We know that much of the teaching of Jesus was in the form of Parables. Indeed some of the themes of parables from the Gospels have become embedded in everyday language: for example, ‘good Samaritan’ and ‘prodigal (son)’. But what is a parable?
First, the word comes from Greek, with para meaning alongside (unlike in Latin, where it can mean ’anti’ or ‘against’ as in parachute and parasol) and ballo meaning ‘throw’ or ‘cast’. So parables should be literally understood as placing things side by side.
A parable is a succinct story, Wikipedia tells us, in prose or verse, which illustrates one or more instructive principles or lessons. It differs from a ‘fable’ in as much as fables use non- human characters like animals, plants, forces of nature and so forth, whereas parable on the whole use humans as characters. Allegories, metaphors and similes can also be thought of as performing a similar function in literature.
Unlike allegories which can cover several points, a parable makes a single, unambiguous point. This is something that can be difficult to remember when interpreting them: it is easy and tempting to question aspects of the story and, in the process, diminish the value of the central message. The parable of the ‘wise and foolish virgins’ is simply about our need to be prepared for the unexpected or unpredictable; the labourers who complained about the unfair wages may indeed demand our sympathy, but the parable is about God’s limitless graciousness.
A parable has some likeness to a metaphor, but one that has been extended to form a coherent story: for example, in order to illustrate how fathomless a father’s love can be, a whole story is woven about a son squandering his inheritance and is still welcomed back with open arms. It is not unlike a simile, in which we say something is like something else. The difference is that the meaning is explicit in a simile: ‘life is like a box of chocolates’, whereas generally it is not so clear in parables. After Jesus told the large gathering of people the parable of the Sower, we recall the disciples going to Jesus wondering why he speaks in parables and Jesus has to explain to them the meaning of the story. There is many a parable that needs to be unravelled for us to appreciate its meaning, especially when the context has changed so much by now, from the time they were spoken by Jesus. Jesus speaking in parables would not have been a surprise to his listeners, although they didn’t always understand their full meaning. The Hebrew scripture has plenty of examples of God speaking through his prophets to his people in this mode: in Mashal, which means parables, riddles and (or) prophecies. As an example, see Psalm 78:2: ’I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings from of old’. Or Numbers 24:3: ‘... and the Spirit of God came upon [Balaam]. And he took up his parable...’
In Judges Ch 9, we have a brilliant example of a (political) parable. After Gideon’s death, Abimelech killed all his brothers (save the youngest, Jotham, who escaped by hiding) and proclaimed himself king. Then Jotham stood on the top of a hill and told the people about the trees in a forest deciding to choose a king; after the olive, the fig and vine had all declined, they asked a thorn bush to be their king. The thorn bush agreed but threatened them with fire if they should leave his protection. Jotham then interpreted the story as their own situation, where a murderer had been selected king. Having made this speech, Jotham slipped away safely; and three years later there was indeed much strife with Abimelech eventually being killed.
We might also consider the parable of the two eagles and the vine (Ex. 17: 1-6). Ezekiel introduces the story with God saying to him, ’O mortal, propound a riddle, and speak an allegory to the house of Israel’. Other translations use parable instead of allegory in God’s words. Solomon was the archetypal wise man, of course. 1 Kings Ch 4 says that he composed three thousand proverbs. Ecclesiasticus (Ch 47: 15ff) says of Solomon, ‘How wise you were when you were young!...Your songs, proverbs and parables, and the answers you gave astounded the nations’ and (Ch 39), ‘he seeks out the meanings of proverbs and is at home with the obscurities of parables’!
Perhaps the Sowing Parable from 2 Esdras Ch 8: 41 (Apocrypha) will come as a bit of a surprise to many of us. ‘For just as the farmer sows many seeds and plants a multitude of seedlings, and yet not all that have been sown will live in due season, and not all the plants will take root; so also those who have been sown in the world will not all live.’ Jesus could well have been expanding on this in his parable of the Sower.
2 Esdras 8: 2-3 is equally reminiscent of some of Jesus’ sayings: ‘I tell you a parable. Just as, when you ask the earth, it will tell you that it provides a large amount of clay from which earthenware is made, but only a little dust from which gold comes, so is the course of the present world. Many have been created, but only a few will be saved.’
The parables of Jesus are a rich source of material for us to discern, learn from and be challenged by. It is also fascinating to see how they have been interpreted in different times and by different people. But that deserves more consideration—another time.
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