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; 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;" "11:19), (3) a similitude or allegory (Matt. 15:15; 24:32; Mark" "3:23; Luke 5:36; 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, 12; Luke 8:9, 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.)