The Parables: Jewish Tradition and Christian Interpretation

by Brad H. Young

Fully one-third of Jesus’ words in the Synoptic Gospels occur in parables. It could be said that knowing the parables is essential for understanding the person of Christ. In his newest work on the parables, Brad Young displays his unique perspective as a scholar steeped in both Jewish and Christian studies. While parables have timeless messages, reinterpretations in new contexts throughout the centuries have distorted the original meanings and undermined the essence of what Jesus intended for his initial listeners. Young examines the parables that best illustrate the parallels between the rabbinic and Gospel parables. Young challenges readers to remember that first-century Judaism was not merely the backdrop for Jesus’ teachings but the very stage from which Jesus delivered the message of the kingdom. Jesus’ ethics and theology can be properly understood only in the light of first-century Jewish teachings. Young focuses on the historical development and theological significance of parables in both traditions, then he examines five theological subjects that are dealt with in prayer, grace, reconciliation, calling, and sovereignty. "This great new book by Brad H. Young is a decisive step in the right direction. Like his previous books, this innovative work on the parables shows that Jesus is both a foundation of the Christian faith and at the same time an integral part of Second Temple period Judaism. Jewish thought is not—as is often claimed—merely a background for Jesus but is in reality the original context and natural framework of his message. Few people have recognized this basic fact, not only because of inveterate Christian inhibitions but also because it is a very rare case that a New Testament scholar can break the language barrier and move freely in the Hebrew and Aramaic sources of early Judaism proficiently, as Young is able to do. Similarly, Jewish scholars often do not use their advantage in this area of research and sometimes cannot move freely in the Christian material because even they are not always free from their own inherited inhibitions. All who are involved in the study of Judaism, however, as well as everyone seeking a better understanding of Jesus, will be challenged by Young's creative and solid research." (From the foreword)
—David Flusser, Professor Emeritus of Second Temple Period Judaism and Early Christianity, Hebrew University, Jerusalem

Genres: Theology, Reference, Biblical Studies, Christianity, Faith, History, Christian

332 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 1995

Reviews

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book from start to finish. Young examines many of Jesus' parables in the context of the Second Temple Judaism that they occurred in. Included for comparison are a multitude of other Rabbinic parables that illustrate how Jesus was firmly a part of this time period. Young also includes some references to some parables that are found in the Gospel of Thomas to show how that book misses the mark (yes, I know that's a bad pun and I won't apologize) and how trying to allegorize Jesus' parables at a later date or examining them from a cultural lens that is not Second Temple Judaism is a poor way to try and interpret them. When he states in his Epilogue "no one will grasp the meaning of Jesus' parables without an extensive knowledge of ancient Judaism", I am in agreement. He makes an overwhelming case for such a statement over the course of the book. My favorite chapter examined the parable of the Prodigal Son. Young argues the title misses the point. (The parable is not about this son, but rather the Compassionate Father, which is how he believes it should be titled.) I was blown away by the insight about the elder son in the parable, the significance of the things he says at the end, and the significance of what he DOESN'T say at the beginning. He is probably the forgotten character in the parable, but Jesus included him for a reason. He is vitally important to the plot of the story. This is my 4th Young book and is probably my favorite.

[Bob · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book; it is filled with detailed information that is extremely helpful. Every chapter deals with a different parable of Jesus. The writer then explains the focus of the parable, dives into the context of the parable, and then evaluates the leading characters. In many chapters the writer goes into Rabbinic teaching that is similar to the teaching of Jesus as it relates to the specific parable being studied. Often the writer goes into a deeper study bringing in pertinent information from Jewish culture & theology so you can get a good feel as to what the audience knew and how they would understand as well as relate to what Jesus was saying. The writer would also point out the difference, based on all the information given, between how Christians have understood each parable and point out where and why the majority in Christianity have gotten it wrong and where we have gotten it right.

This is a highly interesting read and a very valuable resource. I would recommend that every pastor have this book in his study. He may not read it straight through but he will want to use it when he is preparing to teach on one of the parables of Jesus, and he will be thankful he has it.

[Cody Westcott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good commentary on the parables. The book begins with a general introduction to parable interpretation as well as a statement of the author's thesis that Jesus's parables were inspired by common rabbinic parables of the time.

Young's commentary can be very insightful at times. However, he very often over states the strength of his thesis, and his agenda often transparently skews his interpretation. Furthermore, the commentary on parables is very selective, and leaves out many parables that deserve attention.

This is a good book for researching general theory and history of parable interpretation. As a commentary, I would recommend this only as a supplement.

[Dennis Kananen]

Great book. Brad Young is professor of biblical literature in Judeo-Christian studies in the Graduate School of Theology at Oral Roberts University.

Brad was a student of the late David Flusser. Dr. Flusser, in turn wrote a review on Brad's works:

I am pleased to recommend Brad Young’s research into the parables of Jesus, and I am sure that his new book, Jesus and His Jewish Parables (Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, 1989), will help its readers gain a clearer understanding of Jesus’ words and teaching.

There is no question that the way to understanding Jesus leads through his Jewishness. To be a Jew in Jesus’ day meant learning not only the Hebrew Bible but also a wealth of rabbinic interpretation. Jesus’ contemporaries called him “Rabbi” (Teacher) and my experience has shown me that Jesus was a very learned man. His words were sometimes simple as salt (e.g., Matt. 16:26), but even in such cases he alluded to Jewish learning, and he sometimes also spoke as a rabbinical authority (e.g., Matt. 12:11-12).

[Steve Bender · Rating 4 out of 5]

An analysis of some of Jesus' parables in light of Jewish parables of the same general period. Makes strong links of Jesus' teachings with the rabinic teachings of the second Temple period. Helps interpret the parables in the way that the people they were addressed to would have. Recommended.

