YHWH is My Shepherd and My Host: Parallel Scenes in Psalm 23

Even people with limited contact with the Bible or the liturgy have likely heard Psalm 23, most often in its King James Version: “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want….” Why is this psalm so popular in the general culture? First, it is short, and therefore easily memorized. Second, it is a “psalm of trust,” a relatively rare genre in the book of Psalms; this psalm contains no complaints or petitions to God but rather consists entirely of statements of faith and confidence in divine protection.^[1] Third, the psalm combines comforting themes in an artful and effective way.

Although an acquaintance with the cultural context of ancient Israel is not required to appreciate Psalm 23’s basic message and emotions, such awareness can greatly increase understanding of the psalm and help to heighten its emotional affect.

The psalm contains two parts, each focusing on a single motif.

1. The Divine Shepherd

The first half of the psalm is dominated by the shepherd motif and by the Tetragrammaton (which appears in the last verse a well, forming an inclusio). YHWH’s name, in an emphatic, foregrounded position, opens the main part of the psalm:

‏^{תהלים כג:א} מִזְמוֹר לְדָוִד יְ־הוָה רֹעִי לֹא אֶחְסָר.

^{Ps 23:1} Davidic psalm. Since it is YHWH who is my shepherd, I can never be in want.

On one level, the psalm compares God to a human shepherd, an important image for constant divine care in the Bible. Jacob, for example, describes God as being his own shepherd:

‏^{בראשׁית מח:טו} וַיְבָרֶךְ אֶת יוֹסֵף וַיֹּאמַר הָאֱלֹהִים אֲשֶׁר הִתְהַלְּכוּ אֲבֹתַי לְפָנָיו אַבְרָהָם וְיִצְחָק הָאֱלֹהִים הָרֹעֶה אֹתִי מֵעוֹדִי עַד הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה.

^{Gen 48:15} And he blessed Joseph, saying, “The God in whose ways my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has been my shepherd from my birth to this day….”

A more common version of the metaphor envisions Israel as God’s flock:

^{תהלים ק:ג} דְּעוּ כִּי יְ־הוָה הוּא אֱלֹהִים הוּא עָשָׂנוּ (ולא) [וְלוֹ] אֲנַחְנוּ עַמּוֹ וְצֹאן מַרְעִיתוֹ.

^{Ps 100:3} Acknowledge that YHWH is God; He made us and we are His, His people, the flock He tends.

On another level, shepherd is also a biblical metaphor for earthly leaders. While the author of the psalm attributes it to David (v. 1), the term shepherd also evokes Moses (Exod 3:1). The image is also common in Mesopotamian texts;^[2] Hammurabi, for example, calls himself re’u nishishu, “the shepherd of his people.”^[3]

The phrase יְ־הוָה רֹעִי, “YHWH is my shepherd,” is likely a subordinate, explanatory clause for what follows: it is God—not a human or an angel or another protective spirit—who leads and protects the psalmist, and therefore the psalmist can never lack for anything.

Human shepherds may fail to lead their flocks on the right, i.e., straightest, paths to the most verdant meadows by the most restful waters. The divine shepherd will never fail to do so:

^{תהלים כג:ב} בִּנְאוֹת דֶּשֶׁא יַרְבִּיצֵנִי עַל מֵי מְנֻחוֹת יְנַהֲלֵנִי. ^כג:ג נַפְשִׁי יְשׁוֹבֵב יַנְחֵנִי בְמַעְגְּלֵי צֶדֶק לְמַעַן שְׁמוֹ.

^{Ps 23:2} In pastures of green grass He lets me lie down; by waters at resting places He leads me. ^23:3 He restores my vigor (nefesh—the sense of nefesh here). He guides me in right paths, corresponding to His Name (i.e., reputation).

Behind this picture of perfect care is, ultimately, Eden imagery, which is associated with lush vegetation and streams or pools of water.

