Vayigash - Did the Egyptians Hate Sheep?

Shepherds are detestable to the Egyptians probably reflects a common distrust of nomadic peoples by urban dwellers (cf. attitudes to gypsies and ‘travellers’ in modern society).

-The New Bible Commentary, G J Wenham

Sacrificing a Lamb in Egypt by Prof.Jan Assmann, Dr. Rabbi Zev Farber

Amun was a very important god in Ancient Egypt, and in the New Kingdom (1550-1070 B.C.E.) he was seen as the king of the gods, and was syncretized with the sun god as Amun-Ra. It would doubtless have been offensive to the priests of Amun to sacrifice a ram, and there certainly were temples of Amun in the Delta in the vicinity of Goshen and the capital, Pi-Ramesse. That such an act would be offensive would have been clear to any educated person who knew about Egypt in ancient times. Herodotus, in his survey of Egyptian customs, writes (Histories, 2:42):

Now all who have a temple set up to the Theban Zeus (=Amun) or who are of the district of Thebes, these, I say, all sacrifice goats and abstain from sheep… the Egyptians make the image of Zeus (=Amun) into the face of a ram… the Thebans then do not sacrifice rams but hold them sacred for this reason.

...The worship of sacred animals is as old as Egyptian religion. Each of the major and many of the minor deities had their specific sacred animals. Although veneration of these animals was part and parcel of the cult from olden times, it assumed a new significance under foreign, i.e., Persian domination when the cult of the sacred animals became a matter of cultural-religious identity, not unlike cow worship in India under British colonial rule.

The mention of the תועבה or “abomination” (i.e., taboo in the sense of the most sacred, untouchable item) of the Egyptians seems to reflect this stage in the Persian

era when the sacred animals achieved the highest status of sanctity in Egypt. In turn, this taboo would have been well-known in the Persian age, both to Greek writers like Herodotus and to the Jewish scribes in Jerusalem, who gave us the final form of the exodus story.

The Intellectual Adventure of Ancient Man - Egypt - John A. Wilson 1946

Parshat Vayeitzei Rachel: Our Mother, Our Shepherd by Talia Weisberg

This is a powerful understanding of what otherwise appears to be a simple moment in the narrative. Rachel is not just a shepherd and her flock is not just sheep; she is a leader of our nation whose influence brings us out of exile. Rachel models a form of leadership predicated on unconditional love and unwavering commitment. A shepherd’s primary job is to protect their flock from predators and bring all of their sheep home at the end of the day. Shemot Rabbah 2:2 states that Hashem chose to reveal Himself to Moshe at the mareh ha’sneh, the vision of the Burning Bush, when Moshe ran after an errant kid, displaying his sense of responsibility to even the smallest goat in his care. So too did Rachel take her mandate as shepherd seriously, refusing to rest until Hashem promised her that her flock would find its way home.

Why Moses? Or: What Makes a Leader?

by Rabbi Shai Held 2014

So the Torah tells us something else about Moses: he was a shepherd (Ex 3:1). To perform his duties properly, a shepherd must combine power on the one hand, with gentle attentiveness on the other. He must have the capacity to control and provide for his sheep, but he must also nurture and care for each one.