these lines of poetry of the Tenth Century B.C.E. (Before the
Common Era),
we see how a famous ancient philosopher-king chose to view his deity.
- Why would a king, of all people, prefer to view his deity in terms of animal husbandry (i.e. ranching)?
- What can older civilization teach us about pastoral values?
- Is there any evidence that a literary tradition based upon farm life still exists?
- Why does the writer (David?) address God as his shepherd?
- Why does the writer liken himself to a sheep?
- Why would anyone consider this possibility?
- How is cultural context significant here?
Before the Industrial Revolution (ca. 1765-1950), humans knew only three
principal occupations: farming (including husbandry), trade and war. There
is surely little debate that the oldest of the three in documented history
is farming, simply because people needed to eat before they pursued any
other endeavor. Looking at The Twenty-Third Psalm anthropologically (i.e.
in terms of human development), we can probably agree that farming/husbandry
of the three options above best fits someone's desire to describe his
relationship with a loving deity. In fact, as we look at the Western literary
tradition, we can not fail to observe that symbols of tranquility whenever
writers want to decry the unnecessary complexities of city or national
life.