The end of this part of the psalm indirectly takes up the name of God again in another emphatic phrase:^[4]

^{תהלים כג:ד} גַּם כִּי אֵלֵךְ בְּגֵיא צַלְמָוֶת לֹא אִירָא רָע כִּי אַתָּה עִמָּדִי שִׁבְטְךָ וּמִשְׁעַנְתֶּךָ הֵמָּה יְנַחֲמֻנִי.

^{Ps 23:4} Though I walk through a valley shadowed by death, I shall fear no harm, for it is You (Yourself) who are with me; it is Your (own) rod and (and) staff that comfort me.

For the first time the psalmist addresses God directly as “You.” “With me” here reflects divine care and protection and is a reference to the revelation of the name YHWH to Moses. When Moses asks God מִי אָנֹכִי כִּי אֵלֵךְ אֶל פַּרְעֹה, “who am I that I should go to Pharaoh” (Exod 3:11), God responds:

^{שׁמות ג:יב} וַיֹּאמֶר כִּי אֶהְיֶה עִמָּךְ וְזֶה לְּךָ הָאוֹת כִּי אָנֹכִי שְׁלַחְתִּיךָ בְּהוֹצִיאֲךָ אֶת הָעָם מִמִּצְרַיִם תַּעַבְדוּן אֶת הָאֱלֹהִים עַל הָהָר הַזֶּה.

^{Exod 3:12} And He said, “I will be with you; that shall be your sign that it was I who sent you. And when you have freed the people from Egypt, you shall worship God at this mountain.”^[5]

God then declares אֶהְיֶה אֲשֶׁר אֶהְיֶה, “I am what I am,” and tells Moses to introduce Him to the Israelites as YHWH (v. 15).

The Tetragrammaton itself thus alludes to the repeated verb, אֶהְיֶה (ʾehyeh), and conveys that “He is with us.”^[6] YHWH, “He is (with us),” is God’s name in the aspect of help and care, as in Psalm 23, which begins with the Name. The phrase כִּי אַתָּה עִמָּדִי, “for You are with me” (Ps 23:4), thus evokes the Tetragrammaton at the beginning of the psalm as does the phrase לְמַעַן שְׁמוֹ (lemaʿan shemo) “corresponding to His name” (v. 3), that is, “reputation as the God who helps, redeems.”

2. A Royal Banquet

The second half of the psalm describes a feast:

^{תהלים כג:ה} תַּעֲרֹךְ לְפָנַי שֻׁלְחָן נֶגֶד צֹרְרָי דִּשַּׁנְתָּ בַשֶּׁמֶן רֹאשִׁי כּוֹסִי רְוָיָה.

^{Ps 23:5} You set a table for me in the (very) presence of my opponents. You make my head luxuriant with oil. My cup is full to overflowing.

The setting of the table may allude to a similar phrase about the tradition of YHWH providing manna in the wilderness (cf. Num 11) in Psalms:

‏^{תהלים עח:יט} וַיְדַבְּרוּ בֵּאלֹהִים אָמְרוּ הֲיוּכַל אֵל לַעֲרֹךְ שֻׁלְחָן בַּמִּדְבָּר.

^{Ps 78:19} They spoke against God, saying, “Can God spread a feast in the wilderness?

Anointing one’s head with fragrant oil was a common practice at ancient feasts in Greece and Rome, as well as in Ancient Egypt.^[7] Anointing also evokes the royal theme of the anointing of kings, especially David and Solomon.

Being led by a faithful shepherd through all dangers in “the valley of the shadow of death,” and then arriving at a place where tables are set for one for a great feast—what could be more comforting?

The feasting section also contains a playful aspect, especially in the reversals of stock themes. At the thanksgiving feast it is God personally who sets the table as gracious host. The foes, the source of much fear in most psalms, are forced to witness the event, probably gnashing their teeth. It is not they who “pursue” the psalmist but God’s goodness and mercy:

^{תהלים כג:ו} אַךְ טוֹב וָחֶסֶד יִרְדְּפוּנִי כָּל יְמֵי חַיָּי וְשַׁבְתִּי בְּבֵית יְ־הוָה לְאֹרֶךְ יָמִים.

