One must remember that we are dealing with a parable and therefore should not ask whom the ninety-nine sheep represent. This detail is necessary for the imagery, but it does not have significance for the meaning of the parable—and therefore we should not be pressed into identifying some symbolic interpretation.1
12 Que vous en semble? Si un homme a cent brebis, et que l'une d'elles s'égare, ne laisse-t-il pas les quatre-vingt-dix-neuf autres sur les montagnes, pour aller chercher celle qui s'est égarée?