CONTENTS
Abbreviations 9
Preface 13
Introduction 21
1 The Good Shepherd in Psalm 23 31
2 The Good Shepherd and Jeremiah 23:1-8 66
3 The Good Shepherd and Ezekiel 34 79
4 The Good Shepherd and Zechariah 10:2-12 96
5 Jesus the Good Shepherd and the Good Woman in Luke 15:1-10 109
6 The Good Shepherd in Mark 6:7-52 153
7 The Disciples as Good Shepherds in Matthew 18:10-14 187
8 The Good Shepherd Amid Thieves and Wolves in John 10:1-18 210
9 The Good Shepherd and 1 Peter 5:1-4 250
Postscript 271
Bibliography 275
Modern Authors and Texts Index 284
Ancient Authors and Texts Index 285
Middle Eastern New Testament Versions Index 285
Scripture Index 286

“There is no more beloved picture of God’s relationship with his people than the Lord as our shepherd. Jesus’ declaration that he is ‘the good shepherd’ has comforted Christians for centuries. Using his impressive knowledge of Scripture and his experience livingfor many years in the Middle East, Bailey deepens and enriches our understanding of what it means to be members of God’sflock.” TREMPER LONGMAN III, Westmont College
“Ken Bailey is the consummate expert on the cultural context of first-century life. And here he applies these skills to one motif—the shepherd—illustrating how it is employed in a variety ofbiblical stories and parables. His interpretations use a variety oftools unknown to many of us: ancient versions, original languages, cultural anthropology, ancient Middle Eastern writers who shared this ancient culture, and his own personal career embedded in a crosscultural life in the Middle East. Always insighful, always fresh, consistently surprising Bailey has produced yet another book that will get many of us rethinking beloved passages of Scripture in completely new ways." GARY BURGE, Wheaton College
“Kenneth Bailey refreshes the souls of readers with deep textual insights and helpful contextual background to safely shepherd readers through the thousand-year story of Psalm 23. He makes several stops along the way in the Prophets, before settling into the Gospels where he deftly introduces us to afresh understanding of the Good Shepherd. Anyone who loves the 23rd Psalm will love this book.’’ DAVID LAMB, author of God Behaving Badly
“‘You prepare a table before me... my cup overflows.’ What a feast Ken Bailey has prepared for us in this book, and what an overflowing cupful of insights and illumination, if you ever thought there was nothing more you could ever learn or preach about the biblical image of the good shepherd, this book has an abundance ofsurprises.” CHRISTOPHER J. H. WRIGHT, author of Knowingjesus Through the Old Testament