David spent his youth in the hills of Bethlehem with sheep. He knew what shepherds did. By the time he wrote Psalm 23, he had been both ends of the metaphor.

In this letter

- The Psalter and how it works — Tehillim, the book of praises

- 1 Samuel 16 — Samuel comes to Jesse's house and the youngest is keeping the sheep

- David the shepherd before David the king

- Why kings did not write like this in the ancient world

- The Hebrew verb ra'ah and what shepherding actually meant as a job

Scripture

- 1 Samuel 16:1-13

- Psalm 23:1

- Psalm 100:3 (referenced)

Hebrew word studies

- ra'ah (רָעָה, Strong's H7462) — to pasture, tend, feed, lead, keep watch over. The verb behind the noun shepherd. The w ...