Ezekiel 34:2
Hebrew Bible
1 The Lord’s message came to me: 2 “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy, and say to them—to the shepherds: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Woe to the shepherds of Israel who have been feeding themselves! Should not shepherds feed the flock? 3 You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the choice animals, but you do not feed the sheep! 4 You have not strengthened the weak, healed the sick, bandaged the injured, brought back the strays, or sought the lost, but with force and harshness you have ruled over them.
Date: 6th Century B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
Source
Jude 1:12
New Testament
10 But these men do not understand the things they slander, and they are being destroyed by the very things that, like irrational animals, they instinctively comprehend. 11 Woe to them! For they have traveled down Cain’s path, and because of greed have abandoned themselves to Balaam’s error; hence, they will certainly perish in Korah’s rebellion. 12 These men are dangerous reefs at your love feasts, feasting without reverence, feeding only themselves. They are waterless clouds, carried along by the winds; autumn trees without fruit—twice dead, uprooted; 13 wild sea waves, spewing out the foam of their shame; wayward stars for whom the utter depths of eternal darkness have been reserved. 14 Now Enoch, the seventh in descent beginning with Adam, even prophesied of them, saying, “Look! The Lord is coming with thousands and thousands of his holy ones,
Date: 90-100 C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
Source
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Notes and References
"... Agapë feasts at this time were part of the celebration of the Lord's Supper and seem to have involved a fellowship meal (1 Corinthians 11:20-34; Acts 2:46). Apparently, these were evening meals (Acts 20:7, 11) and involved intimate sharing with one another. Obviously having a betrayer in this setting, where everyone is open and trusting, was especially dangerous to the church. Because these men have no scruples (aphobös, literally 'without fear', possibly means 'without reverence,' which may mean that they had no scruples against taking advantage of Christians in such a situation), they are especially dangerous. The word poimainontes refers to these people, supposed to be shepherds looking after others, but only looking after (ie., shepherding) themselves, feeding themselves. They are egocentric to the core. There is perhaps an echo here of Ezekiel 34:2-4, 8 (compare Isaiah 56:11), which speaks of shepherds who feed themselves instead of their flocks ..."
Witherington, Ben
Letters and Homilies for Jewish Christians: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary on Hebrews, James and Jude
(p. 621) InterVarsity Press, 2010
* 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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