Bede : And he had three thousand sheep, etc. To the scribes and Pharisees were committed innocent and penitent souls for teaching: these perfected by faith, hope, and charity; those still following the rudiments of first faith which begins from fear. — Commentary on Samuel Bede : And it happened that his flock was being sheared in Carmel. It happened that some of the more perfect listeners among the scribes, in the recognition of external chastity, were abandoning their legal acts so that the inner man might be renewed day by day. It happened that all the people subject to them were giving the Lord their wool, as if it were the first fruits and tithes of their produce, which could be lost without pain. — Commentary on Samuel