shepherd

The Greek and Hebrew that is translated as “shepherd” in English is translated in Kouya as Bhlabhlɛɛ ‘yliyɔzʋnyɔ — ” tender of sheep.”

Philip Saunders (p. 231) explains:

“Then one day they tackled the thorny problem of ‘shepherd’. It was problematic because Kouyas don’t have herdsmen who stay with the sheep all the time. Sheep wander freely round the village and its outskirts, and often a young lad will be detailed to drive sheep to another feeding spot. So the usual Kouya expression meant a ‘driver of sheep’, which would miss the idea of a ‘nurturing’ shepherd. ‘A sheep nurturer’ was possible to say, but it was unnatural in most contexts. The group came up with Bhlabhlɛɛ ‘yliyɔzʋnyɔ which meant ‘a tender of sheep’, that is one who keeps an eye on the sheep to make sure they are all right. All, including the translators, agreed that this was a most satisfactory solution.”

Other translations include:

  • Chuj: “carer” (there was no single word for “shepherd”) (source: Ronald Ross)
  • Muna: “sheep guard” (dhagano dhumba) (there was no immediate lexical equivalent) (source: René van den Berg),
  • Mairasi: “people who took care of domesticated animals” (source: Enggavoter 2004)
  • Noongar: “sheep worker” (kookendjeriyang-yakina) (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
  • Kwakum: “those-who-monitor-the-livestock” (source: Stacey Hare in this post )

See also I am the good shepherd, complete verse (Psalm 23:1), and sheep / lamb.

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Shepherds in the Bible .

dog

Dogs were domesticated very early and were used for hunting and as watchdogs in the ancient world. In Egypt as early as 4000 B.C. people made pottery images that indicate that sleek fast hunting dogs were bred which looked like the modern greyhound. From Babylonian sculpture we know that around 2500 B.C. large hunting dogs that looked like the modern bull-mastiff were kept by people in the Mesopotamian civilizations.

Among the Jews however while dogs were kept mainly as watch-dogs they were held in contempt and left to feed themselves by scavenging. This habit of scavenging and the fact that dogs were possibly associated with some Egyptian gods meant that dogs were seen as very unclean animals by the Jews. The dog found in Jewish settlements in Bible times was probably the pariah dog Canis familiaris putiatini which looked something like a small light brown Alsatian or German shepherd. This type of dog in its wild and domesticated forms is found all over the Middle East and on the mainland coasts of South and Southeast Asia (where it is known as the crab-eating dog). The Australian dingo is also very similar.

Small pet dogs were kept in homes in the Greek and Roman civilizations by gentiles but not by Jews. This is probably the type of dog referred to by the Greek word kunarion in Matthew 15:26 and Mark 7:27.

As mentioned above dogs were held in contempt as unclean. To call someone a dog was therefore very derogatory and to refer to someone as a “dead dog” was even more so. Israelites viewed dogs as second only to pigs as unclean animals. Dogs as scavengers around the villages ate anything from household refuse to animal carcasses and human excreta. They even ate human corpses that lay unburied after battles. Furthermore the dog was possibly one of the symbols of the Egyptian god Anubis (although many modern scholars believe the symbol to be the jackal).

With all of the above in mind it is understandable that dying and then being eaten by unclean dogs was seen as the worst of all possible fates.

In the first century A.D. gentiles were considered to be unclean and were referred to by Jews in a derogatory way as “dogs.” There is therefore strong irony in the expression in Philippians 3:2 where Judaizing Christians are referred to as dogs.

One additional connotation associated with dogs in the Bible is sexual perversion and promiscuity a connotation probably arising from the fact that sexually aroused male dogs do not always differentiate between sexes as they seek to mate and the fact that dogs of both sexes mate repeatedly with different partners.

Source: All Creatures Great and Small: Living things in the Bible (UBS Helps for Translators)

Translation commentary on Isaiah 56:11

The dogs have a mighty appetite: The prophet continues to criticize Israel’s leaders as useless by referring to them as greedy and hungry dogs. This line is literally “And the dogs [are] strong of spirit.” Bible en français courant has “They are voracious dogs.” Revised English Bible and New Jerusalem Bible translate simply “greedy dogs.” Good News Translation changes this metaphor into a simile by saying “They are like greedy dogs.” New American Bible says “They are relentless dogs,” which does not necessarily have anything to do with eating.

They never have enough is literally “they do not know satisfaction/fullness.” This line indicates that no matter how much they eat, it is never enough to satisfy them. This is probably a metaphor for general greediness, so this line may be rendered “they are never satisfied.”

The shepherds also have no understanding: Shepherds is another metaphor for Israel’s leaders. It is a common one in the Old Testament (see, for example, 44.28; Jer 12.10). The Hebrew phrase rendered have no understanding uses the same expression as “are … without knowledge” in the previous verse (see the introductory comments on this section [56.9-12]). It is also similar in meaning. As shepherds, Israel’s leaders are ignorant and know nothing about how to lead their people.

They have all turned to their own way is the reason for their ignorance. They each do whatever suits them without reference to anyone else, especially without reference to God. This charge is identical to the one against the whole nation in 53.6 (see the comments there). The self-centered life of the leaders prevents them taking care of their flock, as a true shepherd should.

Each to his own gain, one and all: All the leaders also look out for their own personal benefit. The Hebrew noun rendered gain implies the idea of obtaining material goods unjustly (see 33.15). One and all (literally “from its end”) renders a Hebrew idiom that means “with no exceptions.” It emphasizes that every single one of the leaders was interested only in serving himself rather than the people. New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh has “Every last one.” For this line and the previous one Good News Translation provides a useful model, saying “They each do as they please and seek their own advantage.”

For the translation of this verse consider the following examples:

• The dogs are so greedy they can never get enough.
The shepherds [of the people] are all ignorant;
every one of them goes his own way,
without exception seeking his own benefit.

• Those greedy dogs are never satisfied.
Those leaders know nothing;
each does his own thing,
looking out for his own interest.
This is true of every one of them!

Quoted with permission from Ogden, Graham S. and Sterk, Jan. A Handbook on Isaiah. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2011. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .