The Parables of Jesus: A Commentary (Bible in Its World)

Features

• Cover Type: Paperback with 552 pages
• Published by: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company January 2002
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 080286077X
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-0802860774
• Book Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1.2 inches
• Weighs: 1.7 pounds

Product Description
This inaugural volume in the Bible in Its World series offers a comprehensive commentary on the parables of Jesus. Arland Hultgren’s outstanding work features fresh translations of the parables in the Synoptic Gospels and the Gospel of Thomas, followed by interpretive notes and commentary on the theological meaning and significance of each parable for readers today.

After an introductory chapter on the nature of parables and their interpretation, Hultgren studies the thirty-eight parables of Jesus thematically, exploring in turn “parables of the revelation of God,” “parables of exemplary behavior,” “parables of wisdom,” “parables of life before God,” “parables of final judgment,” “allegorical parables,” and “parables of the kingdom.” He also discusses how the three evangelists used the parables within the literary framework and theological interests of their Gospels. The book ends with a close look at the parables of Jesus in the Gospel of Thomas.

Distinctive in the field for its scope of coverage and its goal of addressing the widest possible audience, this volume will be a valuable study resource for classrooms, churches, and general readers. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Reader Reviews
This review is from: The Parables of Jesus: A Commentary (The Bible in Its World) (Hardcover) Arland J. Hultgren has creatively produced a definitive scholarly encyclopedia focused upon Jesus' parables. In Chapter One he moves smoothly from the description of parables as a "figure of speech," either types of narrative or similtudes: "comparisons made without stories but analogies between God's Kingdom and something in this world, real or imagined." Under this inclusive description Hultgren thoroughly references thirty-eight units within the Synoptic Gospels. Two Scholar- Professors of EMORY UNIVERSITY'S Candler School of Theology consider this text as "undoubtedly the best book available on the parables... a treasure for both scholars and preachers." The Author singles out five story-units as being the Revelation of God, six as the Wisdom of God, five more being Parables of the Kingdom. He places the others under titles - Parables of Exemplary Behavior, Life Before God, (the longest) the Final Judgement, and Allegorical Parables. Within each unit our versatile scholar includes an exegetical commentary, a shorter exposition, numerous footnotes, plus a greatly varied, selected bibliography. (The total general Bibliography totals over 200!) Since my early days as layman and seminary student, followed by church ministry and chaplaincy, to present status of hospital chaplain and student of Candler classes in Jesus' Parables and Devotional Classics, I have searched for such a treasure chest of insightful scholarship on the Synoptic Gospels. EUREKA!