Table of Contents
And she brought forth Abel (Et-Hevel), his brother. Abel became Guardian of the flocks, but Cain (Qayin) became a cultivator of the earth.
Genesis 4:2
Now Abram (Avram) was extremely prosperous, possessing much livestock, along with silver and gold.” / “And it happened that a conflict arose between the keepers of Abram’s livestock and Lot’s livestock, and the Canaanites and the Perizzites, who were at that time settled in that territory.”
Genesis 13:2, 13:7
Isaac cultivated in that land and, during that year, gained a hundredfold, and was blessed. He grew wealthy, and he progressed to grow in wealth until he became exceedingly wealthy. He possessed herds of sheep, cattle, and many servants, and the Philistines begrudged him.
Genesis 26:12-14
And Jacob said, ‘You shall not give me anything. If you do this thing for me, I will again shepherd your flock and keep it.'”
Genesis 30:31-36
Now Moses was shepherding the flock of Jethro, his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he took them beyond the desert to the sacred mountain of God, called Horeb.
Exodus 3:1
And Samuel said to Jesse, ‘Are all the young men here?’ And he said, ‘There remains yet the youngest, and there he is, shepherding the flock.’ And Samuel said to Jesse, ‘Send and bring him, for we will not sit down until he comes here.’
1 Samuel 16:11
These are the words of Amos, one of the shepherds from Tekoa. He received visions concerning Israel during the reigns of Uzziah, king of Judah, and Jeroboam, son of Joash, king of Israel, two years before the great earthquake.
Amos 1:1
Hebrew words for Shepherd
In Hebrew, there are several words that can be translated as “flock,” depending on the context. Here are some of the most common Hebrew words used to refer to a flock:
צֹאן (Tson)
Example: Genesis 4:2 – “וַיְהִי־הֶבֶל רֹעֵה צֹאן וְקַיִן הָיָה עֹבֵד אֲדָמָה׃” (“Abel was a keeper of flocks [צֹאן], but Cain was a tiller of the ground.”)
עֵדֶר (Eder)
Example: Genesis 33:13 – “וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלָיו אֲדֹנִי יֹדֵעַ כִּי־הַיְלָדִים רַכִּים וְהַצֹּאן וְהַבָּקָר עָלוֹת עָלַי” (“And he said to him, ‘My lord knows that the children are tender, and the flocks [הַצֹּאן] and the herds [הַבָּקָר] with me are nursing.'”)
מִקְנֶה (Mikneh)
Example: Genesis 13:2 – “וְאַבְרָם כָּבֵד מְאֹד בַּמִּקְנֶה בַּכֶּסֶף וּבַזָּהָב” (“And Abram was very rich in livestock [בַּמִּקְנֶה], in silver, and in gold.”)
עֵדֶר צֹאן (Eder Tson)
Example: Micah 2:12 – “אָסֹף אֲאַסֵּף יַעֲקֹב כֻּלָּךְ קַבֵּץ אֲקַבֵּץ שְׁאֵרִית יִשְׂרָאֵל יַחַד אֲשִׂימֶנּוּ כְּצֹאן בָּצְרָה כְּעֵדֶר בְּתוֹךְ הַדָּבְרוֹ כְּתוֹךְ עֵדֶר צֹאן רַב בְּתוֹךְ דָּבְרוֹ” (“I will surely assemble all of you, O Jacob, I will surely gather the remnant of Israel; I will put them together like the sheep of Bozrah, like a flock [עֵדֶר] in the midst of their pasture [צֹאן].”)
דָּבֵר (Daber)
Example: Micah 4:8 – “וְאַתָּה מִגְדַּל־עֵדֶר עֹפֶל בַּת־צִיּוֹן עָדֶיךָ תֵּאתֶה וּבָאָה הַמֶּמְשָׁלָה הָרִאשֹׁנָה מַמְלֶכֶת לְבַת־יְרוּשָׁלָיִם” (“And you, O tower of the flock [מִגְדַּל־עֵדֶר], the stronghold of the daughter of Zion, to you shall it come, even the former dominion shall come, the kingdom of the daughter of Jerusalem.”)
