Jesse’s Sons: Part 1

Sons, there were 8 of them and they knew their job. Their job was to shepherd the sheep. Eliab was the oldest, and therefore he was the first of the sons to shepherd the sheep. As the other sons got older they would also take care of the family’s crop of animals. Each son in order would go out with his father, and then his brothers to learn the family craft. They were like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and his sons. The family was involved and learned the family trade.

A view of the land near Bethlehem in the Judean highlands

In Israel, in the years of the Judges, that meant starting early. When Eliab was but eight years old his father Jesse brought him to the fields of  Bethlehem in order to learn the ways of the sheep and how to care for them. By ten he was ready to leave home for the summer and travel with the herd, for sheep can be hard on the pasture and must be moved from field to field so the land does not wear out. Jesse, as all good shepherds had mapped out a route and taught what he learned about life to his sons.

Caring for sheep on the slopes of Judea

Jessie did not start out as a shepherd.  His father and his grandfather were farmers who raised grain in the Bethlehem highlands. But each winter as a boy he would see sheep which grazed on his father’s land and on other pastures in the area throughout the winter.  He watched the animals and talked to the shepherds. He would hear tales of adventure as the men would journey to the lowlands each year as they cared for their sheep. The son of Obed decided he wanted see to live a life of adventure like the stories he was hearing. He would spend nights with the shepherds to learn about the sheep, and then one day he told his father that this was the life for him. Farmers stay put and shepherds guide sheep.  Jesse wanted to see the world and being a caretaker of sheep would enable him to earn a living and see the world.

A view of the Judean highlands from the Shfela

Each spring Jesse and then his sons led sheep from the high fields of Bethlehem to find better pasture as the earth sprung to life below. He began by descending the steep slopes of the mountains to find what was growing and where the animals could graze. The annual rains would percolate down through the soil until it hit rock, and then it would surface through the multiple springs on the Judean slopes. The sheep would eat fresh food and drink clear water. Jesse, Eliab, and eventually his other sons would sleep in the cool of the caves which dotted the land.

By the full moon of Passover it was Jesse’s goal to be down the mountain and into the low hills called Shfela.  Some of the farmers had raised their first crop, barley, and the chaff and stubble left behind by the harvest made good fodder for sheep. This rich valley was an agricultural dreamland and would bring fatness to the family’s sheep so when the time came for them to be sold each sheep would bring a good price for the family to bring home before the autumn rains.

The green valleys near Azeka in Israel

In time the stubble would give out, and it was time to move on. As the son of a farmer, and now a shepherd, Jesse had learned not to test the patience of farmers. If he was kind to the people who lived on the land and limited damage by his sheep the herd could move without trouble. But if his sheep damaged the earth he would suffer the consequences.

Jesse taught his skills to his sons: To Eliab, to Abinadab, to Shimea, Nethanel, Raddai, Ozem and also to David. They each learned their lessons well as father taught son and son taught brothers and together they worked. The family made friends as they traveled and ate the fruits of the earth and saw the world which lay beyond the small highland community which they called home.

By summer this shepherd family worked their way from the high pastures near Bethlehem, down the steep hills with caves, through the valleys of grain until they reached the plain of Sharon. And it was here they rested. The streams were plentiful and the grass was abundant, and so they slowed their pace to enjoy the place and fatten the sheep.

A view of the coast-land from Tel Gezer

But they did not rest too much, for a shepherd must always move on, and in this coastal plain while the animals grazed the shepherds kept watch, for a strong people in walled cities inhabited this land.  But Jesse and his sons did not fear the people, they only watched. They also sold sheep which they grew to the foreign people who occupied this land, for the people needed food, wool, milk and other products which the herd could provide. Jesse sold some sheep, and he thinned the flock, and by the time of the fruit it was time to move again. This time they would go up the hills and not down.

The day’s work was like this: find a place to graze, guide the sheep, set a boundary and watch. Protect the flock from humans and predators, from eagles, snakes, bears, lions and people. Jesse and his sons worked hard to make sure their sheep grew fat in order to be sold.  Each spring it was down the hill, each fall it was up the hill to return to Bethlehem before the fall rains. And then there was rest.