Interpreting the Parables

Interpreting the Parables PDF

Author: Craig L. Blomberg

Publisher: InterVarsity Press

Published: 2012-07-03

Total Pages: 465

ISBN-13: 0830866779

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In the last century, more studies of the parables were produced than for any other section of comparable length in the Bible. The problem is that most Bible readers are unlikely ever to know of most of them. In this substantially new and expanded edition, Craig Blomberg surveys and evaluates contemporary critical approaches to the parables, challenging the prevailing consensus and making his own important new contribution to parable studies. Within proper definitions and boundaries, the author defends a limited allegorical approach. In support of this view of parable interpretation, Blomberg not only sets forth theoretical considerations but devotes attention to all the major parables, providing brief interpretations that highlight the insights to be gained from his distinctive method. Interpreting the Parables can be read with profit by scholars, students, pastors and educated laypeople.

Preaching the Parables

Preaching the Parables PDF

Author: Craig L. Blomberg

Publisher: Baker Academic

Published: 2004-07-01

Total Pages: 256

ISBN-13: 1441205780

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A guide to preaching the parables that shows how to first interpret the parables, then proclaim their significance.

The Parables

The Parables PDF

Author: Brad H. Young

Publisher: Baker Academic

Published: 2008-03

Total Pages: 352

ISBN-13: 0801048206

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Young focuses on the historical development and theological significance of parables in the Jewish and Christian traditions, examining parallels between the rabbinic and Gospel parables.

Parables of War

Parables of War PDF

Author: John W. Marshall

Publisher: Wilfrid Laurier Univ. Press

Published: 2001-11-19

Total Pages: 271

ISBN-13: 0889203741

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Contending that its characterization as a Christian document has hindered interpretation, Marshall aims to uncover the formerly hidden Jewishness of the Book of Revelation of John. The focus is on four text complexes which describe the "synagogue of Satan;" those who keep the commandments of God; the 144,000 gathered on Zion; and the holy city. Coverage extends to a description of the social and cultural context of the diaspora during the Judean war. Marshall teaches early Christianity and Second Temple Judaism at the U. of Toronto. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR.

Reading the Parables

Reading the Parables PDF

Author: Richard Lischer

Publisher: Presbyterian Publishing Corp

Published: 2014-01-01

Total Pages: 209

ISBN-13: 0664231659

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Parables make up one-third of Jesus' speech in the New Testament. In this volume, Richard Lischer provides an expert guide to these parables and proposes an important distinction between reading and interpreting the parables. Emphasizing the importance of reading the parables versus interpreting them, Lischer asserts that reading offers a kind of breathing space to explore historical, literary, theological, and socio-political dimensions of the parables and their various meanings, whereas interpreting implies an expert and critical position that must be defended. In this volume, Lischer lays out four theories for reading parables: 1) parables obscure truth; 2) parables teach many truths; 3) parables teach one truth; and 4) parables undermine the truth. Ultimately, he concludes that biblical parables undermine dominant myths called "the truth" to shine light on the Truth that is Jesus, God's presence with us.

The Parables

The Parables PDF

Author: Simon J. Kistemaker

Publisher: Baker Books

Published: 2002-03

Total Pages: 276

ISBN-13:

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A clear introduction to the parables of Jesus, including and examination of their settings, interpretations, and implications for the Christian life.

Hear Then the Parable

Hear Then the Parable PDF

Author: Bernard Brandon Scott

Publisher: Fortress Press

Published: 1989-01-01

Total Pages: 484

ISBN-13: 9781451404180

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Hear Then the Parable is an innovative literary-social reading of all the parables of Jesus.

Interpreting the Parables

Interpreting the Parables PDF

Author: Craig Blomberg

Publisher:

Published: 1990

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9780851114118

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The classic works of C. H. Dodd and Joachim Jeremias set the direction for nearly all further parable studies in this century. Embodied in both scholar's approaches are at least two assumptions that, for the most part, have gone unchallenged: (1) Parables make one and only one main point. (2) They are not allegories. But can these assumptions be supported by the evidence? In this introductory text, Craig Blomberg surveys and evaluates contemporary critical approaches to the parables, challenging the prevailing consensus and making his own important new contribution to parable studies. Within proper definitions and limits, he argues, the parables are in fact best seen as allegories. In support of his thesis, he not only sets forth theoretical considerations but devotes attention to all the major parables, providing brief interpretations that highlight the insights to be gained from his distinctive method. A concluding chapter examines the implications of the parables for Christology and our understanding of the kingdom of God. This groundbreaking book will be of value not only to students but to pastors and other serious readers of Scripture.

Puzzling the Parables of Jesus

Puzzling the Parables of Jesus PDF

Author: Ruban Zimmermann

Publisher: Fortress Press

Published: 2015-11-02

Total Pages: 497

ISBN-13: 1451465327

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Modern scholarship on the parables has long been preoccupied with asking what Jesus himself said and what he intended to accomplish with his parables. Ruben Zimmermann moves beyond that agenda to explore the dynamics of parabolic speech in all its rich complexity. Introductory chapters address the history of research and distinguish historical from literary and reader-oriented approaches, then set out a postmodern hermeneutic that analyzes narrative elements and context, maps the sociohistorical background, explores stock metaphors and symbols, and opens up contemporary horizons of interpretation. Subsequent chapters then focus on one parable from early Christian sources (Q, Mark, Matthew, Luke, John, and the Gospel of Thomas) to explore how parables function in each literary context. Over all reigns the principle that the meaning or theological "message" of a parable cannot be extracted from the parabolic form; thus the parables continue to invite hearers' and readers' involvement to the present day.

Short Stories by Jesus

Short Stories by Jesus PDF

Author: Amy-Jill Levine

Publisher: Harper Collins

Published: 2014-09-09

Total Pages: 352

ISBN-13: 006219819X

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The renowned biblical scholar, author of The Misunderstood Jew, and general editor for The Jewish Annotated New Testament interweaves history and spiritual analysis to explore Jesus’ most popular teaching parables, exposing their misinterpretations and making them lively and relevant for modern readers. Jesus was a skilled storyteller and perceptive teacher who used parables from everyday life to effectively convey his message and meaning. Life in first-century Palestine was very different from our world today, and many traditional interpretations of Jesus’ stories ignore this disparity and have often allowed anti-Semitism and misogyny to color their perspectives. In this wise, entertaining, and educational book, Amy-Jill Levine offers a fresh, timely reinterpretation of Jesus’ narratives. In Short Stories by Jesus, she analyzes these “problems with parables,” taking readers back in time to understand how their original Jewish audience understood them. Levine reveals the parables’ connections to first-century economic and agricultural life, social customs and morality, Jewish scriptures and Roman culture. With this revitalized understanding, she interprets these moving stories for the contemporary reader, showing how the parables are not just about Jesus, but are also about us—and when read rightly, still challenge and provoke us two thousand years later.