Rhetoric: In this verse, the shepherd is clearly the Messiah. As I read it, Alma has subtly shifted from himself (“the shepherd who hath called after you”) to the Messiah (“the voice of the good shepherd”) who may be present only through his voice. Alma reinforces the theme of “calling” to remind his listeners that they claim and are “called” by Yahweh-Messiah’s name, even though their actions demonstrate that they “are not the sheep of the good shepherd.”