Continuing our look at the ‘Nomad Archetype’, we shall leave the world of contemporary French philosophy which we explored in Part 1 and instead delve into the history of the Biblical traditions — both Christianity as well as the Jewish faith and traditions out of which Christianity was born.

When one examines both the Jewish and Christian traditions, a pattern begins to emerge. ‘Nomadism’ (if we may call it such) plays an essential role in both traditions. The tension between nomadic life and the development of cities and agriculture is a recurring theme in the Bible, and will continue to be a theme in the liturgical symbolism of these perspective religions.

The Nomad as a Figure of Faith and Obedience

In both the Jewish and Christian traditions, nomadism often symbolizes faith, obedience, and reliance on God. The patriarchs — Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob — were all nomads, living in tents and depending on God’s guidance.

In fact, the very word ‘Hebrew’ points to this fact — altough the origins of the term Hebrew itself are uncertain. It could be derived from the word ʿeber, or ʿever, a Hebrew word meaning the “other side” and conceivably referring to Abraham, who crossed into the land of Canaan from the “other side” of the Euphrates or Jordan River.

Abraham as the Father of Nomads

Abraham is often seen as the quintessential nomadic figure, leaving his homeland in obedience to God’s call:

“By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.” (Hebrews 11:8)

Abraham is considered the ‘Father of Faith’ for the three great ‘Abrahamic religions — Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Abraham’s wandering is linked with spiritual readiness, signifying total detachment from the world and trust in God’s provision and providence.

The Israelites in the Wilderness

The 40-year period of the Israelites wandering in the wilderness after the Exodus is a significant narrative of nomadism. Their dependence on God during this time (for food, water, and guidance) contrasts with the stability and self-sufficiency that cities and agriculture provide:

“You shall remember all the way which the Lord your God has led you in the wilderness these forty years, that He might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not.” (Deuteronomy 8:2)

Cities as Symbols of Sin and Rebellion

While nomadism often symbolizes faith, cities very often represent rebellion or separation from God in the Biblical tradition. One of the first cities mentioned in Scripture, Babel, was built by people who sought to make a name for themselves rather than rely on God:

“Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.” (Genesis 11:4)

Here, the city-building project symbolizes human pride and defiance, which contrasts with the humble dependence of the nomad.

Cain, the First City-Builder

After murdering Abel, Cain, a farmer, becomes the first to build a city:

“Then Cain went away from the presence of the Lord and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden. Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bore Enoch. When he built a city, he called the name of the city after the name of his son, Enoch.” (Genesis 4:16–17)

Cain’s departure from a nomadic life and his building of a city come after his sin, linking cities with a kind of separation from God’s direct presence.

Similarly, agriculture — like cities — represents settled life and, at times, a reliance on human effort rather than on God. This is again typified very early in Genesis in the contrast between Cain, the farmer, and Abel, the shepherd. Abel, the nomadic herdsman, offers a sacrifice that pleases God, while Cain, the farmer, does not:

“And Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his offering he had no regard.” (Genesis 4:4–5)

Abel’s lifestyle of herding, which aligns more with nomadism, is implicitly favored over Cain’s settled, agricultural life, which ends in violence and alienation. (We shall revisit the example of Cain and Abel a bit later in this series of articles when I explore Rene Guenon’s commentary on nomadic symbolism.)

As we see, the biblical narrative often juxtaposes the freedom and dependence on God found in nomadic life with the temptation toward self-reliance in settled, urban, and agricultural life.

In Jeremiah 35, the Prophet Jeremiah holds up the nomadic Rechabites as an example of faithfulness because they obey their ancestor’s command not to settle in cities or plant vineyards:

“But we have lived in tents, and have obeyed and done all that Jonadab our father commanded us.” (Jeremiah 35:10)

Here, the Rechabites’ nomadic lifestyle is honored as a sign of their devotion and faithfulness to their family tradition and, by extension, to God.

All of these examples set the tone in the Hebrew scripture and the ‘Old Testament’ of the Bible regarding the ‘preference’ for nomadism in the face of the ‘sinfulness’ of cities and settled civilization. This theme will continue into the ‘New Testament’ and into the Christian tradition.

The Nomadic Ideal in the New Testament

In the New Testament, we are no longer in the world of wandering tribes, pastoral societies, and baren lands. Rather, the world of Christ, of Paul, and of the Apostles is the sophisticated and advanced world of the Roman Empire. Still, nomadic themes continue and abound.

In the New Testament, Christians are often described as sojourners and exiles, reflecting the nomadic theme of being “not at home” in this world but awaiting a heavenly city.

“Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul.” (1 Peter 2:11)

This imagery emphasizes that Christians are spiritual nomads, traveling through life with their eyes set on the Heavenly City rather than settling in the cities of this world. The New Testament promises a future city — the New Jerusalem — that is not built by human hands but prepared by God:

“For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come.” (Hebrews 13:14)

This future city of God is contrasted with the flawed and corrupt cities of the present world. While the ‘New Jerusalem’ is indeed a city — it is a city not of this world. It is interesting to note that, while in the ‘fallen world’, agriculture, civilizations, and cities have the connotation of being fallen-away from God and of the pride of humanity, in the pre-Fall state, Adam and Even were ‘tillers’ of a garden — the Garden of Eden. It was a garden without toil, and agriculture with an eye solely on God. Similarly, in the ‘post-Fallen’ ‘New Jerusalem’, we once again find what, in the fallen world, represents estrangement from God — the City. But now, it is a city that has been ‘renewed’, ‘transfigured’… the Heavenly Jerusalem. As in the Garden of Eden, people are no longer wanderers or sojourners. Now, everything is in its right place, and society is once again completely focused on — and transfigured in — God.