^{Ps 23:6} Truly, (Your) benevolence and loving loyalty will pursue me all the days of my life; and my dwelling will be in YHWH’s house for the length of (my) days.

Finally, the psalmist dwells permanently with God in a place where no harm can ever befall him. “YHWH’s house” refers to the Temple, as it does in a later psalm that uses similar language:

‏^{תהלים כז:ד} אַחַת שָׁאַלְתִּי מֵאֵת יְ־הוָה אוֹתָהּ אֲבַקֵּשׁ שִׁבְתִּי בְּבֵית יְ־הוָה כָּל יְמֵי חַיַּי לַחֲזוֹת בְּנֹעַם יְ־הוָה וּלְבַקֵּר בְּהֵיכָלוֹ.

^{Ps 27:4} One thing I ask of YHWH, only that do I seek: to live in the house of YHWH all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of YHWH, to frequent His temple.^[8]

Behind the images of feasting rests the cultic practice, when in danger from disease, enemies, or other vicissitudes, of making a vow to bring a sacrifice of thanksgiving to the Temple. After being rescued by God, a sacrificial feast of thanksgiving to God would be held in fulfillment of the vow for one’s family and friends at which one would thank God for divine help.^[9]

The author draws on this cultic scenario but generalizes and transforms it. There is no reference to the psalmist’s enemies except for the brief mention of “in the presence of my foes.” The danger overcome is alluded to only in the “valley shadowed by death” in Part One, but in Part Two all is positive, joyous, comforting.

Parallels Between the Two Parts

The abrupt shift in imagery between the pastoral and feasting sections initially presents a peculiar picture of sheep eating and drinking at a table and even being anointed. Rather than representing a continuous narrative, however, the feasting section (vv. 5–6) roughly parallels the leading points of the pastoral section (vv. 1–4).

• Anointing (v. 5) reflects the theme of royalty implied by “shepherd” (v. 1).
• “Setting a table” and the “overflowing cup” (v. 5) correspond to the grassy meadows and the waters by which the sheep rest (v. 2).
• Coming “to dwell” with God permanently (v. 6) parallels and counters the images of constant movement in the depiction of a shepherd’s life, which is never sedentary (vv. 2–3).

Thus, the images of divine providence and care under the divine shepherd are reflected in equivalent imagery at the permanent place of rest, in God’s house.

This Life or the Afterlife?

In later Judaism and in Christianity the pastoral imagery of “resting” was taken to refer to life after death, and not, as in the psalm, as imagery of superlative divine provision and guidance in this life. The phrase “You restore my vigor” was taken to mean “You will restore my life, after resurrection” (hence the liturgical use of Psalm 23 at funerals).

The Bible, however, contains no developed concept of an afterlife as later understood until Daniel 12 (though there may be a few earlier hints in some very late prophets). The happy images in Psalm 23, while highly poetical in language, are meant for this world, as the final words “for length of (my) days,” i.e. “as long as I live,” make clear. But once the concept of an afterlife had developed, it was natural to associate Psalm 23 with that idea above all other psalms, partially because of the mention of tzel-mawet, “shadow of death” (v. 4), but more importantly because of all the psalms, it is the most complete statement of trust and faith in God’s providence and loving care.

Simplicity is Complex

Despite its deceptive simplicity, Psalm 23 is complex. The dense networks of themes and imagery—shepherding, kingship, feasting, thanksgiving; of historical allusions to other examples of divine care, such as the Exodus and Moses, the provision of manna, the choosing of David; as well as the intricate linguistic texture and play of emphasis—all contribute to giving Psalm 23 its special power to calm, comfort and inspire hope.