παραβολή :
PARABOLE; PARABLE

Illustrations of English words
derived from the Greek in the New Testament.

By Gaylon West.
       

parable (n.) etymology:

English from Latin parabola "comparison",from Greek parabole "a comparison", literally "a throwing beside," hence" a juxtaposition"; from para- "alongside" + bole "a throwin, casting, beam, ray," related to ballein "to throw."

THE HEBREW MEANING FOR PARABLE WILL HELP US TO UNDERSTAND WHAT MEANING THE GREEK TRANSLATORS for the LXX UNDERSTOOD FOR “PARABLE.”

STRONG’S HEBREW AND GREEK DEFINITIIONS:

HEBREW H4912 מָשָׁל mâshâl maw-shawl'. In some original sense of superiority in mental action; properly a pithy maxim, usually of a metaphorical nature; hence a simile (as an adage, poem, discourse): - byword, like, parable, proverb. Total KJV occurrences: 39 times. Note: the modern Hebrew translator says it means (now) “fable.”

COMPARE WITH the authority,

Brown, Driver, Briggs HEBREW DEFINITIONS:

HEBREW H4912 מָשָׁל

1) proverb, parable 1a) proverb, proverbial saying, aphorism 1b) byword

1c) similitude, parable 1d) poem 1e) sentences of ethical wisdom, ethical maxims

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GREEK G3850* παραβολή parabolē par-ab-ol-ay'

[GW note: Translated generally from Hebrew #4912 in the second century BC. Greek LXX WAS BEING used by SYNAGOGUES when Jesus arrived.]

Defined by Strong’s as "from #G3846*; a similitude ( 'parable' ), that is, (symbolically) fictitious narrative (of common life conveying a moral) … ”: - comparison, figure, parable, proverb.

*FROM G3846 παραβάλλω paraballō par-ab-al'-lo

From paraG3844 and ballowG906; to throw alongside, that is, (reflexively) to reach a place, or (figuratively) to liken: - arrive, compare.

Total KJV Occurrences of G3846: 2 arrived, 1 Acts_20:15 compare, 1 Mark 4:30

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Scripture passages that use “parable”:

H4912 in Hebrew; AND Greek (LXX) G3850

Num_23:7 And he took up his parable, and said, Balak the king of Moab hath brought me from Aram, out of the mountains of the east, saying, Come, curse me Jacob, and come, defy Israel.

Num_23:18 And he took up his parable, and said, Rise up, Balak, and hear; hearken unto me, thou son of Zippor:

Num_24:3 And he took up his parable, and said, Balaam the son of Beor hath said, and the man whose eyes are open hath said:

Num_24:15 And he took up his parable, and said, Balaam the son of Beor hath said, and the man whose eyes are open hath said:

Num_24:20 And when he looked on Amalek, he took up his parable, and said, Amalek was the first of the nations; but his latter end shall be that he perish for ever.

Num_24:21 And he looked on the Kenites, and took up his parable, and said, Strong is thy dwellingplace, and thou puttest thy nest in a rock.

Num_24:23 And he took up his parable, and said, Alas, who shall live when God doeth this!

Psa_49:4 I will incline mine ear to a parable: I will open my dark saying upon the harp.

Psa_78:2 I will open my mouth in a parable: I will utter dark sayings of old:

Pro_26:7 The legs of the lame are not equal: so is a parable in the mouth of fools.

Pro_26:9 As a thorn goeth up into the hand of a drunkard, so is a parable in the mouth of fools.

Eze_17:2 Son of man, put forth a riddle, and speak a parable unto the house of Israel; mâshâl H4912 = H2420 (riddle).

Eze_24:3 And utter a parable unto the rebellious house, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Set on a pot, set it on, and also pour water into it:

Mic_2:4 In that day shall one take up a parable against you, and lament with a doleful lamentation, and say, We be utterly spoiled: he hath changed the portion of my people: how hath he removed it from me! turning away he hath divided our fields.

Hab_2:6 Shall not all these take up a parable against him, and a taunting proverb against him, and say, Woe to him that increaseth that which is not his! how long? and to him that ladeth himself with thick clay!

NT GREEK G3850 THE NEW TESTAMENT USES GREEK (Strong’s #G3850 equivalent to the Hebrew word used in the OT (above).

