The Parables And Similes Of The Rabbis

This second edition of a 1924 volume gathers together and deals with Rabbinic metaphors, similes and parables taken from agricultural and pastoral life.

With 4 indexes: I. Rabbinical authorities II. Scriptural passages. III. Rabbinic passages IV. General.

Peter Rhea Jones has spent the majority of his career studying and teaching the parables. Studying the Parables of Jesus is a primer on the historical and -literary approaches to biblical study. It informs and inspires in dialogue with contemporary methods and contemporary meanings. It provides an introduction to the methods of interpretation of the parables as well as an opening chapter on the recent history of interpretation. The chapters of exegesis approach a select group of parables for a more intensive analysis. While reserving much of the technical details for the endnotes, the text includes -discussion of critical issues and alternative opinions. Questions and exercises are appended at the close of each chapter for personal use or classroom -discussion.

Craig Blomberg surveys the contemporary critical approaches to the parables--including those that have emerged in the twenty years since the first edition. This widely used text has taken a minority perspective and made it mainstream, with Blomberg ably defending a limited allegorical approach and offering brief interpretations of all the major parables.

Intended to appeal to both Christians and Jews,A Rabbi Looks at Jesus' Parables is an introduction to the teachings of Jesus, and compares the similarities and differences in Jesus' thinking to other Jewish sources from first-century Palestine. Each chapter uncovers hidden messages within each of Jesus' parables, and discusses each parable within its first-century religious and historical context. The book attempts to build bridges of understanding between Christians and Jews by exploring the notion that we share a common history.

Much has changed in the more than two decades since the first edition of this book appeared. Parable scholarship continues to be a dynamic area of New Testament research, and a number of important studies were published and significant developments have occurred during those years. Jesus’s parables, these simple but profound stories, continue to challenge us, and, even after many readings, continue to reveal new insights.

Despite its importance, the parable of the wicked tenants has been an enigma to modern interpretation. The approaches to the parable have been quite varied. Some interpreters place this parable at the apex of the ministry of Jesus, while others assign little importance to it or virtually ignore it. In some cases the conclusions drawn have been unsatisfactory either because of presuppositions that are too rigid or that have been shown to be erroneous by recent developments. Any discussion of the parable is necessarily a complex one in that it involves the relation of the three Synoptic accounts, an assessment of the account in the Gospel of Thomas, the religious and economic background in Palestine, the self-designation of Jesus, and the theological shaping of the parable by the tradition and by evangelists. Because of the importance of this parable as a possible key to understanding the ministry of Jesus, particularly since its relevance has often been minimized, this parable deserves closer analysis.