The word “parable” in the Gospels has an Old Testament background. The word “parable” used by Jesus in the conversation is “mashal” (משל).15) In the Greek Septuagint (LXX) translation of the Old Testament, the word “marshal” is translated into the Greek word “parabolē,”16) the English word “parable” is a transliteration of the Greek word “parabolē.”17)
Brad H. Young says, “The Hebrew parable, Mashal, has a wide range of meanings. The word is stretched from its basic meaning of similarity or resemblance to cover any type of illustration, from a proverbial saying to a fictitious story. It may refer to a proverb, riddle, anecdote, fable, or allegory. A mashal defines the unknown by using what is known.”18) In the Old Testament, a mashal refers to far more than simply an “earthly story with a heavenly meaning.”19) Mashal developed from a popular for proverb to a technical term for wisdom teaching and finally to a broad term used for prophetic proverbs, parables, riddles, and symbolic actions.20)
Ki-hyeon Kwon explains the close connection between “parabole” in the New Testament and “mashal” in the Old Testament as follows.21) First, the Septuagint almost always translates the Old Testament word “Mashal” (משל) as “parabolē.” Psalm 78:2, which is quoted in Matthew 13:34-35 quotes, also translates “marshal” as “parabolē.” This shows that the Jews of the time, at least, did not see the discontinuity between the two as strongly as theologians do today. Second, both are ways of God’s revelation. Third, both have to reveal and conceal qualities. Fourth, there is much to question about the common assumption among New Testament scholars that “mashal” has a strong allegorical element while “παραβολή” do not. Fifth, Asaph’s “Mashal”, as Psalm 78 suggests, is not a form of satire in the sense of ignoring history, but rather a form of historical poetry. He said that “parabole” in the New Testament and “marshal” in the Old Testament have discontinuities with each other, but there is a very close continuity, and that “parabole” is clearly a style unique to Jesus and part of the messianic element.”22)
In the New Testament, “παραβολή” appears 50 times.23) As in the Old Testament, it can refer to a proverb, and a “parabolē” can also refer to a metaphor or figurative saying.24) The Greek word “παραβολή,” composed of “παρά,” which means “from,” or “near,” and “βάλλω,” which means “to throw” or “to lay down,” is translated as “parabolē.” And it etymologically means “to set aside” or “to compare,” in other words, it means that it throws something out there to help you compare.25)
Dodd says, “At its simplest the parable is a metaphor or simile drawn from nature or common Iife, arresting the hearer by its vividness or strangeness, and leaving the mind in active thought.”26) John. R. Donahue also emphasizes four qualities of Jesus’ parables: realistic, metaphorical, paradoxical, and open-ended.27) Grant R. Osborne says, “A parable on the other hand is a narrative employing a particular event in the past tense without a direct and obvious comparison. It is indirect and demands that the hearer react.”28) ChangPyo Hong refers to “parable” as a literary genre with five characteristics including metaphorical, realistic, paradoxical, open-ended nature, and allegorical.29)
The word “parable” in the Gospels has an Old Testament background, but parables, the most characteristic way Jesus taught and argued, are a special kind of literary genre.30) In fact, there are 49 parables in the Gospels: 30 parables in which the term “parable” is used as a designation, 17 stories that are clearly parables, and 2 extended comparisons introduced by “like,” or “as,” or “as if.”31) Robert Stein classified the parables in the Synoptic Gospels as follows.32)
Among the synoptic gospels, Luke contains the most parables, including those which have become classic representative of Jesus’ teaching: the Good Samaritan, the Prodigal Son, and the Pharisee and the Tax Collector, for example.33) For a metaphor to be established,34) there must be two elements: the thing being metaphorically described “A” and the thing being compared “B.”35) These two units have been called “tenor” and “vehicle” respectively. However, Hyuck-woong Kwon argues that the units of metaphor should be explained by the term “image.” This is because not only is the intended tenor considered more important in the first place, but the vehicle is often regarded as a mere device.
