Topical Encyclopedia
Definition and Context:Tending, in a biblical context, refers to the act of caring for, managing, or overseeing something or someone. This concept is often associated with shepherding, agriculture, and stewardship, reflecting the responsibilities given by God to humanity and specific individuals throughout Scripture.
Biblical References:1.
Genesis 2:15 · "Then the LORD God took the man and placed him in the Garden of Eden to cultivate and keep it."
· This verse highlights the initial responsibility given to Adam, the first man, to tend to the Garden of Eden. It underscores the divine mandate for humans to care for and manage God's creation, establishing a foundational principle of stewardship.
2.
Psalm 23:1-2 · "The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters."
· Here, the imagery of the Lord as a shepherd illustrates the tender care and guidance provided by God to His people. The shepherd's role in tending to the flock is a metaphor for God's provision and protection.
3.
John 21:16 · "Again Jesus asked, 'Simon son of John, do you love Me?' He answered, 'Yes, Lord, You know I love You.' Jesus told him, 'Shepherd My sheep.'"
· In this passage, Jesus commissions Peter to tend to His followers, symbolized as sheep. This charge emphasizes the pastoral responsibility of church leaders to care for and nurture the spiritual well-being of their congregations.
4.
1 Peter 5:2-3 · "Be shepherds of God’s flock that is among you, watching over them—not out of compulsion, but because it is God’s will; not out of greed, but out of eagerness; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock."
· Peter exhorts church elders to tend to their communities with a willing and humble heart, reflecting the servant leadership modeled by Christ. This passage reinforces the importance of tending as a selfless and God-honoring duty.
Theological Significance:Tending is deeply rooted in the biblical narrative as an expression of obedience, stewardship, and love. It reflects the character of God, who is depicted as the ultimate Shepherd and caretaker. The act of tending is not merely a physical task but a spiritual responsibility that encompasses nurturing, guiding, and protecting those under one's care.
Practical Application:Believers are called to tend to various aspects of life, including their families, communities, and the environment. This involves exercising stewardship over resources, providing for the needs of others, and fostering spiritual growth. Tending is an act of worship and service, aligning one's actions with God's purposes and demonstrating His love to the world.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
(
p. pr. & vb. n.) of Tend.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
SHEEP TENDINGten'-ding: The Scriptural allusions to pastoral life and the similes drawn from that life are the most familiar and revered in the Bible. Among the first verses that a child learns is "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not wants" (Psalm 23:1 the King James Version, the English Revised Version). What follower of the Master does not love to dwell on the words of the "Good Shepherd" chapter in the Gospel of John (John 10)? Jesus must have drawn a sympathetic response when He referred to the relationship of sheep to shepherd, a relationship familiar to all His hearers and doubtless shared by some of them with their flocks. As a rule the modern traveler in the Holy Land meets with disappointment if he comes expecting to see things as they were depicted in the Bible. An exception to this is the pastoral life, which has not changed one what since Abraham and his descendants fed their flocks on the rich plateaus East of the Jordan or on the mountains of Palestine and Syria. One may count among his most prized experiences the days and nights spent under the spell of Syrian shepherd life.
James A. Patch
Greek
4165. poimaino -- to act as a shepherd... Word Origin from poimen Definition to act as a shepherd NASB Word Usage caring
(1), rule (3), shepherd (5),
tending sheep (1), tends (1). to shepherd, rule.
...Strong's Hebrew
7462a. raah -- to pasture, tend, graze... rulers (1), shaved (1), Shepherd (5), shepherd (34), shepherd's (1), shepherded
(1), shepherdess (1), shepherds (37), shepherds who are
tending (1), shepherds
...Library
Ep. cxxii. You Owe Me, Even as a Sick Man,Tending...
... Ep. CXXII. You owe me, even as a sick man,tending? You owe me, even as a sick man,
tending, for one of the commandments is the visitation of the sick....
Whether any one Can be Perfect in this Life?
... The third perfection answers to a totality neither on the part of the object served,
nor on the part of the lover as regards his always actuallytending to God...
Upon Human Nature.
... And then the comparison will be between the nature of man as respecting self, and
tending to private good, his own preservation and happiness; and the nature...
How a Secular Person May Make Use of These Instructions...
... benefit also of these instructions, though purposely written for religious, inasmuch
as many of them do generally belong to all personstending to perfection...
Whether it is Right to Say that Religious Perfection Consists in...
... Objection 2: Further, the three aforesaid come under the religious vow, in so
far as they belong to the practice oftending to perfection....
We Will Now Begin a Careful Consideration of Each Several Point...
... [12] As the bodies are in motion"the earth, for instance,tending downwards, and
firetending upwards, form takes on the movement of the particular thing to...
Unity of virtue and Piety.
... no inactive contemplation, or retiring mysticism, and selfish enjoyment, but thoroughly
practical, ever active in works of charity, andtending to regenerate...
Second Tractate. On the Essence of the Soul (2).
... There are, we hold, things primarily apt to partition,tending by sheer nature towards
separate existence: they are things in which no part is identical either...
The Broad Inner Horizon.
... Here is the outer side: a humble home, a narrow circle,tending the baby, patching,
sewing, cooking, calling; or, measuring dry goods, chopping a typewriter...
Formation of the Demiurge; Description of Him. He is the Creator...
... Framer (Demiurge) of things material and animal, of those on the right and those
on the left, of the light and of the heavy, and of thosetending upwards as...
Thesaurus
Tending (11 Occurrences)... (p. pr. & vb. n.) of Tend. Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia. SHEEP
TENDING.
... James
A. Patch. Multi-Version Concordance
Tending (11 Occurrences).
...Downward (10 Occurrences)
... of Downwards. 2. (a.) Moving or extending from a higher to a lower place;tending
toward the earth or its center, or toward a lower level; declivous....
Sickly (1 Occurrence)
... 2. (superl.) Producing, ortending to, disease; as, a sickly autumn; a sickly
climate. 3. (superl.) Appearing as if sick; weak; languid; pale....
Slander (34 Occurrences)
... 1. (n.) A false tale or report maliciously uttered,tending to injure the reputation
of another; the malicious utterance of defamatory reports; the...
Heresy (2 Occurrences)
... 1. (n.) An opinion held in opposition to the established doctrine, andtending to
promote a division or party, as in politics, literature, philosophy, etc...
Herdsman (1 Occurrence)
... Noah Webster's Dictionary. (n.) The owner or keeper of a herd or of herds; one employed
intending a herd of cattle.... See SHEEP; SHEEPTENDING. James A. Patch....
Up (25836 Occurrences)
... 11. (a.) Inclining up;tending or going up; upward; as, an up look; an up grade;
the up train. Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia. STIR, STIR UP....
Outward (17 Occurrences)
... 4. (a.) Foreign; not civil or intestine; as, an outward war. 5. (a.)Tending to
the exterior or outside. 6. (n.) External form; exterior. Int....
Onward (25 Occurrences)
... Noah Webster's Dictionary 1. (a.) Moving in a forward direction;tending toward
a contemplated or desirable end; forward; as, an onward course, progress, etc....
Jacob (361 Occurrences)
... of the fourteen years of service, Jacob desired to return to his parents, but at
the entreaty of Laban he tarried yet six years with him,tending his flocks (31...
Resources
Why did Jesus tell Peter to "feed my sheep" in John 21? | GotQuestions.orgWho was David in the Bible? | GotQuestions.orgWhat is the significance of sheep in the Bible? | GotQuestions.orgTending: Dictionary and Thesaurus | Clyx.comBible Concordance •
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