And for Christians, it is Christ in the New Testament and in the Gospels who is the “good shepherd” who, in nomadic style, tells his people that his Kingdom is “not of this world” (John 18:36). He is the “good shepherd” who knows his flock and calls them out of the wilderness in order to lead them to the New Jerusalem. Yet while we are in this world, we are still sojourners and wanderers.

Liturgical Symbolisms of Nomadism

The idea of being a spiritual nomad is deeply woven into various liturgical practices in both Jewish and Christian traditions. These symbolisms reflect the transient, pilgrim-like nature of human life, emphasizing detachment from worldly concerns and reliance on God. Some notable examples include:

The Tent and the Tabernacle

In the Jewish tradition, the Tabernacle (or Tent of Meeting) was a portable sanctuary used by the Israelites during their wanderings in the wilderness. The fact that God’s presence dwelled in a mobile, non-permanent structure symbolizes the nomadic nature of the spiritual journey.

“And let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them.” (Exodus 25:8)

In Christian liturgy, this finds an echo in the idea of the body as a temple, a temporary dwelling place for the soul, until the final rest with God. Furthermore, the Holy Table (altar) and the Christian liturgy is based off of the early Jewish worship in the tabernacle.

The Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot)

In Judaism, Sukkot is a direct commemoration of the Israelites’ nomadic life in the wilderness. During the festival, Jews build temporary shelters (sukkahs) to remember the fragility of human existence and God’s provision during their ancestors’ wandering years.

“You shall dwell in booths for seven days. All native Israelites shall dwell in booths, that your generations may know that I made the people of Israel dwell in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.” (Leviticus 23:42–43)

This festival, rooted in nomadism, brings to mind both physical and spiritual pilgrimage, and the impermanence of life on earth.

The Christian Pilgrimage and Processions

In Christian liturgy, processions during Mass or other religious events, such as during Holy Week (e.g., Palm Sunday processions), symbolize the faithful as pilgrims on a journey, echoing the nomadic spiritual path. The journey is a reminder of life as a temporary passage toward a heavenly destination.

Similarly, pilgrimages to sacred sites (like Santiago de Compostela or Jerusalem) also draw on this symbolism of the Christian life as a journey, mirroring the wandering of the Israelites or Abraham’s faith journey.

Advent and Waiting

The season of Advent in Christianity reflects the theme of waiting and spiritual journey. It commemorates the long period of waiting for the Messiah and symbolizes a deeper nomadic expectation of the second coming of Christ. During Advent, the liturgy often includes imagery of the journey of the Magi, which symbolizes the search for God amidst the temporal world.

The Psalms

The Psalms are considered ‘the prayer of the Church’. Many Psalms (especially the Psalms of Ascent, like Psalm 120–134) express the nomadic experience of exile and longing for God’s presence in Jerusalem, reflecting both physical and spiritual pilgrimage. These Psalms are still chanted in the liturgy to symbolize the soul’s journey toward God.

“I lift up my eyes to the hills — from where will my help come?” (Psalm 121:1)

Liturgical Items

There are many items which play an important role in Catholic and Orthodox liturgical life which were born out of nomadic motifs. One central item is the Tabernacle. The Tabernacle in the Old Testament was a portable sanctuary used by the Israelites during their wanderings in the wilderness. In Christian tradition, the Tabernacle (the sacred vessel where the Eucharist is kept) symbolizes God’s constant presence with the faithful as they navigate their sojourn through this world and in this life on the earth. The Tabernacle serves as the central focus in many Catholic and Orthodox churches, and it represents the dwelling place of God among His people — much like the original Tabernacle served as a mobile center of worship.

Another prominent liturgical item reflecting ‘nomadism’ is the bishop’s staff, or crozier. The bishop’s staff (as seen above) represents the staff of the shepherd who guides his flock — who protects them and keeps them from danger. While this is very much the job and the role of the bishop to keep his flock away from spiritual wolves, the symbolism also very much comes from Christ himself, who said of himself in the Gospel of John:
“I am the good shepherd.” The bishop is a type of Christ in this sense, and his role and vestments, liturgically, reflect this.

This is just a quick survey of all the ‘nomadic’ elements in the Biblical traditions — both Christian and Jewish. It is often pointed out that God does not necessarily come to the great emperors and high priests in the temples and the cities, but rather, God reveals himself to the lowly — the slave, the shepherd, the fisherman, the nomad, the condemned man, etc. This theme will be continued in the next article of this series in which I will explore the themes of ‘nomadism’ and the ‘Great In-Between’ within the Islamic tradition. While the forms may be a bit different in the Islamic tradition, the same theme persists.

Until then… thank you for reading.

If you like this content, please consider a small donation via PayPal or Venmo. I am currently studying Islam and the Arabic language full-time with no income, and any donation — however small! — will greatly help me to continue my studies, my work, and my sustenance. Please feel free to reach me at saidheagy@gmail.com.

Thank you, and may God reward you! Glory to God for all things!