Goats and Sheep

The landscape and climate of Israel were eminently suitable for goat herding. Goats mainly eat leaves and foliage and can therefore survive in dry and desert-like areas where there is not much grass. They are also very good at navigating rocky terrain.

Keeping sheep was less simple. Sheep are more particular than goats and primarily eat grass. Sheep also prefer to graze in flat valleys rather than wandering around rocky areas. This is why it was often more difficult for shepherds to find a suitable place for their flock.

Goats were kept for meat and milk, but also for their hair. Goat’s hair was used to weave tents and warm cloaks or to fill pillows and saddles (Exodus 35:26). The goat’s hide was used to make rugs and items of clothing. Besides sheep, goats were one of the most important sacrificial animals.

Sheep were mainly kept for wool, but also for meat, milk, hide and horns. The wool was used to make clothing and there was a lively trade in sheep’s wool. The sheep were shorn after the summer grazing season.
Ram’s horns were used as jugs (for example, for oil) and as musical instruments (the “ram’s horn”). Pieces of the horn were used as knife handles and to make jewellery. Lambs were often set aside for sacrificial ceremonies.

Sheep in Ancient Israel were most likely “fat-tailed sheep”, a breed with fat tails in which they store fat during years of plenty for leaner times. The tail was eaten in Israel as a delicacy (Exodus 29:22).

There were advantages to keeping goats and sheep together in the same flock. Goats will actively and intentionally search for food, whereas sheep are shy and docile and tend to stick together. Goats also have a better sense of direction than sheep. For this reason, the shepherd made sure that the goats walked ahead of the sheep so that they could set the course for the sheep.

Sometimes it was necessary to separate the sheep from the goats, for example if the goats needed milking. To separate the animals, the shepherd used his staff, directing the sheep to one side and the goats to the other. A text that refers to this is Matthew 25:32.