Frontmatter -- Acknowledgments -- Contents -- List of Tables -- Abbreviations -- Introduction -- 1. The aim and theoretical framework of this monograph -- 2. Conceptual blending in biblical exegesis -- 3. The cultural background of the image of the church as a flock -- 4. A taxonomy of blends which constitute the image of the church as a flock in early Christian discourse -- 5. THE FLOCK OF THE CHURCH IS THE FLOCK OF ISRAEL (FCFI) -- 6. SHEPHERDS ARE THE SHEPHERD (SAS) -- 7. The THE CHURCH IS GOD'S FLOCK (CGF) blend in the New Testament and shepherding imagery in The Shepherd of Hermas -- 8. The CGF blend as a conceptual instrument in early church life and practice -- 9. The THE CHURCH IS GOD'S FLOCK blend as a conceptual instrument in early church liturgy and theology -- Conclusion -- Appendix -- Bibliography -- Index of Subjects -- Index of Ancient and Medieval Sources -- Index of Biblical Sources and Pseudepigrapha