Micah's Seven Shepherds of Israel

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Kunigunde Kreuzerin
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Micah's Seven Shepherds of Israel

Post by Kunigunde Kreuzerin »

There is a long tradition that the seven shepherds are Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Aaron and David. Please, could anyone say what the earliest sources for this tradition are?
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Ben C. Smith
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Re: Micah's Seven Shepherds of Israel

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Kunigunde Kreuzerin wrote:There is a long tradition that the seven shepherds are Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Aaron and David. Please, could anyone say what the earliest sources for this tradition are?
I do not know the earliest source for your exact list, but a similar list is found in the Babylonian Talmud, Sukkah 52b:

And the Lord showed me four craftsmen. Who are these ‘four craftsmen’? — R. Hana b. Bizna citing R. Simeon Hasida replied: The Messiah the son of David, the Messiah the son of Joseph, Elijah and the Righteous Priest. R. Shesheth objected, If so, was it correct to write, These are the horns which scattered Judah, seeing that they came to turn [them] back? — The other answered him, Go to the end of the verse: These then are come to frighten them, to cast down the horns of the nations, which lifted up their horns against the Land of Judah, to scatter it etc. Why, said R. Shesheth to him, should I argue with Hana in Aggada?

And this shall be peace: when the Assyrian shall come into our land, and when he shall tread in our palaces, then shall we raise up against him seven shepherds and eight princes among men. Who are the ‘seven shepherds’? — David in the middle, Adam, Seth and Methuselah on his right, and Abraham, Jacob and Moses on his left. And who are the ‘eight princes among men’? — Jesse, Saul, Samuel, Amos, Zephaniah, Zedekiah, the Messiah, and Elijah.

ETA: Refer also to this discussion: https://tinyurl.com/zhx3dhj.
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neilgodfrey
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Re: Micah's Seven Shepherds of Israel

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Not knowing the background reason for the question I won't go into details here, but just mention that the seven/eight motif was apparently a widespread literary device going back to Ugaritic and other Near Eastern literature. Compare the three/four motif in Proverbs, ... Three things..., yea, four..... The numbers are rhetorical rather than strictly mathematical in meaning.
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Kunigunde Kreuzerin
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Re: Micah's Seven Shepherds of Israel

Post by Kunigunde Kreuzerin »

Ben C. Smith wrote:I do not know the earliest source for your exact list, but a similar list is found in the Babylonian Talmud, Sukkah 52b:

And the Lord showed me four craftsmen. Who are these ‘four craftsmen’? — R. Hana b. Bizna citing R. Simeon Hasida replied: The Messiah the son of David, the Messiah the son of Joseph, Elijah and the Righteous Priest. R. Shesheth objected, If so, was it correct to write, These are the horns which scattered Judah, seeing that they came to turn [them] back? — The other answered him, Go to the end of the verse: These then are come to frighten them, to cast down the horns of the nations, which lifted up their horns against the Land of Judah, to scatter it etc. Why, said R. Shesheth to him, should I argue with Hana in Aggada?

And this shall be peace: when the Assyrian shall come into our land, and when he shall tread in our palaces, then shall we raise up against him seven shepherds and eight princes among men. Who are the ‘seven shepherds’? — David in the middle, Adam, Seth and Methuselah on his right, and Abraham, Jacob and Moses on his left. And who are the ‘eight princes among men’? — Jesse, Saul, Samuel, Amos, Zephaniah, Zedekiah, the Messiah, and Elijah.

ETA: Refer also to this discussion: https://tinyurl.com/zhx3dhj.
Thanks. Very interesting.
Kunigunde Kreuzerin
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Re: Micah's Seven Shepherds of Israel

Post by Kunigunde Kreuzerin »

neilgodfrey wrote:Not knowing the background reason for the question I won't go into details here, but just mention that the seven/eight motif was apparently a widespread literary device going back to Ugaritic and other Near Eastern literature. Compare the three/four motif in Proverbs, ... Three things..., yea, four..... The numbers are rhetorical rather than strictly mathematical in meaning.
Yep. But I'm more interested in the reception of Micah and the question whether and when the number was mathematical in meaning and related to specific persons.
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