We are all so familiar with the twenty-third psalm, “The Lord is my shepherd …”, that we do not tend to see the rest of the story – that the shepherd motif is only half of what this beautiful psalm is telling us. David begins the psalm “The Lord is my shepherd” and continues in verses 1-4 by developing the metaphor through the analogy of God’s looking after and providing for the needs of his followers – as a shepherd would his flock.
Those who know animals, as David did, realize that sheep are almost entirely dependent on their shepherd not only to find water and pasture for them, but also to protect them. The clear theme of the first half of the psalm, then, is that God protects his people and provides their basic needs. But the second half of the psalm, beginning in verse 5, changes the metaphor to show how much further God goes beyond this basic care for those with whom he has a closer relationship:
5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
6 Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
God is no longer shown as the Good Shepherd in this second half of the psalm. Nothing that is said here applies to shepherds or shepherding. Rather, in this second half of Psalm 23 the metaphor used is that of God as the divine host of a great banquet, and we see the significance of this in every detail of the latter part of the psalm.
Here, “you prepare a table before me” is synonymous with preparing a “feast” – the blessings of the divine Host being symbolized by the good things of a banquet. Even “In the presence of mine enemies” is relative to a festive meal, as ancient kings would often celebrate their victories with banquets at which captured enemies would be placed on view. In the same way, “You anoint my head with oil” is not an allusion to the anointing of kings or religious leaders to office – which always uses a different word – but to the custom of anointing the head of those attending banquets (see, for example, Psalms 45:7; Amos 6:6; and Luke 7:46).
Although in verse 6 most older Bibles say something like “your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life”, many modern versions (such as the CSB, LSV, NET, etc. ) translate this more accurately as “your goodness and love will pursue me …”, and the small difference is important. God’s blessings do not so much follow – as though unable to quite catch up with us – but actively pursue us like a king actively sending servants to invite people to a great banquet (Luke 14:15-24).
The closing words of psalm 23 “I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever” have been used of the afterlife in countless memorial services, but their original meaning may have been somewhat different. The Hebrew Scriptures actually never use the term “house of the Lord” for God’s heavenly dwelling, only for the earthly temple. In fact, the term “forever” that closes this psalm is literally “for length of days” – and connotes an extended time. The verse signifies that David looked forward to “dwelling in” or “returning to” the house of the Lord many times – a statement found in other psalms such as Psalm 27:4.
Although the concept of the afterlife is clearly seen in other psalms, Psalm 23 focuses, in fact, on God’s care for his people expressed symbolically as the care of a shepherd and a host, and the two are different. While the shepherd cares for all his sheep and provides for their needs, the host metaphor narrows this group by implying the added blessings God bestows on those he invites to his banquet.
For example, in verse 5, “my cup overflows” not only conveys the richness of the banquet the divine Host provides, but is in strong contrast to the statement “I have what I need” (CSB and other newer translations) in the first part of the psalm. While the opening of Psalm 23 celebrates God’s care and provision for all his people, the second part of the psalm gives the rest of the story – the greater blessings and fellowship of those who walk more closely with God.
