Freethought & Rationalism Archive

Bree · 03-12-2002, 08:36 PM

I'm looking for respectable resources for the serious study of Biblical parables.

If anyone can post any links or book titles, it would be much appreciated.

Vorkosigan · 03-12-2002, 09:58 PM

What do you mean by "serious study." Origins? Meanings? Commentaries? Relevance to Christian life? Relationship to other moral teachings of Jesus? Relationship to other systems of moral thought? Clue us in...

Michael

Bree · 03-14-2002, 08:08 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by turtonm:

What do you mean by "serious study." Origins? Meanings? Commentaries? Relevance to Christian life? Relationship to other moral teachings of Jesus? Relationship to other systems of moral thought? Clue us in...

Michael

Sorry - it needs to be credible enough to use as a resource for a research paper. I'm generally looking for origins, meanings and commentaries - certainly most of the parables mentioned in the Bible were added at a later date and certainly most of them have been confused at one time or another. I can't find a single book about parables that isn't Christian-based!

Jayhawker Soule · 03-14-2002, 08:37 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Bree:
I'm generally looking for origins, meanings and commentaries - certainly most of the parables mentioned in the Bible were added at a later date and certainly most of them have been confused at one time or another. I can't find a single book about parables that isn't Christian-based!

I think that the following is interesting:

Quote:

As early as the 2nd c. BCE, a Jewish sage named Jesus ben Sirach, described the role of the scribe/scholar in these terms:

He preserves the sayings of the famous,
and ponders the subtleties of parables;
he seeks out the hidden meaning of proverbs
and is familiar with the obscurities of parables
(Sir 39:2-3).

Here the scholar sees the parable as an intellectual puzzle that needs to be unraveled, not as the self-evident illustration it was designed to be. From the scholar's point of view, the parable does not explain but rather needs to be explained, precisely because it is being read outside of its original context.

During the Hellenistic period Jewish & Christian scribes, like their pagan counterparts, treated any graphic story inherited from tradition as a riddle that needed to be deciphered to find its hidden wisdom. The parables of Jesus were no exception. The writers of the gospels, Origen & later Christians tended to read parables as allegories: concrete ("earthly") stories with abstract ("heavenly") meanings.

( See <a href="http://religion.rutgers.edu/nt/primer/parable.html" target="_blank">This Reference</a> )

A Google search on "meshalim" resulted in

<a href="http://www.judaica-world.com/product.asp?dept=1&Product=bfeld462" target="_blank">This</a> among other things.

sidewinder · 03-14-2002, 09:04 AM

For the parables of Jesus, you might try "Parables of Jesus" by Jeremias Joachim. I haven't read it yet but I've heard it's excellent.

03-14-2002, 09:49 AM

He preserves the sayings of the famous,
and ponders the subtleties of parables;
he seeks out the hidden meaning of proverbs
and is familiar with the obscurities of parables
(Sir 39:2-3).

This could be interpreted to mean that the entire bible is composed of parables and proverbs unless it is indicated otherwise as in "real flesh" and "real blood."

Bree · 03-14-2002, 11:57 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Amos:


This could be interpreted to mean that the entire bible is composed of parables and proverbs unless it is indicated otherwise as in "real flesh" and "real blood."

Is there any place in the Bible that indicates "real flesh" and "real blood" - I can't seem to recall any and my Bible is out of reach at the moment...

03-12-2002, 08:36 PM	#1
Bree Veteran Member Join Date: May 2001 Location: Twin Cities, USA Posts: 3,197	Looking for sources on parables... I'm looking for respectable resources for the serious study of Biblical parables. If anyone can post any links or book titles, it would be much appreciated.

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03-12-2002, 09:58 PM	#2
Vorkosigan Contributor Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Barrayar Posts: 11,866	What do you mean by "serious study." Origins? Meanings? Commentaries? Relevance to Christian life? Relationship to other moral teachings of Jesus? Relationship to other systems of moral thought? Clue us in... Michael

03-14-2002, 09:04 AM	#5
sidewinder Regular Member Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: omnipresent Posts: 234	For the parables of Jesus, you might try "Parables of Jesus" by Jeremias Joachim. I haven't read it yet but I've heard it's excellent.

03-14-2002, 09:49 AM	#6
Amos Guest Posts: n/a	He preserves the sayings of the famous, and ponders the subtleties of parables; he seeks out the hidden meaning of proverbs and is familiar with the obscurities of parables (Sir 39:2-3). This could be interpreted to mean that the entire bible is composed of parables and proverbs unless it is indicated otherwise as in "real flesh" and "real blood."

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