A shepherd is one who takes care of sheep, usually in flocks in the fields.
History of the shepherd's work
Shepherding is one of the oldest professions, beginning some 6,000 years ago in Asia Minor. Sheep were kept for their milk, meat, and especially their wool. Over the next millennia sheep and shepherding spread throughout Eurasia.
Some sheep were integrated in the family farm along with other animals such as pigs and chickens. To maintain a large herd, however, the sheep must be able to move from pasture to pasture, this required the development of a profession separate from that of the farmer. The duty of shepherds was to keep their flock intact and protect it from predators, such as wolves and keas. The shepherd was also to supervise the migration of the flock and ensured they made it to market areas in time for shearing. In ancient times shepherds also often milked their sheep, and made cheese from this milk.
In many societies shepherds were an important part of the economy. Unlike farmers, shepherds were often wage earners, being paid to watch the sheep of others. Shepherds also lived apart from society, being largely nomadic. It was mainly a job of solitary males without children, and new shepherds thus needed to be recruited externally. Shepherds were most often the younger sons of farming peasants who did not inherit any land. Still in other societies, each family would have a family member to shepherd its flock, often a child, youth or an elderly who couldn't help much with a harder work; these shepherds were fully integrated in society.
Shepherds would normally work in groups either looking after one large flock, or each bringing their own and merging their responsibilities. They would live in small cabins, often shared with their sheep and would buy food from local communities. Less often shepherds lived in covered wagons that traveled with their flocks.
Shepherding developed only in certain areas. In the lowlands and river valleys, it was far more efficient to grow grains and cereals than to allow sheep to graze, thus the raising of sheep was confined to rugged and mountainous areas. In the pre-modern times shepherding was thus centred on regions such as the Land of Israel, Greece, the Pyrenees, and Scotland.
The shepherd's work in modern times
In modern times shepherding has changed dramatically. The abolition of common lands in Europe in the eighteenth and nineteenth century moved shepherding from independent nomads to employees of massive estates. European expansion spread sheep around the world, and shepherding became especially important in Australia and New Zealand where flocks of 4000, or more, are tended by one person. While originally shepherding in those countries was done on the wide and open frontiers, in modern times it has become dominated by agribusiness.
Wages are higher than was the case in the past. Keeping a shepherd in constant attendance can be costly. Also, the eradication of sheep predators in parts of the world have lessened the need for shepherds. In countries like Britain hardy breeds of sheep are frequently left alone without a shepherd for long periods of time. More productive breeds of sheep can be left in fields and moved periodically to fresh pasture when necessary. Hardier breeds of sheep can be left on hillsides. The sheep farmer will attend to the sheep when necessary at times like lambing or shearing.
For more information on Modern sheep farming, see Sheep husbandry.
Shepherds in Religion
Metaphorically, the term is used for God, especially in the Judeo-Christian tradition (e.g. Psalm 23), and in Christianity especially Jesus, who is called Good Shepherd. The Ancient Israelites were a pastoral people and there were many shepherds among them. It may also be worth noting that many Biblical heroes were shepherds, among them the Old Testament prophet Amos, who was a shepherd in the rugged area around Tekoa, as well as King David, and Moses. In the New Testament angels announced the birth of Jesus to shepherds. -Incidentally it is uncertain if shepherds would have been "abiding in the fields watching over their flocks by night" during the Winter, see Chronology of Jesus. The traditional date for the birth of Jesus on December 25th is disputed.
The same metaphor is also applied to priests, with Roman Catholic and Church of England bishops having the shepherd's crook among their insignia (see also Lycidas). In both cases, the implication is that the faithful are the "flock" who have to be tended and would have difficulty managing on their own.
The Great Shepherd is one of the thrusts of Biblical scripture. This illustration incompasses many ideas, including God's care for his people, His discipline to correct the wandering sheep, as well as the tendency of humans to put themselves into danger's way and their inability to guide and take care of themselves apart from the direct power and leading of God. [1]
Atheists, Agnostics and other Freethinkers may feel that believers are expected to follow religious dogma like sheep rather than to question and reason like humans. [2] However, such an argument may not take into account other Biblical themes, such as God's invitation to man "Come, let us reason together..." (Isaiah 1:18)