Parable
(Gr. parabole), a placing beside; a comparison; equivalent to the Heb. mashal, a similitude. In the Old Testament this is used to denote (1) a proverb (1 Sam 10:12; 1 Sam 24:13; 2 Chr 7:20), (2) a prophetic utterance (Num 23:7; Ezek 20:49), (3) an enigmatic saying (Ps 78:2; Prov 1:6). In the New Testament, (1) a proverb (Mark 7:17; Luke 4:23), (2) a typical emblem (Heb 9:9; Heb 11:19), (3) a similitude or allegory (Matt 15:15; Matt 24:32; Mark 3:23; Luke 5:36; Luke 14:7); (4) ordinarily, in a more restricted sense, a comparison of earthly with heavenly things, “an earthly story with a heavenly meaning,” as in the parables of our Lord.
Instruction by parables has been in use from the earliest times. A large portion of our Lord’s public teaching consisted of parables. He himself explains his reasons for this in his answer to the inquiry of the disciples, “Why speakest thou to them in parables?” (Matt 13:13–15; Mark 4:11, Mark 4:12; Luke 8:9, Luke 8:10). He followed in so doing the rule of the divine procedures, as recorded in Matt 13:13.
The parables uttered by our Lord are all recorded in the synoptical (i.e., the first three) Gospels. The fourth Gospel contains no parable properly so called, although the illustration of the good shepherd (John 10:1–16) has all the essential features of a parable. (See List of Parables in Appendix.)
From Easton’s Bible Dictionary (1897), by Matthew George Easton.
