Strong's Lexicon
parabole: Parable, comparison, illustration, allegory
Original Word:παραβολή
Part of Speech:Noun, Feminine
Transliteration:parabole
Pronunciation:pah-rah-bo-LAY
Phonetic Spelling:(par-ab-ol-ay')
Definition:Parable, comparison, illustration, allegory
Meaning:(a) a comparison, (b) a parable, often of those uttered by our Lord, (c) a proverb, an adage.
Word Origin:From the Greek verb παραβάλλω (paraballo), meaning "to throw alongside" or "to compare."
Corresponding Greek / Hebrew Entries:The Hebrew equivalent often associated with "parabole" is מָשָׁל (mashal), Strong's Hebrew 4912, which also means proverb, parable, or allegory.
Usage:In the New Testament, "parabole" refers to a simple account used to illustrate a moral or spiritual lesson, as told by Jesus in the Gospels. Parables are a distinctive teaching method employed by Jesus to convey profound truths in a relatable and memorable way. They often involve everyday situations and characters, making them accessible to a wide audience while also containing deeper meanings for those willing to seek them.
Cultural and Historical Background:In the Jewish tradition, parables were a common teaching tool used by rabbis to convey ethical and theological lessons. Jesus' use of parables was both innovative and rooted in this tradition, allowing Him to communicate complex spiritual truths in a manner that was both engaging and thought-provoking. Parables often contain elements of surprise or reversal, challenging listeners to think critically and reflect on their own lives and beliefs.
HELPS Word-studies
3850parabolḗ (from3844/pará, "close beside, with" and906/bállō, "to cast") – a parable; a teaching aid cast alongside the truth being taught. This casts additional light by using an arresting or familiar analogy, (which is often fictitious or metaphorical, but not necessarily).
[For extensive notes and commentary on Jesus' "Kingdom-parables" see932 (basileía).]
Thayer's Greek Lexicon
STRONGS NT 3850: παραβολήπαραβολή,
παραβολῆς,
ἡ (
παραβάλλω, which see), the
Sept. for
מָשָׁל;
1.a placing of one thingby the side of another,juxtaposition, as of ships in battle,Polybius 15, 2, 13;Diodorus 14, 60.
2. metaphorically,a comparing, comparison of one thing with another, likeness, similitude (Plato,Isocrates,Polybius,Plutarch): universally,Matthew 24:32;Mark 13:28; an example by which a doctrine or precept is illustrated,Mark 3:23;Luke 14:7; a thing serving as a figure of something else,Hebrews 9:9; this meaning also very many interpreters give the word inHebrews 11:19, but see 5 below; specifically, "a narrative, fictitious but agreeable to the laws and usages of human life, by which either the duties of men or the things of God, particularly the nature and history of God's kingdom, are figuratively portrayed" (cf.B. D., see under the words, Fable, Parable (and references there; addAristotle, rhet. 2, 20, 2ff and Cope's notes)):Matthew 13:3, 10, 13, 24, 31, 33-35, 53;Matthew 21:33, 45; ();Mark 4:2, 10,(),f; ();,();Luke 8:4, 9-11;Luke 12:16, 41;Luke 13:6;Luke 14:7;Luke 15:3;Luke 18:1, 9;Luke 19:11;Luke 20:9, 19;Luke 21:29; with a genitive of the person or thing to which the contents of the parable refer (Winer's Grammar, § 30, 1 a.):τοῦσπείροντος,Matthew 13:18;τῶνζιζανίων,Matthew 13:36;τήνβασιλείαντοῦΘεοῦἐνπαραβολήτιθέναι (literally,to set forth the kingdom of God in a parable), to illustrate (the nature and history of) the kingdom of God by the use of a parable,Mark 4:30L textTTr textWH.3. "a pithy and instructive saying, involving some likeness or comparison and having preceptive or admonitory force; an aphorism, a maxim":Luke 5:36;Luke 6:39;Matthew 15:15 (Proverbs 1:6;Ecclesiastes 1:17; Sir. 3:29(27);(25), etc.). Since sayings of this kind often pass into proverbs,παραβολή is4.a proverb:Luke 4:23 (1 Samuel 10:12;Ezekiel 12:22;Ezekiel 18:2f).
5.an act by which one exposes himself or his possessions to danger, a venture, risk (in which sense the plural seems to be used byPlutarch,Aratus 22:διάπολλῶνἑλιγμωνκαίπαραβολῶνπεραινοντεςπρόςτότεῖχος (cf.Diodorus Siculus fragment book 30:9, 2; also variant inThucydides 1, 131, 2 (and Poppo at the passage)));ἐνπαραβολή, in risking him, i. e. at the very moment when he exposed his son to mortal peril (seeπαραβολεύομαι),Hebrews 11:19 (Hesychiusἐκπαραβολῆς.ἐκπαρακινδυνευματος); others with less probability explain it,in a figure, i. e. as a figure, either of the future general resurrection of all men, or of Christ offered up to God and raised again from the dead; others otherwise.
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
comparison, figure, parable, proverb.Fromparaballo; a similitude ("parable"), i.e. (symbolic) fictitious narrative (of common life conveying a moral), apothegm or adage -- comparison, figure, parable, proverb.
see GREEKparaballo
Forms and Transliterations
παραβολαις παραβολαίς παραβολαῖς παραβολας παραβολάς παραβολὰς παραβολη παραβολή παραβολὴ παραβολῇ παραβολην παραβολήν παραβολὴν παραβολης παραβολής παραβολῆς παραβολών parabolais parabolaîs parabolas parabolás parabolàs parabole parabolē parabolḗ parabolḕ parabolêi parabolē̂i parabolen parabolēn parabolḗn parabolḕn paraboles parabolês parabolēs parabolē̂sLinks
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