Exegeting the parable of the lost sheep (Matthew 18:12-14; Luke 15:4-7) and the good shepherd discourse (John 10:1-16) in light of insights into Caprine husbandry practices of first-century Judea and Galilee.

Abstract

Few forms of exegesis privilege class as a heuristic category. The study contends that by doing so we can arrive at the most accurate assessment of the historical context of certain parables of Jesus. Towards this end, the study uses Mode of Production theory, and its adaptation by Roland Boer, as its main theoretical foundation. In having greater understanding of the means of production attendant to contexts of certain parables, we can understand issues of class dynamics and class tension which often feature centrally in these. In applying this same hermeneutic of class to the parables generally, and to what might be termed the pastoral parables of Matthew 18:12-14/Luke 15:4-7 and John 10:1-16, we are able to understand Jesus’ parables as a form of codification (in the Freirean sense), and as illustrative both of the hidden transcript (as articulated by James Scott), as well as of actual forms of resistance exercised on the part of the peasantry.