parable

par·a·ble

P0056300 (păr′ə-bəl)n. A simple story illustrating a moral or religious lesson.

[Middle English, from Old French, from Late Latin parabola, from Greek parabolē, from paraballein, to compare : para-, beside; see para-¹ + ballein, to throw; see g^welə- in Indo-European roots.]

parable

(ˈpærəbəl) n1. a short story that uses familiar events to illustrate a religious or ethical point2. (Bible) any of the stories of this kind told by Jesus Christ[C14: from Old French parabole, from Latin parabola comparison, from Greek parabolē analogy, from paraballein to throw alongside, from para-¹ + ballein to throw] parabolist n

par•a•ble

(ˈpær ə bəl)

n. 1. a short allegorical story designed to illustrate or teach some truth, religious principle, or moral lesson. 2. a statement or comment that conveys a meaning indirectly by the use of comparison, analogy, or the like. [1275–1325; Middle English parabil < Late Latin parabola comparison, parable, word < Greek parabolḗ comparison]

parable

A story told by Jesus to convey his religious message.

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	parable - a short moral story (often with animal characters)allegory, apologue, fablestory - a piece of fiction that narrates a chain of related events; "he writes stories for the magazines"Aesop's fables - a collection of fables believed to have been written by the Greek storyteller Aesop
	2.	parable - (New Testament) any of the stories told by Jesus to convey his religious message; "the parable of the prodigal son"story - a piece of fiction that narrates a chain of related events; "he writes stories for the magazines"New Testament - the collection of books of the Gospels, Acts of the Apostles, the Pauline and other epistles, and Revelation; composed soon after Christ's death; the second half of the Christian Bible

parable

noun lesson, story, fable, allegory, moral tale, exemplum the parable of the Good SamaritanRelated words
adjectives parabolic, parabolical

Translations

寓言

parable

(ˈpӕrəbl) noun a story (especially in the Bible) which is intended to teach a lesson. Jesus told parables.寓言

parable

parable,

the term translates the Hebrew word "mashal"—a term denoting a metaphor, or an enigmatic saying or an analogy. In the Greco-Roman rhetorical tradition, however, "parables" were illustrative narrative examples. Jewish teachers of the 1st cent. A.D. made use of comparisons in narrative form to clarify scripture. As used in the Gospels, the "parable" not only denotes metaphors, analogies, and enigmatic statements, but also short illustrative narratives. In Jesus' parables, the speaker compares an observable, natural, or human phenomenon to the Kingdom (i.e. the rule) of God. Some of these challenge and mystify or even attack the hearer. Other parables are allegories. The major themes of the parables of Jesus include the contrast between the old and new age now dawning in the ministry of Jesus; the necessity of radical decisions; the gradual but sure growth of the Kingdom of God on earth; God's way of relating to people; and God's invitation for people to enter his Kingdom.

Bibliography

See W. S. Kissinger, The Parables of Jesus (1979); R. W. Funk, Parables and Presence (1982); J. Marcus, The Mystery of the Kingdom of God (1986).

Parable

a didactic and allegorical literary genre closely resembling the fable and differing from it in the following ways: the parable form arises only within a certain context; the parable does not require a developed plot and may be a simple comparison, although the comparison retains its own abundant symbolism; the parable tends to convey profound religious or moralistic wisdom.

Different types of parables are encountered throughout folklore and literature. However, in epochs with a tendency toward didacticism and allegory the parable was a model for other genres, such as Near Eastern instructive prose, for example the Old Testament and the Syrian Wisdom of Ahikar. The parable was also a model for early Christian and medieval literature: examples are such gospel parables as the parable of the Prodigal Son. In these epochs, when readers perceived any story as a parable, the genre’s poetics predominated. The parable lacked the descriptiveness of ancient or of modern European prose fiction: nature and objects are mentioned only when necessary, and the action takes place as if on a bare stage. As a rule, the personae of parables lack both external features and a personality in the sense of a totality of inner traits; they appear as products not of literary observation but of ethical choice.

In the late 19th century and in the 20th century, a number of writers saw in the economy and pithiness of the parable a model for their own literary work. L. N. Tolstoy attempted to subordinate prose to the laws of the parable. Kafka was influenced by the centuries-old parable tradition, as were the intellectuals Sartre, Camus, Anouilh, and G. Marcel; here characters and settings as traditionally understood were excluded. The parable continues to attract writers seeking ethical bases for human existence; an example is the role of parable devices in the works of B. Brecht.

REFERENCES

Dobrotvorskii, S. “Pritcha v drevne-russkoi dukhovnoi pis’mennosti.” Pravoslavnyi sobesednik, April, 1864.
Likhachev, D. S. Poetika drevnerusskoi literatury, 2nd ed. Leningrad, 1971.
Jeremias, J. Die Gleichnisse Jesu, 5th ed. Gottingen, 1958.
Lambert, W. Babylonian Wisdom Literature. Oxford, 1960.

S. S. AVERINTSEV

parable

1. a short story that uses familiar events to illustrate a religious or ethical point 2. any of the stories of this kind told by Jesus Christ

parable

par·a·ble

parable

par•a•ble

parable

parable

parable

parable

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Bibliography

Parable

REFERENCES

parable

parable

Synonyms for parable

noun lesson

Synonyms

Synonyms for parable

noun a short moral story (often with animal characters)

Synonyms

Related Words

noun (New Testament) any of the stories told by Jesus to convey his religious message

Related Words