4709. 'Are not your brothers pasturing [the flock] in Shechem?' means that they are teaching. This is clear from the meaning of 'pasturing' as teaching, dealt with just above in 4705; and from the meaning of 'Shechem' as the broad outlines of doctrine concerning faith, dealt with just above in 4707.

When we eat, our bodies break down the food and get from it both energy and materials for building and repairing the body. The process is similar on a symbolic level in the Bible. Food represents the desire for good and the insight that comes from that desire for good – goodness and understanding that come from the Lord. But to put them to use we have to take them in and make them our own – which is spiritual eating.