The shepherd metaphor is used in the Hebrew Bible to refer to kings or leaders of the Israelite community. It belongs to the larger group of pastoral metaphors which are used to convey ideas about governance and politics. This is especially apparent in how the Hebrew prophets have utilized pastoral imagery in their rhetoric about politics. Specifically, the imagery occurs in Micah 2:12-13; 5:1- 5; 7:14-20; Isaiah 40:9-11; 44:24-45:7; 56:9-12; 63:7-14; Jeremiah 3:15-20; 10:19- 21; 22:18-23; 23:1-8; 25:30-38; 31:10-14; Ezekiel 34 and Zechariah chs. 10, 11, 13. This study is an analysis of these passages. It investigates the political processes depicted in the text and describes the political ideas that they express. In order to show that pastoral metaphors are powerful rhetorical devices for revealing political ideas, Chapter 1 provides a survey of metaphorical theories that are relevant to the exegesis of the shepherd texts. Particularly useful is Janet Soskice’ notion of ‘metaphorical modeling’ which leads to the overarching metaphorical assumption in the use of pastoral metaphors, that ‘Political governance is shepherding.’ New meanings are created by mapping out the structures of shepherding onto the domain of governance. Secondly, the chapter also examines the sociological background of pastoral metaphors in their wider Mesopotamian context to show that the shepherd metaphor is a political metaphor. Lastly, it explores ideas in political theology that might enhance the exegesis of the text from the perspective of politics. Particularly, the study draws upon the conceptions in political theology proposed by Oliver O’Donovan, Walter Brueggeman and Dale Launderville, who all base their theories on the notion of the ‘authority’ of God. O’Donovan suggests four organizing concepts for doing political theology, namely, salvation, judgment, possession, and praise. On the other hand, Brueggeman intimates a reading that uses the ‘politics of Yahweh vs. politics of Pharaoh’ as a paradigm. As for Launderville, he explores the idea of authority through the notion of legitimation by the gods and by the people. Each of the subsequent chapters (2-6) will offer a detailed exegetical analysis of the prophetic books containing shepherd texts. These close readings result in variety of political implications based on the interactions of three main players, Yahweh who is the owner of the flock and sometimes also portrayed as the Great Shepherd, the human shepherd, and the flock. The web of relationship and interaction of these three players affirms the centrality of the ‘authority of God’ in the politics of the shepherd texts. Moreover, five aspects of politics arise and consistently thread their way across the five chapters. Primary among these is [1] the different manifestations of the dynamics of relations of power between different entities such as: Yahweh, the Great Shepherd and the supreme king of the flock, the human shepherd-rulers who are considered as vicegerents and are under the jurisdiction of the Great Shepherd, and the flock who are subordinate to both the Great Shepherd and the human shepherd-rulers. Consequent to this notion are the following ideas: [2] the need for the human-shepherd to be attentive to divine sanction; [3] the human-shepherd as the chief redistributor of material and symbolic goods in the community; [4] the shepherd-leader, whether referring to Yahweh or to the human shepherds, as the centralizing symbol in the community; and [5] justice as a central aspect of governance within the shepherding-governance framework.

Thesis (D. Min.)--Erskine Theological Seminary, 2002. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 80-83).

Transcendence and transformation have been established as key motifs in apocalypses. The transformation of a seer during a heavenly journey is found commonly in such esoteric apocalypses as I Enoch. No heavenly journey occurs in the works treated here. Rather, symbolic women figures--"ladies" in the classical sense--who are associated with God's City or tower, undergo transformation at key points in the action. The surface structures of Joseph and Aseneth, 4 Ezra, the Apocalypse and The Shepherd of Hermas are traced, and the crucial transformation episode or episodes are located within each structure. Transformation of figures representing God's people suggests the significance of identity within the apocalyptic perspective. Apocalypses allow the world to be viewed from the future or from the heavens (J. J. Collins' "temporal" and "spatial" axes); the genre also invites the reader to change identity (the "identical" axis), and so become someone in tune with divine mystery and revelation.

Thesis (D. Min.)--Erskine Theological Seminary, 2002. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 80-83).

Thesis (D.Min.) -- Reformed Theological Seminary, Charlotte, NC, 2008. / Includes CD-ROM with project files and music audio files. Description based on Print version record. Includes bibliographical references and abstract.

