This post is the first in a series of five, concerning the parables, that I intend to release during the next month or so. For the most part, these posts will be excerpts from the third chapter (A Parable Prayer) in my book A Catholic Prays Scripture – Volume 4: concerning God’s “word” and the “future.”

Most of the material in the above-mentioned chapter (and this post) came about while I was attending the second year of the Archdiocese of Omaha Catholic Biblical School. During the first year (2003), all our studies involved the Old Testament (i.e., Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Genesis, Joshua, Judges, the two books of Samuel and the two books of Kings). In the second year (2004) we moved on to the New Testament, starting with the gospel of Mark.

We were not very far into that gospel when the first parable appeared. To be precise, The Parable of the Sower began the fourth chapter of Mark and three other parables followed in quick succession.  

Most Catholics are familiar with parables. Most, if not all, of the parables that Jesus spoke are read on Sundays during the three-year liturgical cycle. Thus, we have heard numerous homilies over the years on the meanings of these stories and how they are relevant to our lives today.

Most of the parables are relatively brief and since most of us enjoy a good story, they are easy to remember – but not necessarily easy to understand. Some of the parables even seem to be – dare I say it – a bit illogical. I will provide an example in my next parable post.

What are Parables?

God seems to acknowledge that parables are not always easy to understand. The prologue to Proverbs (1:1-6) indicates that wisdom helps man "comprehend proverb and parable, the words of the wise and their riddles." The layout of that sentence seems to imply that proverbs are the words of the wise while parables are the riddles of the wise. Just what are parables? What does the word mean?  

The word "parable" is derived from the Greek noun parabole, which in turn, is derived from the preposition para, meaning "alongside of," and the verb ballein meaning "to cast, to place, or to throw." Accordingly, the term parable means that one thing is understood or "compared" with another. A parable, then, is a story with meaning thrown alongside. Without the added meaning to be compared – the story is just a story. 

The English word "parable" is often used in place of the Hebrew word mashal, which more broadly described a variety of literary forms such as axioms, proverbs, similitudes, and allegories. In the New Testament the same breadth of meaning of the word is found, but there it primarily designates stories that are illustrative comparisons between Christian truths and events of everyday life. 

We humans sometimes have difficulty grasping complex subjects (e.g., the kingdom of God, grace and judgment). Jesus recognized this shortcoming (Mk 4:10-12) and used parables to "compare" these complex topics with the more mundane things (e.g., yeast, seeds, relationships) that we can visualize and understand. That was the beauty that Jesus apparently found in parables. While, they have some characteristics of riddles (to attract our attention), Jesus used parables to teach, so that we could learn.

Question: How many parables are there in the Bible?

Answer: I don't know and I don't think that there is any consensus regarding this question.

As you read different Bibles and or other books that address the parables you will quickly note that there are significant differences concerning what biblical passages are categorized or identified as parables. As noted previously, a parable should involve 1.) a comparison, 2.) in the form of a story.

A dispute over "parable versus allegory" adds to the confusion and there are several zippy one-liners in the Bible that have a parable feel to them – but you can hardly categorize these one-liners as stories.

Some of the parables are truly stories with involved plots and characters (e.g., the Prodigal Son). Other parables, while having clear comparisons to consider, have very little story (e.g., the Mustard Seed, Yeast).

Thus, some of the disagreement relates to whether the passage is a parable, allegory, axiom, proverb, simile, or some other literary category. For example, the New American Bible (NAB) categorizes Mark 9:49-50 as "The Simile of Salt," whereas many other sources classify this brief passage as a parable. If you read the passage from Mark (or the corresponding passages in Matthew and Luke) you will note that there is very little "story" in that passage.

The gospel writers (and Bible translators) sometimes help us identify parables by noting in the biblical text when a parable is being spoken (e.g., "and he taught them at length in parables"). In addition, the notes that accompany the text often indicate when parables are being used, and most Bibles have division headings that identify the parables. Often, however, these bits of information disagree from translation to translation.  

Is Mark 3:23-27 a parable (“… he began to speak to them in parables”)? The passage compares a divided kingdom with a divided house, but the story element is missing and, as such, I (and many others) don’t consider this passage to be a parable.

There is also no consensus regarding the names of the parables. Is Luke 18:1-8 The Parable of the Persistent Widow, The Parable of the Unjust Judge, or something else?

To further confuse the issue, some scholars identify some passages of the Bible as "action" or "acted" parables. Jesus' cursing of the fig tree (Mt 21:18-19 and Mk 11:12-14) would be an example of such a parable. This passage certainly has both elements of a parable – a memorable story and an implied comparison (a fruitless fig tree and a fruitless Israel).

All of this is to say, if you don't find your favorite parable listed in one of the subsequent posts in this series, it may be related to my or someone else's definition of "parable." Likewise, you may see some parable names that don't look very familiar. 

Jesus frequently used comparisons and stories to teach. Sometimes they clearly come together in the form of what we can all agree are parables. In other cases, it is not quite as clear.  

In the next post in this series, I will attempt to further define what parables are and how Jesus used “these words” to teach us about the kingdom, grace and judgment.