Interpretive Worksheet: An Exercise in Intertextuality
Psalm 23, Ezekiel 34:1-24, and Luke 15:1-7
The main goals of Psalms 23 are:
• To describe God as provider.
• To describe God as protector.
• To give the reader hope in God's sovereignty.
Read Psalm 23 and then answer the following questions.
1. The Lord is described as a shepherd. What ways does the Lord provide for his sheep (vv. 1-3)?
• He makes me _____________________ (v. 2a)
• He leads me _____________________ (v. 2b)
• He restores my _____________________ (v. 3a)
• He leads me in _____________________ (vv. 3b-4)
2. Of the 4 provisions in vv. 1-4, which one does not contain shepherding imagery? What separates this imagery from the other 3?
3. Read vv. 5-6. Identify and explain the metaphorical differences between vv. 1-4 and vv. 5-6.
4. Read Ezekiel 34:1-24. In this passage "the shepherds" are Israel's kings. Briefly outline the offences of the shepherds/kings in vv. 2b-10.
5. Outline the similarities between Ezekiel 34:11-15 and Psalm 23.
6. Given that God is the shepherd in Psalm 23, what theological teaching(s) should we glean from God's duties as shepherd in Ezekiel 34:17-24?
7. Intertextuality describes the various approaches to reading biblical texts in relation to other biblical texts. For example, the prophet Ezekiel uses the shepherding imagery (Ezek 34:11-15) in Psalm 23 to make a theological point. Read Luke 15:1-7 and answer the following questions.
• Responding to the critique of eating with tax collectors and sinners, Jesus declared that a shepherd would leave his flock to find the lost sheep. Who is the shepherd in Luke 15:1-7?
• Read Psalm 23, Ezekiel 34:1-24, and Luke 15:1-7 again and then answer:
o Jesus is describing himself as the ____________ in Luke 15:1-7.
o Jesus equates the lost sheep with a __________ who repents.
• What is the main theological assertion made by Jesus in Luke 15:1-7?