Rule)¶

The Chain¶

Hebrew OT              LXX (Greek OT)           Greek NT
──────────────         ──────────────────        ────────────
רָעָה (ra'ah)       →  ποιμαίνω (poimaino)   →  ποιμαίνω (poimaino)
H7462, 139x in OT      34x as translation        11x in NT
"tend, shepherd"        of ra'ah                  "feed, rule"

OT Usage (Hebrew)¶

Strong's	Word	Occurrences	Primary Meaning
H7462	רָעָה (ra'ah)	139	tend a flock, pasture, shepherd, feed; also: companion, friend

Key OT passages: - Gen 4:2 — "Abel was a keeper of sheep" — first occurrence; literal shepherding - 2Sam 5:2 — "Thou shalt feed (ra'ah) my people Israel, and thou shalt be a captain over Israel" — shepherd as ruler - Ps 23:1 — "The LORD is my shepherd (ro'i, ptcp of ra'ah); I shall not want" - Ezek 34:2 — "Woe be to the shepherds (ro'im) of Israel that do feed (ro'im) themselves! should not the shepherds feed the flock?"

Library: TODO(need H7462 study)

LXX Bridge¶

Hebrew	Greek Translation	Co-occurrences	PMI Score
ra'ah (H7462)	ποιμήν (poimen, G4166)	52x	28.42
ra'ah (H7462)	ποιμαίνω (poimaino, G4165)	34x	25.43
ra'ah (H7462)	βόσκω (bosko, G1006)	21x	22.46
ra'ah (H7462)	πρόβατον (probaton, G4263)	41x	18.10
ra'ah (H7462)	ποίμνιον (poimnion, G4168)	13x	13.80

Semantic distribution in LXX: The LXX translators used the poimen/poimaino word family as the primary rendering of ra'ah. The verb poimaino captures ra'ah's active sense (the act of shepherding), while the noun poimen captures the participial sense (the shepherd as person). Bosko is used for the more purely physical "feed/graze" aspect.

NT Usage (Greek)¶

Strong's	Word	Occurrences	Primary Meaning
G4165	ποιμαίνω (poimaino)	11	tend as shepherd, feed, rule
G4166	ποιμήν (poimen)	17	shepherd, pastor
G4167	ποίμνη (poimne)	4	flock
G4168	ποίμνιον (poimnion)	5	little flock, flock
G750	ἀρχιποίμην (archipoimen)	1	chief shepherd

Key NT passages: - Mat 2:6 — "out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule (poimanei) my people Israel" — quoting Mic 5:2 + 2Sam 5:2 - Jhn 21:16 — "Feed (poimaine) my sheep" — Jesus commissions Peter using ra'ah's Greek equivalent - Rev 2:27 — "he shall rule (poimanei) them with a rod of iron" — echoing Ps 2:9 (LXX: poimaneis)

Library: G4165-poimaino.md

Direct OT→NT Quotations¶

NT Verse	Quotes OT	Shared Word	Significance
Mat 2:6	Mic 5:2 + 2Sam 5:2	ra'ah → poimaino	Messianic ruler described as shepherd of Israel
Rev 2:27	Ps 2:9	ra'ah → poimaino	LXX Ps 2:9 uses poimaneis; "rule with rod of iron"
Rev 12:5	Ps 2:9	ra'ah → poimaino	Same Ps 2:9 quotation applied to the man child
Rev 19:15	Ps 2:9	ra'ah → poimaino	Same quotation applied to the returning Christ

The Ps 2:9 quotation is significant: the MT has תְּרֹעֵם (tero'em, from ra'a = "break"), but the LXX read it as תִּרְעֵם (tir'em, from ra'ah = "shepherd"), producing ποιμανεῖς. The NT consistently follows the LXX reading, yielding "shepherd/rule" rather than "break."

Continuity and Shifts¶

What stays the same across testaments: - The shepherd metaphor for leadership and governance continues from OT to NT - The dual sense of caring provision and authoritative rule persists in both ra'ah and poimaino - God/Messiah as ultimate shepherd is consistent (Ps 23 → Rev 7:17)

What shifts: - In the OT, ra'ah is predominantly literal (actual flocks) with significant metaphorical use for leaders; in the NT, poimaino is overwhelmingly figurative (only 2 of 11 uses are literal) - The "rod of iron" formula (Rev 2:27, 12:5, 19:15) pushes poimaino toward firm authoritative rule, a meaning less prominent in typical OT ra'ah usage - NT ecclesiology applies the shepherd role to church elders (Acts 20:28, 1Pet 5:2), a direct extension of OT prophetic critiques of unfaithful shepherds (Ezek 34)

Generated from: gather_trace_data.py, search_strongs.py (--lxx-map, --hebrew-source, --lookup) Last updated: 2026-04-13