Poimen means shepherd, the one who leads, feeds, and protects a flock of sheep. Its 18 New Testament occurrences divide into a literal cluster in the nativity accounts and a figurative cluster in Jesus' teaching and the epistles, with the two registers deliberately informing each other. The Bethlehem shepherds 'keeping watch over their flock by night' (Luke 2:8, 15, 18, 20) are the first to receive the angelic announcement of the Messiah's birth — a social reversal, since shepherds were considered low-status and ritually marginal. Jesus identifies himself as 'the good shepherd' who lays down his life for the sheep (John 10:2, 11-12, 14, 16), transforming the pastoral image into a christological title of self-sacrifice. He looks at the crowds and has compassion because they are 'like sheep without a shepherd' (Matt 9:36; Mark 6:34), echoing the Old Testament indictment of Israel's failed leaders. Zechariah's prophecy 'strike the shepherd and the sheep will be scattered' is applied to Jesus' arrest (Matt 26:31; Mark 14:27). Ephesians 4:11 lists 'pastors and teachers' as Christ's gifts to the church, and Hebrews 13:20 calls the risen Jesus 'the great shepherd of the sheep.' Spanish 'pastor,' French 'berger/pasteur,' and German 'Hirte' all reflect the original pastoral context.