1 Peter 5:2 opens the final chapter of the letter with exhortations to elders, those tasked with guiding the Christian community during times of persecution and internal tension. The verse sits in a section that transitions from suffering to leadership, showing how shepherds are to model Christ’s care amidst communal trials. The shift from external suffering (chapter 4) to internal shepherding (chapter 5) marks a pastoral turn in the epistle’s trajectory.
Structural Analysis
The verse contains a main imperative and two participial expansions structured around a triple contrast:
ποιμάνατε τὸ ἐν ὑμῖν ποίμνιον τοῦ Θεοῦ
ἐπισκοποῦντες (modifying ποιμάνατε)
μὴ ἀναγκαστῶς, ἀλλ’ ἑκουσίως
μηδὲ αἰσχροκερδῶς, ἀλλὰ προθύμως
The command ποιμάνατε (“shepherd!”) is the imperative that governs the verse. It is supported by the participle ἐπισκοποῦντες (“exercising oversight”), which is further clarified through two paired negations and affirmations. These contrasts shape the ethos of Christian leadership — voluntary, generous, and eager rather than forced, greedy, or begrudging.
Semantic Nuances
The verb ποιμάνατε comes from the imagery of shepherding, a deeply Jewish and Greco-Roman metaphor for leadership. It evokes both tenderness and responsibility, recalling Jesus’ charge to Peter: Ποίμαινε τὰ ἀρνία μου (John 21:16). The flock (τὸ ποίμνιον) is specified as τοῦ Θεοῦ, reminding leaders that they steward what is not theirs.
ἐπισκοποῦντες suggests watchfulness and governance — the verb lies behind the term episkopos (bishop or overseer). The participle does not introduce a new command but describes how the shepherding should occur.
The first pair: μὴ ἀναγκαστῶς, ἀλλ’ ἑκουσίως contrasts obligation with willing readiness. ἑκουσίως implies voluntary motivation — not from social pressure or mere duty but from a God-shaped desire to serve.
The second pair: μηδὲ αἰσχροκερδῶς, ἀλλὰ προθύμως opposes shameful profit to eager generosity. αἰσχροκερδῶς connotes base or greedy gain, especially monetary. προθύμως (from προ- + θυμός) speaks of forward, passionate resolve — a mindset ready before being asked.
Syntactical Insight
The imperative + participle construction (ποιμάνατε…ἐπισκοποῦντες) makes the participial phrases adverbial in function. They describe the manner in which shepherding is to be done. The repetition of μὴ…ἀλλά and μηδὲ…ἀλλά is a rhetorical tool emphasizing moral contrasts. The use of strong negatives (μὴ, μηδὲ) before undesirable traits reinforces that these are to be actively avoided, not merely minimized.
Historical and Cultural Background
In both Jewish and Greco-Roman contexts, leadership was often viewed in hierarchical and transactional terms. By contrast, Peter’s use of ποιμάνατε and ἐπισκοποῦντες frames leadership not in terms of control but care. The rejection of αἰσχροκερδῶς mirrors later concerns in the Didache and Shepherd of Hermas about greedy or self-seeking church leaders. This verse sets a standard that redefines authority through willing service.
Intertextuality
- John 10:11: “I am the good shepherd…” — Christ as the model of sacrificial shepherding.
- John 21:16: Jesus says to Peter, “Shepherd my sheep,” using the same verb ποιμαίνω.
- Acts 20:28: Paul exhorts elders to “shepherd the church of God,” linking oversight with divine ownership.
These intertexts confirm that shepherding is not metaphorical decoration but a theological framework for pastoral vocation.
Hermeneutical Reflection
This verse teaches that Greek grammar can serve as a spiritual director. The mood, voice, and verbal modifiers are not accidental; they are moral. Exegesis must linger over contrasts like μὴ…ἀλλά not merely to define but to discern — to learn the difference between authority rooted in willful humility and that rooted in compulsion or greed. Hermeneutics means hearing grammar preach.
The Mood of the Shepherd
Peter’s use of Greek imperatives and participles choreographs the dance of Christian leadership. Shepherding is not a posture of dominance but of devotion. It begins with the will: not compelled, not corrupted, but committed. The Greek here sings of a shepherd who leads not because he must, but because his heart leans forward. This is syntax shaped by the cross — grammar as grace.