Mat_13:18 Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower.

Mat_13:24 Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field:

Mat_13:31 Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field:

Mat_13:33 Another parable spake he unto them; The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.

Mat_13:34 All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them:

Mat_13:36 Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house: and his disciples came unto him, saying, Declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field.

Mat_15:15 Then answered Peter and said unto him, Declare unto us this parable.

Mat_21:33 Hear another parable: There was a certain householder, which planted a vineyard, and hedged it round about, and digged a winepress in it, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country:

Mat_24:32 Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh:

Mar_4:10 And when he was alone, they that were about him with the twelve asked of him the parable.

Mar_4:13 And he said unto them, Know ye not this parable? and how then will ye know all parables?

Mar_4:34 But without a parable spake he not unto them: and when they were alone, he expounded all things to his disciples.

Mar_7:17 And when he was entered into the house from the people, his disciples asked him concerning the parable.

Mar_12:12 And they sought to lay hold on him, but feared the people: for they knew that he had spoken the parable against them: and they left him, and went their way.

Mar_13:28 Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When her branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is near:

Luk_5:36 And he spake also a parable unto them; No man putteth a piece of a new garment upon an old; if otherwise, then both the new maketh a rent, and the piece that was taken out of the new agreeth not with the old.

Luk_6:39 And he spake a parable unto them, Can the blind lead the blind? shall they not both fall into the ditch?

Luk_8:4 And when much people were gathered together, and were come to him out of every city, he spake by a parable:

Luk_8:9 And his disciples asked him, saying, What might this parable be?

Luk_8:11 Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.

Luk_12:16 And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully:

Luk_12:41 Then Peter said unto him, Lord, speakest thou this parable unto us, or even to all?

Luk_13:6 He spake also this parable; A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came and sought fruit thereon, and found none.

Luk_14:7 And he put forth a parable to those which were bidden, when he marked how they chose out the chief rooms; saying unto them,

Luk_15:3 And he spake this parable unto them, saying,

Luk_18:1 And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;

Luk_18:9 And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:

Luk_19:11 And as they heard these things, he added and spake a parable, because he was nigh to Jerusalem, and because they thought that the kingdom of God should immediately appear.

Luk_20:9 Then began he to speak to the people this parable; A certain man planted a vineyard, and let it forth to husbandmen, and went into a far country for a long time.

Luk_20:19 And the chief priests and the scribes the same hour sought to lay hands on him; and they feared the people: for they perceived that he had spoken this parable against them.

Luk_21:29 And he spake to them a parable; Behold the fig tree, and all the trees;

Joh_10:6 This parable spake Jesus unto them: but they understood not what things they were which he spake unto them.

A “SUMMARY” for

PARABLE in Vine’s

Vine's Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words

“Parable”-

[G3850, parabole ]
lit. denotes a placing beside" (akin to paraballo, "to throw" or "lay beside, to compare"). It signifies "a placing of one thing beside another" with a view to comparison (some consider that the thought of comparison is not necessarily contained in the word). In the NT it is found outside the Gospels, only in Hebrews 9:9; Hebrews 11:19. It is generally used of a somewhat lengthy utterance or narrative drawn from nature or human circumstances, the object of which is to set forth a spiritual lesson, e.g., those in Matt. 13 and Synoptic parallels; sometimes it is used of a short saying or proverb, e.g., Matthew 15:15; Mark 3:23; Mark 7:17; Luke 4:23; Luke 5:36; Luke 6:39. It is the lesson that is of value; the hearer must catch the analogy if he is to be instructed (this is true also of a proverb). Such a narrative or saying, dealing with earthly things with a spiritual meaning, is distinct from a fable, which attributes to things what does not belong to them in nature.

Christ's "parables" most frequently convey truths connected with the subject of the kingdom of God. His withholding the meaning from His hearers as He did from the multitudes, Matthew 13:34, was a Divine judgment upon the unworthy. GW’s note: the comments are obviously the opinions of the lexicographer/s and are not the definitions of the original words.

Two dangers are to be avoided in seeking to interpret the "parables" in Scripture, (1) that of ignoring the important features, and (2) that of trying to make all the details mean something.