they asked him what the parable meant

παραβολή, ῆς, ἡ (παραβάλλω; Pla., Isocr.+; ins, pap, LXX; En; TestSol 20:4; Just.; Mel., P.—JWackernagel, Parabola: IndogF 31, 1912/13, 262–67)

① someth. that serves as a model or example pointing beyond itself for later realization, type, figure παραβολὴ εἰς τὸν καιρὸν τὸν ἐνεστηκότα a symbol (pointing) to the present age Hb 9:9. ἐν παραβολῇ as a type (of the violent death and of the resurrection of Christ) 11:19. λέγει ὁ προφήτης παραβολὴν κυρίου B 6:10, where the mng. may be the prophet is uttering a parable of the Lord (Goodsp.), or the prophet speaks of the Lord in figurative language (Kleist), or the prophet speaks in figurative language given him by the Lord. W. αἴνιγμα PtK 4 p. 15, 31. The things of the present or future cannot be understood by the ordinary Christian διὰ τὸ ἐν παραβολαῖς κεῖσθαι because they are expressed in figures B 17:2.

② a narrative or saying of varying length, designed to illustrate a truth especially through comparison or simile, comparison, illustration, parable, proverb, maxim.

ⓐ in the synoptics the word refers to a variety of illustrative formulations in the teaching of Jesus (in Mt 17 times, in Mk 13 times, in Lk 18 times; cp. Euclides [400 B.C.] who, acc. to Diog. L. 2, 107, rejected ὁ διὰ παραβολῆς λόγος; Aristot., Rhet. 2, 20, 2ff; Περὶ ὕψους 37; Vi. Aesopi II p. 307, 15 Eb.; Biogr. p. 87 Ὁμήρου παραβολαί; Philo, Conf. Lingu. 99; Jos., Ant. 8, 44. The Gk. OT also used παραβολή for various words and expressions that involve comparison, including riddles [s. Jülicher below: I² 32–40].—En 1:2; 3. Cp. π. κυριακαί Iren. 1, 8, 1 [Harv I 67, 1]). For prob. OT influence on the use of comparison in narrative s. Ezk 17. λέγειν, εἰπεῖν παραβολήν: Lk 13:6; 16:19 D; 19:11 (begins the longest ‘parable’ in the synoptics: 17 verses). τινί to someone 4:23 (the briefest ‘parable’: 3 words; here and in the next passage π.=proverb, quoted by Jesus); 6:39; 18:1; 21:29. πρός τινα to someone 5:36; 12:16, 41; 14:7; 15:3; 18:9; 20:9; with reference to someone Mk 12:12; Lk 20:19. παραβολὴν λαλεῖν τινι Mt 13:33. παραβολὴν παρατιθέναι τινί put a parable before someone vss. 24, 31. τελεῖν τὰς παραβολάς finish the parables vs. 53. διασαφεῖν (v.l. φράζειν) τινι τὴν παραβολήν vs. 36. φράζειν τινὶ τὴν παρ. explain the parable 15:15. ἀκούειν Mt 13:18; 21:33, 45. γνῶναι and εἰδέναι understand Mk 4:13b et al. μαθεῖν τὴν παρ. ἀπό τινος learn the parable from someth. Mt 24:32; Mk 13:28. (ἐπ)ἐρωτᾶν τινα τὴν παρ. ask someone the mng. of the parable Mk 7:17 (in ref. to vs. 15); cp. 4:10. Also ἐπερωτᾶν τινα περὶ τῆς παρ. 7:17 v.l.; ἐπηρώτων αὐτὸν τίς εἴη ἡ παρ. they asked him what the parable meant Lk 8:9; the answer to it: ἔστιν δὲ αὕτη ἡ παρ. but the parable means this vs. 11.—παραβολαῖς λαλεῖν τινί τι Mk 4:33. W. the gen. of that which forms the subj. of the parable ἡ παρ. τοῦ σπείραντος Mt 13:18. τῶν ζιζανίων vs. 36 (cp. ἡ περὶ τοῦ … τελώνου παρ. Orig., C. Cels. 3, 64, 11).—W. a prep.: εἶπεν διὰ παραβολῆς Lk 8:4 (Orig., C. Cels. 1, 5, 11).—χωρὶς παραβολῆς οὐδὲν ἐλάλει αὐτοῖς Mt 13:34b; Mk 4:34.—Mostly ἐν: τιθέναι τὴν βασιλείαν τοