Exploring the Meaning of Parabole in Greek

παραβολή refers to a “parable,” a mode of speech in which a point is made by setting a likeness before hearers. In the passages gathered here, it is especially associated with Jesus’ public teaching and with the disciples’ requests for explanation.

Occurrences

Matthew 13:3 — “He spoke to them many things in parables, saying, “Behold, a farmer went out to sow.””

Here παραβολή frames Jesus’ instruction as a series of illustrative tellings (“many things in parables”) and immediately introduces a concrete scene (“a farmer…to sow”). The word signals that what follows is offered as more than a bare report: it is presented as a teaching unit shaped as a parable.

Matthew 13:10 — “The disciples came, and said to him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?””

In this question, παραβολή marks a recognizable teaching style that distinguishes Jesus’ address “to them” (the broader audience) from his private interaction with the disciples. The disciples treat “parables” as a deliberate choice of form, prompting inquiry into the purpose behind that choice.

Matthew 13:13 — “Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they don’t see, and hearing, they don’t hear, neither do they understand.”

Jesus ties his use of παραβολή to the audience’s condition described in the verse: they “don’t see,” “don’t hear,” and “don’t…understand.” The word thus functions here as a label for teaching that, in practice, exposes the gap between physical perception and genuine comprehension.

Matthew 13:18 — ““Hear, then, the parable of the farmer.””

παραβολή is used as a title-like designation (“the parable of the farmer”), directing attention to a specific unit of teaching. The imperative “Hear, then” presents the parable as something to be received attentively, inviting the hearer to follow its internal movement and intended point.

Matthew 13:24 — “He set another parable before them, saying, “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field,””

Here παραβολή is something Jesus “set…before them,” portraying the parable as an object placed in front of the audience for consideration. The parable begins by likening “The Kingdom of Heaven” to an agricultural situation, showing how the parable form introduces a comparison anchored in ordinary experience.

Matthew 13:31 — “He set another parable before them, saying, “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field;””

Again the parable is “set…before them,” reinforcing the sense of a presented illustration. The content introduced under the label παραβολή is a small, tangible item (“a grain of mustard seed”) and a simple action (“took, and sowed”), indicating how the parable draws on compact imagery to speak about “The Kingdom of Heaven.”

Matthew 13:33 — “He spoke another parable to them. “The Kingdom of Heaven is like yeast, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, until it was all leavened.””

In this occurrence, παραβολή introduces domestic imagery: “yeast,” “a woman,” and “three measures of meal,” with a process that continues “until it was all leavened.” The word marks the account as a parable and so signals that the described action and outcome are serving a teaching purpose about “The Kingdom of Heaven.”

Matthew 13:34 — “Jesus spoke all these things in parables to the multitudes; and without a parable, he didn’t speak to them,”

παραβολή is expanded from individual stories to a comprehensive characterization of Jesus’ public discourse in this setting: “all these things” were spoken “in parables.” The phrase “without a parable, he didn’t speak to them” presents the parable form as the consistent vehicle of his communication to “the multitudes.”

Matthew 13:35 — “that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through the prophet, saying, “I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things hidden from the foundation of the world.””

Here παραβολή is placed in parallel with the act of uttering “things hidden from the foundation of the world.” The word contributes the idea that parables are a manner of opening the mouth that is suited to speaking of what is “hidden,” so that the parable form is linked to disclosure of matters not immediately evident.

Matthew 13:36 — “Then Jesus sent the multitudes away, and went into the house. His disciples came to him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the darnel weeds of the field.””

In this house setting, παραβολή is singled out for interpretation: “Explain to us the parable…” The request assumes that the parable’s surface narrative (“darnel weeds…of the field”) requires unpacking, and it shows the disciples seeking clarity on the meaning carried by that story-form.

Matthew 13:53 — “When Jesus had finished these parables, he departed from there.”

παραβολή here gathers multiple teachings into a completed set (“these parables”) and marks a transition in the narrative: once finished, Jesus “departed.” The word functions as a summary label for the preceding block of instruction and indicates that the parables form a discrete segment of teaching activity.

Matthew 15:15 — “Peter answered him, “Explain the parable to us.””

Outside the immediate cluster in Matthew 13, παραβολή still serves as something that calls for explanation. Peter’s request is brief and direct, treating “the parable” as a known referent in the conversation and implying that comprehension depends on Jesus’ interpretive clarification.

Sense and Usage

Across these passages, παραβολή consistently identifies a teaching given in an illustrative, comparison-shaped form. In Matthew 13:24, 13:31, and 13:33, the parable explicitly introduces likeness language—“The Kingdom of Heaven is like…”—and then supplies an everyday scene (sowing seed, planting a mustard seed, working yeast into meal). The word thus regularly accompanies instruction that begins with familiar materials and actions, inviting hearers to consider what is being conveyed through the likeness.

The same term also marks a communicative strategy that distinguishes audiences. The disciples’ question, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” (Matthew 13:10), and Jesus’ reply about seeing and hearing without understanding (Matthew 13:13) place the parable form within the dynamics of reception: some hear parables without grasping what they are meant to communicate. In that light, parables are not merely engaging illustrations; they are teachings that demand discernment, and they can leave the unperceptive at the level of hearing without understanding.

Within the narrative flow, παραβολή moves between public proclamation and private interpretation. Matthew 13:34 emphasizes that Jesus addressed “the multitudes” in parables as a consistent pattern, while Matthew 13:36 and Matthew 15:15 show the disciples approaching Jesus for explanation. This repeated request (“Explain to us…”) presents parables as teachings that may be stated publicly but are often clarified in closer conversation, where the storyteller provides interpretive guidance.

Finally, Matthew 13:35 binds the parable form to the utterance of “things hidden from the foundation of the world.” Without redefining the word, this line illuminates its function: parables serve as a mouth-opening way of speaking that brings hidden matters into speech, even if those matters remain opaque to some hearers. In this cluster, παραβολή therefore names both the form of Jesus’ stories and their role as vehicles for weighty, sometimes veiled, communication.

Imagery in Context

The parables named here are anchored in ordinary work and household practice: a farmer sowing (Matthew 13:3; 13:18), a man sowing good seed (Matthew 13:24), a mustard seed planted in a field (Matthew 13:31), and yeast hidden in meal until it leavens everything (Matthew 13:33). By using παραβολή to introduce these scenes, the text presents commonplace images as the chosen setting in which Jesus speaks to the multitudes (Matthew 13:34) and as the kind of teaching the disciples repeatedly ask him to explain (Matthew 13:36; 15:15).

Sources: Lexical data from Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance and the Translators Brief Lexicon of Extended Strongs for Greek (STEPBible, CC BY). Occurrence data from the Translators Amalgamated Greek New Testament (STEPBible, CC BY). Scripture quotations from the World English Bible (public domain).