Texts in Conversation
In Psalm 23, the psalmist connects shepherding and being led to water as a metaphor for personal care. The author of Revelation combines those two expressions, suggesting the psalm rather than Isaiah or Ezekiel influenced its language.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Psalm 23:2
Hebrew Bible
1 A psalm of David.The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. 2 He takes me to lush pastures, he leads me to refreshing water. 3 He restores my strength. He leads me down the right paths for the sake of his reputation. 4 Even when I must walk through the darkest valley, I fear no danger, for you are with me;your rod and your staff reassure me.
Revelation 7:17
New Testament
15 For this reason they are before the throne of God, and they serve him day and night in his temple, and the one seated on the throne will shelter them. 16 They will never go hungry or be thirsty again, and the sun will not beat down on them, nor any burning heat, 17 because the Lamb in the middle of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”
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Notes and References
“... Differently from the texts of Isaiah and Ezekiel, Ps. 23(22):1–2 subsumes both of two key expressions of Rev. 7:17 together: ‘to shepherd them’ [...], ‘to lead them to springs of living water’ [...] as the text of the Psalm says, ‘Yahweh tends me as a shepherd…he leads me beside still waters’ [...]. The metaphor of ‘Yawheh as shepherd’ in Ps. 23 is one of the oldest epithets of God in the Hebrew tradition (Gen. 49:24). In the Hebrew Bible, the image of a shepherd often describes Yahweh, who saved his people from Egypt and continued to protect them in the wilderness (Isa. 40:11; 49:9–10; Jer. 31:10; Mic. 7:14; Pss. 77:21; 78:52–53; 80:2; 95:7. Cf. Pss. 23:1–2; 28:9; 74:1; 100:3). ...”
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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