986. Palestine has always been known for large flocks of sheep, and Arabs of the Bible lands have been largely dependent on sheep for their living throughout the centuries. The large number of sheep in the land can be understood when we read that Job had fourteen thousand sheep (Job 42:12), and that King Solomon, at the Temple's dedication, sacrificed one hundred and twenty thousand sheep and goats (1 Kings 8:63).
987. Fat-tailed sheep were the most common variety. The fat tail provides reserve strength for the sheep, much like the hump does on a camel. When the sheep is butchered, this fatty tail is quite valuable. People will buy the tail, or part of it, and use it for frying. The Pentateuch makes reference to the fat tail of the sheep in Exodus 29:22, "Take from this ram the fat, the fat tail..."
988. The youngest boy in the family becomes the shepherd of the sheep. As the older son grows up he begins to help the father with sowing, plowing, and harvesting the crops, so he passes the shepherd tasks down to the younger brother and on down until the youngest of all becomes the family shepherd. Such was the custom when Jesse raised his family of eight sons. David was the youngest.
989. The shepherd's scrip is a leather bag. When he leaves home to tend the sheep, his mother will fill it with bread, cheese, dried fruit, and perhaps some olives. It was into a bag like this that David placed the five smooth stones when he went to battle with the giant Goliath.
990. The Law of Moses speaks of tithing (giving ten percent) from the flock. "The entire tithe of the herd and flock-every tenth animal that passes under the shepherd's rod-will be holy to the Lord" (Lev. 27:32). To do this Jewish writers tell us that the shepherd called the animals to him and as they would pass under his rod at a narrow entrance he would mark every tenth one with his rod, which had been dipped into a dye.
