A parable is a succinct, didactic story, in prose or verse, which illustrates one or more

instructive lessons or principles. It differs from a fable in that fables employ animals, plants,
inanimate objects, or forces of nature as characters, whereas parables have human
characters.[1] A parable is a type of analogy.[2]

Some scholars of the canonical gospels and the New Testament apply the term "parable" only
to the parables of Jesus,[3][4] though that is not a common restriction of the term. Parables
such as "The Prodigal Son" are central to Jesus' teaching method in the canonical narratives
and the apocrypha.

History
Parables are often used to explore ethical concepts in spiritual texts. The Bible contains
numerous parables in the Gospels section of the New Testament (Jesus' parables). These are
believed by some scholars (such as John P. Meier) to have been inspired by mashalim, a form
of Hebrew comparison.[4] Examples of Jesus' parables include the Good Samaritan and the
Prodigal Son. Mashalim from the Old Testament include the parable of the ewe-lamb (told by
Nathan in 2 Samuel 12:1-9[6]) and the parable of the woman of Tekoah (in 2 Samuel 14:1-13
[7]
).

Parables also appear in Islam. In Sufi tradition, parables are used for imparting lessons and
values. Recent authors such as Idries Shah and Anthony de Mello have helped popularize
these stories beyond Sufi circles.

Modern parables also exist. A mid-19th-century example, the Parable of the broken window,
criticises a part of economic thinking.

A parable is a short tale that illustrates a universal truth; it is a simple narrative. It sketches a
setting, describes an action, and shows the results. It may sometimes be distinguished from
similar narrative types, such as the allegory and the apologue.[8]

A parable often involves a character who faces a moral dilemma or one who makes a bad
decision and then suffers the unintended consequences. Although the meaning of a parable is
often not explicitly stated, it is not intended to be hidden or secret but to be quite
straightforward and obvious.[9]

The defining characteristic of the parable is the presence of a subtext suggesting how a
person should behave or what he should believe. Aside from providing guidance and
suggestions for proper conduct in one's life, parables frequently use metaphorical language
which allows people to more easily discuss difficult or complex ideas. Parables express an
abstract argument by means of using a concrete narrative which is easily understood.

The allegory is a more general narrative type; it also employs metaphor. Like the parable, the
allegory makes a single, unambiguous point. An allegory may have multiple
noncontradictory interpretations and may also have implications that are ambiguous or hard
to interpret. As H.W. Fowler put it, the object of both parable and allegory "is to enlighten the
hearer by submitting to him a case in which he has apparently no direct concern, and upon
which therefore a disinterested judgment may be elicited from him, ..."[8] The parable is more
condensed than the allegory: it rests upon a single principle and a single moral, and it is
intended that the reader or listener shall conclude that the moral applies equally well to his
own concerns.

Jesus' parables