Bible Dictionaries
Flock
Holman Bible Dictionary
Sheep and goats under the care of a shepherd (Genesis 30:31-32 ). God's people are sometimes described as sheep without a shepherd (Numbers 27:17; Ezekiel 34:5 ,Ezekiel 34:5,34:8; Matthew 9:36; Mark 6:34 ), that is, in need of leaders who would rule them justly and nurture them spiritually. God's people can be described as a flock shepherded by God (Psalm 100:3; Jeremiah 23:3; Ezekiel 34:31 ) or by Christ, the “great Shepherd of the sheep” (Hebrews 13:20; compare John 10:11; 1 Peter 5:4 ). The unity of all Christians is pictured by the image of one flock composed of many folds (John 10:16 ). Flocks can refer to individual congregations under the care of a pastor (1 Peter 5:2-3 ).
Judgment is sometimes pictured as the sorting of a flock. In Ezekiel 34:1 the fat, strong sheep (the oppressive leaders of Israel) are separated from the weak sheep that they victimized ( Ezekiel 34:16-17 ,Ezekiel 34:16-17,34:20-21 ). In Matthew 25:32-46 sheep are separated from goats on the basis of concrete acts of love shown to the needy.
Copyright Statement
These dictionary topics are from the Holman Bible Dictionary, published by Broadman & Holman, 1991. All rights reserved. Used by permission of Broadman & Holman.
Bibliography Information
Butler, Trent C. Editor. Entry for 'Flock'. Holman Bible Dictionary. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/hbd/f/flock.html. 1991.