Chun-gi Kim says, “For a reader to realize the meaning of a parable as a metaphor, he or she must become a participant, not just a reader.”40) Therefore, he says, “For readers to participate in a metaphor, the form of the story must not be abstract or unrealistic.41) Gwang-pil Ko explains the parable as follows, “A parable gives us new insights by showing the heavenly through everyday things. In doing so, it shocks the reader’s imagination and makes him see what is shown through everyday things in a new way. When this happens, the listener does not interpret the parable, but the listener is interpreted by the parable.”42)
Footnotes
15 Robert H. Stein, An Introduction to the Parables of Jesus, 16.
16 Robert H. Stein, An Introduction to the Parables of Jesus, 16.
17 Bernard Brandon Scott, Re-imagine the World: An Introduction to the Parables of Jesus (Santa Rosa: Polebridge Press, 2001), 14.
18 Brad H. Young, The Parables, Jewish Tradition and Christian Interpretation (ProQuest Ebook Central, Baker Academic, 2008), 14.
19 Robert H. Stein, An Introduction to the Parables of Jesus, 16.
20 Grant R. Osborne, The hermeneutical spiral: a comprehensive introduction to biblical interpretation (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1991), 235.
21 Ki-hyeon Kwon, Lessons Learned Through a History of the Parables Study of Jesus 「The world of truth and scholarship」 Vol.10. No.1 (2004), 65-66.
22 Ki-hyeon Kwon, Lessons Learned Through a History of the Parables Study of Jesus, 65.
23 It is used 48 times in the Gospels and twice in Hebrews, and the verses used are as follows. Mt 13:3, 10, 13, 18, 24, 31, 33, 34(twice), 35, 36, 53; 15:15; 21:33, 45; 22:1; 24:32; Mk 3:23; 4:2, 10, 11, 13(twice), 30, 33, 34; 7:17; 12:1, 12; 13:28; Lk 4:23; 5:36; 6:39; 8:4, 9, 10, 11; 12:16, 41; 13:6; 14:7; 15:3; 18:1, 9; 19:11; 20:9, 19; 21:29; Heb 9:9; 11:19.
24 Robert H. Stein, An Introduction to the Parables of Jesus, 18.
25 Gyeongyeon Jeon, What is a Parable, 「Christian Thought」 Vol.06 (1962.5), 82.
26 Charles H. Dodd, The Parables of the Kingdom (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1961), 5.
27 John R. Donahue, The Gospel in Parable: Metaphor, Narrative, and Theology in the Synoptic Gospels (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1988), 214-15.
28 Grant R. Osborne, The Hermeneutical Spiral: A Comprehensive Introduction to Biblical Interpretation, 236.
29 ChangPyo Hong, The Kingdom of God and Parables (Suwon: Hapdong Theological Seminary Press, 2010), 31-33.
30 Geraint Vaughan Jones, The Art and Truth of the Parables; A Study in Their Literary Form and Modern Interpretation (London: S.P.C.K., 1964), 57.
31 Robert H. Stein, An Introduction to the Parables of Jesus, 22-25.
32 The diagram used in this paper is a reconstruction of Stein’s classification. Robert H. Stein, An Introduction to the Parables of Jesus, 22-26.
33 John R. Donahue, The Gospel in Parable: Metaphor, Narrative, and Theology in the Synoptic Gospels, 126.
34 There are various methods of metaphorical expression, such as literal analogy, metaphor, metonymy, synecdoche, symbolism, and allegory, in which the narrator conveys the intended image by comparing it to something other than the vocabulary used.
35 Hyuck-Woong Kwon, The Unit of Metaphor 「The Korean Poetics Studies」 No.60 (2019), 44.
40 Chun-ki Kim, A Modern Interpretation of the Parable of Jesus: From Jülicher to the Present 「Theology and Ministry」 Vol.1,44.
41 Chun-ki Kim, A Modern Interpretation of the Parable of Jesus: From Jülicher to the Present, 44.
42 Gwang-pil Ko, Calvin’s Logic of Biblical Interpretation 「The Journal of KwangShin University」 Vol.12, 161.