[Marshall · Rating 5 out of 5]

I learned a lot about the connection between rabbinical parables and the parables of Jesus. Helped the gospel parables into an original cultural context. A better taste of what it might have been like to sit at the feet of Jesus.

[Leilani C · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you want to dig deep into the teachings of Jesus, this is the book to start with!

[Tim Hall · Rating 4 out of 5]

Terrific unfolding of the parables of Jesus in ways that help us understand them better and discover how they apply to our current life. An academic read for sure.

[Gijs Limonard · Rating 3 out of 5]

A rather dull explanatory text on the parables of the New Testament in light of the rabbinic parabolic tradition; on the subject be sure to check out instead the excellent ‘Short stories by Jesus’ by Amy-Jill Levine.

[Stephen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A full one-third of Jesus’ teachings are in the form of parables–the Good Samaritan… the Prodigal Son…the Persistent Widow. These teachings are some of the most beloved and also some of the most confusing in the whole Bible. In The Parables: Jewish Tradition and Christian Interpretation, Brad Young offers a fresh engagement with these core teachings of Jesus.

Young argues that Jesus’ parables come out of the context of the Pharisaic movement in Second Temple Judaism. Parables were a common teaching tool for Rabbis. Many of these early parables are recorded in the Talmud and the Mishnah. Young believes that we can gain a deeper understanding of the teaching of Jesus by understanding the function of parables in the first century and comparing the Gospel parables to their rabbinic parallels. This work helps us understand what the parable’s first hearers would have assumed and expected of the parable. Understanding these expectations can help us see where Jesus is affirming them and where he uses surprise elements to challenge his hearers and reveal the character of God.

Young applies this approach to a number of Jesus’ parables in the New Testament. In each analysis, he emphasizes the Jewish context for the original hearing and attempts to draw insights from how it would have been heard in the first century.

I learned a lot in reading The Parables and found many of his insights invaluable for approaching the parables. To highlight even a few of them would be beyond the scope of this review, but one of the most compelling was that the parables are about God.

One of the biggest strengths Young draws from this Jewish context is the purpose of the parables itself. A parable reveals the character of God. God is always the central character who is being revealed (either in likeness or contrast to the characters in the parable). When Jesus challenges his hearers, he is first and foremost challenging them to see God differently. Only once they have seen God more deeply does Jesus challenge them to live differently. The reality behind the parable serves to reveal the character of God. This approach allows us to see certain kinds of metaphor and allegory as appropriate without falling into wild speculation.

Yet at times, Young’s attempt to recover the Jewish heritage of Jesus reveals an uncomfortable relationship with the church. The Church needs to recover its Jewish heritage and see deeper connection between the Old and New Testaments, particularly as we seek to understand Jesus and the writings of Paul. Young is right to undercut many of the arguments that pit Jesus against Judaism. However, at times he goes too far in the other direction by pitting Jesus against the Church. Every once in a while, one gets the impression that the church has rarely understood Jesus and that every interpretation that doesn’t take full account of the Second Temple Judaism is inherently flawed. He occasionally substitutes one antithesis (Jesus v. Judaism) for another (Jesus v. Church). While I agree with Young’s critique of anti-Jewish readings of Jesus and the New Testament, I think it is equally inappropriate to have anti-Church readings as well. The Church has not always understood Jesus correctly, but it is still Christ’s bride.

I highly recommend this book for those who want a deeper understanding of Jesus’ parables. Some of the linguistic studies will be more challenging for those unfamiliar with Greek and Hebrew, but an understanding of these languages is not required to grasp Young’s points.

[G. Mark James · Rating 2 out of 5]

Written by a "critical evangelical", this book attempts to place proper understanding of Jesus' parables within the teachings of the rabbis of 2nd Temple Judaism. In doing so, Young seeks to argue against the way Jesus' parables have been understood by the early church (Christian allegory) as well as modern critical scholars who overemphasize eschatology in Jesus' parables. IMO, the book is filled with a host of unsupported assumptions, and makes some leaps in logic. For instance, the author uncritically accepts the rabbinic tradition as being accurately recorded hundreds of years after the fact, yet he routinely accepts critical understanding of the Gospels being redacted and source criticism despite just a few decades after the events. He also assumes Jesus' worldview is 2nd Temple Judaism (this would include oral tradition of rabbis/Misnah) rather than the OT Scriptures alone. Finally, several connections he makes between a Jesus parable and a rabbinic parable are extremely loose. One rabbinic "parallel" talks about 4 kinds of disciples and that is used to supposedly illustrate the parable of the 4 soils. The only connection is the number 4!
Like Jeremias, he accepts a hypothetical Hebrew source underlying Jesus' words being translated and written in Greek by the 4 Gospel writers and this along with "redaction" is used to explain away parts of the written text.
The best use of the book is to get some idea of rabbinic hermeneutics and how they used parables as an illustration of their hermeneutic.

[Kate · Rating 2 out of 5]

interesting study of parables, heavily grounded in interpreting them from the viewpoint of what was happening in Judaism during the Second Temple period. Many parallels with rabbinic parables.

I skimmed the whole book, and read in-depth analysis of about 10 or 12 parables. that is going to count as 'read' for this book

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interpretation of the gospels from the jewish perspective of the time of Jesus. Blows away a lot of misunderstanding and enriches the reader in evidence of what Jesus was saying in the parables. They are contextually acurate for their time period, but we misunderstand them two thousand years later.

[Doug]

Agree with R. Scott Paige's comment.

[Paul Penley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Don't think you know how to interpret Jesus' parables until you've read this book