Shepherds

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EDWARDJL

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I recently heard a non-Catholic Pastor’s sermon regarding Luke Ch 1. He was talking about the Shepherds visiting Jesus in the manger. He correctly stated that Shepherds were a lowly occupation. The next thing he said troubled me. I do not think it is true, but am not sure. He said

Shepherds were not allowed to worship in the Temple. They were considered “unclean”. He said this was stated in Leviticus.

Can anyone tell me what the truth on this ?

Thanks,

ED Lustberg
 
I have read/heard that shepherds were ritually unclean because their work required them to be in contact with manure and to handle dead animals. I’ve never actually seen this documented or even cited by any scholarly source/theologian. It may be true but it may also be one of those things that someone hypothesized and then it got picked up and repeated until people believed it to be true.
 
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