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Bibliography: leaves 441-459 / The shepherd metaphor is a prominent and significant one in the Old Testament. However, it has shifted from an agrarian context, of shepherd and sheep in the literal sense, to a socio-political context, of rulers and people in the political sense: a king is a shepherd to the people. A careful review of the given metaphor raises the question whether the metaphor should be the basis of the pastoral and leadership models that are derived from the image of the shepherd, and whether such models can be enriched by the analysis of the said metaphor as applied to the implementation of the shepherding responsibility described in the Old Testament. This research aims to examine various pastoral and leadership models and their use of the shepherd metaphor in the light of the significance of the said metaphor in the Old Testament. It utilises rhetorical criticism in consultation with metaphorical theory to examine the given metaphor used in the models of pastoral and leadership roles and their relationship with the shepherd metaphor in the New Testament. The objective is threefold: (1) exploring the use of the shepherd metaphor in the Old Testament; (2) examining the use of the shepherd metaphor in pastoral and leadership models, which could include pointing out that some of these models rely heavily on their understanding of New Testament uses of this metaphor; and (3) comparing the Old Testament and pastoral/leadership models’ uses of the shepherd metaphor and drawing conclusions based on this comparison. To achieve that end, the discussion also includes the ancient Near Eastern literature and deuterocanonical texts. The thesis shows that a careful analysis of the uses of the shepherd metaphor in the Old Testament could enrich the literature on Christian leadership as well as pastoral models that use this metaphor as their point of departure. / Old Testament and Ancient Near Eastern Studies / D. Phil. (Old Testament)

This graduation thesis deals with comparison of performance of progeny of German shepherd the national and foreign stud dogs. The literary overview follows the history and current form of the International Examination Rules, breeding of German shepherds in the Czech Republic and on global level. It describes complete characteristics of a German shepherd, like the physique, body measurements, living demands and then it is engaged in influences affecting the sport performance of dogs, breeding conditions and it follows the most frequent health problems in German shepherds breeding. The core of the thesis includes analyses of performance of gets of national and foreign stud dogs in the position of a father or father's father in selective competitions, Czech Republic Championships IPO and Championships of the Czech Club of German Shepherds (M ČKNO). There were monitored the data on numbers of individuals in specified competitions in monitored periods of the years 2009 2016. More, dogs placed on 1st up to 10th positions at MČR IPO and M ČKNO were assessed from the point of view of fathers and grandfathers. On the basis of detailed monitoring and analysis it was detected that that dogs from foreign stud dogs origin whether in father's or grandfather's positions are more frequently used in sport cynology. There were 58% of participating dogs from foreign stud dogs and only 42% of dogs with fathers of Czech origin participating in selective competitions. It was established that 61% of participating dogs from foreign stud dogs and 39% of dogs with fathers of Czech origin participated in MČR IPO. The stud dogs of dogs participating in ČKNO Championship were of 68 % of foreign origin and 32 % of nationals. In the course of more detailed analysis (assessment of dogs taking up to 10th position in MČR IPO and M ČKNO) it was established that 67,9% respectively 61,25% of the most successful sport dogs have fathers from foreign kennels, while only 32,1% respectively 38,75 % are from stud dogs from Czech kennels. The best stud dogs from abroad were Ellute von der Mohenwiese and Tom van't Leefdaalhof. Jaguar Aritar Bastet and Hoky Va Pe belonged to the best national stud dogs.

Images of nature and family comprise the gestural and abstracted interpretations of my life events. I use my photographs as inspiration for my work. I fuse layers of color, light, and line into glass and onto wood to suspend a personal memory. I want to capture those moments that flit by in life and envelop them in the media. In my fused glass work, I manipulate color, light, and line. In these pieces, I layer frits and sheets of glass onto an abstract sculpted relief of fiberglass and fuse them into one thick slab. The sculpted relief creates a textured deflection of light. In each layer of glass, I encapsulate simple line drawings of my family, elements of the landscape, and organic shapes. In my works on wood, I pour and layer transparent color using acrylic and a water-based polyurethane mixture. I do not fully cover the natural grain of the wood but allow it to contribute to the imagery. I repeat linear marks and create layers of texture using a palette knife, and attach mud and caulk to the natural surface. I further manipulate the surfaces by sanding and carving to express my emotions and memories. The layered media symbolically references layers of time in my personal journey.

