by Dennis Gladden, By Green Pastures, ©2024
(Apr. 12, 2024) — I launched my website, By Green Pastures, three years ago this month and quickly learned that not everyone looks at the green pastures of Psalm 23 through the eyes of this Connecticut Yankee. Are they green, as I had always seen in my mind’s eye, or did I need to adjust my lens? This post is the fruit of my study. Don’t miss the poll at the bottom.
Will the real green pastures of Psalm 23 please come forth?
When I chose the name of my website, By Green Pastures, and selected an image, I soon discovered the picture was suspect. The bucolic scene reminded me of the rolling, green hills we saw in eastern New York on trips to the horse ranch where we vacationed for a few summers. I admit the hills in the picture are probably somewhere in the United States, not in Israel.
Nor does the picture depict David’s pastures, according to commentators who illustrate the 23rd Psalm with rocky, barren expanses where any blades of grass are sheep niblets—certainly not a luscious cushion where the shepherd would make the flock lie down.
So, are the pastures of Psalm 23 lush fields or stony heights with measly sprigs?
The question sent me searching, and here’s what I came up with: Both can teach us something about the Lord our Shepherd, but I still favor the more luxuriant green. Here’s why.
The words say green
Bible translators used the words “green pastures” to convey in English what David expressed in Hebrew, so I started with the English.
- Green suggests something fresh and vibrant, a plant that is alive. I have lived through drought and have seen grass wither, fade from yellow to brown, and become brittle.
- Pastures depict fields or meadows, maybe even a range as in our Midwest—an expanse sufficient to satisfy a flock. And there isn’t just one pasture, but many, which speaks of ongoing provision.
The translation, “green pastures”, and my website picture seem to jibe. But does our English convey the original language accurately? Next, I checked the Hebrew.
Bible dictionaries define the Hebrew that David used for green as a sprout, meaning new, tender grass. Pasture in Hebrew primarily means a home (often translated as habitation). It conveys a place that is pleasant, suitable, even beautiful—where you feel at home. One commentator builds on this, saying the word suggests a homestead in an oasis-like spot of an otherwise barren tract. Understandably, the word came to be a figure for pastures.
Read the rest here.