Numbers 27:17

27:17 who will go out before them, and who will come in before them, ¹  and who will lead them out, and who will bring them in, so that ²  the community of the Lord may not be like sheep that have no shepherd.”

Deuteronomy 31:2

31:2 He said to them, “Today I am a hundred and twenty years old. I am no longer able to get about, ³  and the Lord has said to me, ‘You will not cross the Jordan.’

Deuteronomy 31:2

31:2 He said to them, “Today I am a hundred and twenty years old. I am no longer able to get about, ⁴  and the Lord has said to me, ‘You will not cross the Jordan.’

Deuteronomy 5:2

5:2 The Lord our God made a covenant with us at Horeb.

Deuteronomy 5:1

The Opening Exhortation

5:1 Then Moses called all the people of Israel together and said to them: ⁵  “Listen, Israel, to the statutes and ordinances that I am about to deliver to you today; learn them and be careful to keep them!

Deuteronomy 3:7

3:7 But all the livestock and plunder from the cities we kept for ourselves.

John 10:1-9

Jesus as the Good Shepherd

10:1 “I tell you the solemn truth, ⁶  the one who does not enter the sheepfold ⁷  by the door, ⁸  but climbs in some other way, is a thief and a robber. 10:2 The one who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. 10:3 The doorkeeper ⁹  opens the door ¹⁰  for him, ¹¹  and the sheep hear his voice. He ¹²  calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. ¹³  10:4 When he has brought all his own sheep ¹⁴  out, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they recognize ¹⁵  his voice. 10:5 They will never follow a stranger, ¹⁶  but will run away from him, because they do not recognize ¹⁷  the stranger’s voice.” ¹⁸  10:6 Jesus told them this parable, ¹⁹  but they ²⁰  did not understand ²¹  what he was saying to them.

10:7 So Jesus said to them again, “I tell you the solemn truth, ²²  I am the door for the sheep. ²³  10:8 All who came before me were ²⁴  thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. ²⁵  10:9 I am the door. If anyone enters through me, he will be saved, and will come in and go out, ²⁶  and find pasture. ²⁷ 

[27:17]  ¹ sn This is probably technical terminology for a military leader (Josh 14:11; 1 Sam 18:13-16; 1 Kgs 3:7; 2 Kgs 11:9). The image of a shepherd can also be military in nature (1 Kgs 22:17).

[27:17]  ² tn The Hebrew text has the conjunction with the negated imperfect tense, “and it will not be.” This clause should be subordinated to the preceding to form a result clause, and the imperfect then function as a final imperfect.

[31:2]  ³ tn Or “am no longer able to lead you” (NIV, NLT); Heb “am no longer able to go out and come in.”

[31:2]  ⁴ tn Or “am no longer able to lead you” (NIV, NLT); Heb “am no longer able to go out and come in.”

[5:1]  ⁵ tn Heb “and Moses called to all Israel and he said to them”; NAB, NASB, NIV “Moses summoned (convened NRSV) all Israel.”

[10:1]  ⁶ tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”

[10:1]  ⁷ sn There was more than one type of sheepfold in use in Palestine in Jesus’ day. The one here seems to be a courtyard in front of a house (the Greek word used for the sheepfold here, αὐλή [aulh] frequently refers to a courtyard), surrounded by a stone wall (often topped with briars for protection).

[10:1]  ⁸ tn Or “entrance.”

[10:3]  ⁹ tn Or “porter” (British English).

[10:3]  ¹⁰ tn The words “the door” are not in the Greek text but are implied. Direct objects in Greek were often omitted when clear from the context.

[10:3]  ¹¹ tn Grk “For this one.”

[10:3]  ¹² tn Grk “And he.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.

[10:3]  ¹³ sn He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. Some interpreters have suggested that there was more than one flock in the fold, and there would be a process of separation where each shepherd called out his own flock. This may also be suggested by the mention of a doorkeeper in v. 3 since only the larger sheepfolds would have such a guard. But the Gospel of John never mentions a distinction among the sheep in this fold; in fact (10:16) there are other sheep which are to be brought in, but they are to be one flock and one shepherd.

[10:4]  ¹⁴ tn The word “sheep” is not in the Greek text, but is implied.

[10:4]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “because they know.”

[10:5]  ¹⁶ tn Or “someone whom they do not know.”

[10:5]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “know.”

[10:5]  ¹⁸ tn Or “the voice of someone they do not know.”

[10:6]  ¹⁹ sn A parable is a fairly short narrative that has symbolic meaning. The Greek word παροιμίαν (paroimian) is used again in 16:25, 29. This term does not occur in the synoptic gospels, where παραβολή (parabolh) is used. Nevertheless it is similar, denoting a short narrative with figurative or symbolic meaning.

[10:6]  ²⁰ tn Grk “these.”

[10:6]  ²¹ tn Or “comprehend.”

[10:7]  ²² tn Grk “Truly, truly, I say to you.”

[10:7]  ²³ tn Or “I am the sheep’s door.”

[10:8]  ²⁴ tn Grk “are” (present tense).

[10:8]  ²⁵ tn Or “the sheep did not hear them.”

[10:9]  ²⁶ tn Since the Greek phrase εἰσέρχομαι καὶ ἐξέρχομαι (eisercomai kai exercomai, “come in and go out”) is in some places an idiom for living or conducting oneself in relationship to some community (“to live with, to live among” [cf. Acts 1:21; see also Num 27:17; 2 Chr 1:10]), it may well be that Jesus’ words here look forward to the new covenant community of believers. Another significant NT text is Luke 9:4, where both these verbs occur in the context of the safety and security provided by a given household for the disciples. See also BDAG 294 s.v. εἰσέρχομαι 1.b.β.

[10:9]  ²⁷ sn That is, pasture land in contrast to cultivated land.