A displasia coxofemoral (DCF) é uma doença poligênica, hereditária que acomete várias espécies e é influenciada por diversos fatores durante o desenvolvimento causando incongruência articular. É uma das afecções ortopédicas mais comuns em cães e possui alta incidência em animais da raça Pastor Alemão. O objetivo desse estudo foi correlacionar o grau de severidade da DCF com a locomoção dos cães através da análise cinética pelo sistema de baropodometria (Tekscan®) que propicia de modo quantitativo os valores das forças verticais de reação ao solo verificando assim alterações no apoio de cães displásicos durante a locomoção. Foram formados 5 grupos de acordo com a classificação de DCF segundo as categorias A, B, C, D e E com 8 pastores alemães em cada. Os animais foram examinados para controle e descrição dos sinais apresentados, bem como realizaram o teste de análise cinética do qual foi retirado 5 passagens válidas sobre a plataforma múltipla para comparação entre as forças de reação ao solo (FRS). Na análise cinética foram avaliados: - pico de força vertical (PFV), impulso vertical (IV) e tempo de apoio (TA) com a velocidade constante entre 1,3 a 1,6 m/s. Além da metodologia convencional foi realizada a análise de cada região de apoio, a fim de verificar a distribuição das FRS nos coxins e dígitos. Dos resultados obtidos nota-se uma tendência a diminuição progressiva do PFV nos membros pélvicos (MPs) a partir do grupo de cães com displasia leve (C) e o impulso se apresentou diminuído nos cães displásicos sem qualquer correlação com a severidade da doença. Nenhuma compensação relevante foi encontrada nos membros torácicos (MTs) e não houve diferença entre o TA em cães displásicos. A simetria entre o lado direito e esquerdo foi constatada em todos os grupos pela análise convencional. A nova metodologia permitiu a descrição detalhada do padrão da curva de força em formato de M realizada pelo coxim no inicio do apoio e pelos dígitos em um segundo momento. Entretanto dada a variabilidade e assimetria do apoio nessas regiões pode-se inferir que o coxim dos MTs têm maior porcentagem de apoio em relação aos dos MPs e essa distribuição não é afetada de modo regular na DCF. Os sinais clínicos apresentados ao exame físico como a dor, claudicação, atrofia muscular e diminuição de amplitude articular, corroboram com a diminuição do apoio em cães displásicos. Conclui-se que de acordo com o grau de severidade da DCF os animais têm uma tendência a apoiarem menos nos MPs, entretanto deve-se levar em conta a condição individual de cada animal, pois há cães displásicos que possuem o mesmo padrão de apoio de cães livres de DCF. / Hip dysplasia (HD) is a polygenic disease, inherited that affects many species and is influenced by several factors during development causing joint incongruity. It is one of the most common orthopedic disorders in dogs and has a high incidence in German shepherd dogs. The objective of this study was to correlate the degree of severity of the HD with the locomotion of dogs by kinetic analysis trough the pressure walkway system (Tekscan®) that provides quantitative values of vertical ground reaction forces (GRF) to the changes in the support of dysplastic dogs during locomotion. Five groups were performed according to HD´s classification in the categories A, B, C, D and E in German shepherd dogs total of 8 animals in each group. Dogs were examined and kinetic analysis was performed with 5 valid passages on the multiple platforms were used for comparison each groups. In kinetic analysis was assessed the peak vertical force (PVF), vertical impulse (VI), and stance phase (SF) with a constant speed between 1.3 to 1.6m/s. Besides conventional methodology the analysis of support checking the distribution of GRF in the pad and digits in each region were innovative. Results had a tendency to decrease progressively the PVF in the hindlimbs (HL) from group C (mild dysplasia) and VI is decreased in dysplastic dogs without any correlation with the severity of disease. Relevant compensation was not found in the forelimbs (FL) and even in dysplastic dogs there were no difference between the SF. Symmetry between the right and left side was found in all groups by conventional analyze. The new methodology has allowed a detailed description of the standard curve of force in M-shaped held by the support pad at the beginning and the digits in a second time. However given the variability and asymmetry of support in these areas we can only assert that the FL pads have a higher percentage of support from HL and this distribution is not affected on a regular basis in the HD. The clinical signs presented by physical examination like pain, lameness, muscle atrophy and articulate amplitude decreased, corroborated with the support decrease in dysplastic dogs. We conclude that according to the severity HD degree animals have tendencies to support less at the HL. However it should be consider the individual response because there are dysplastic dogs that have the same pattern of support that dogs free of HD.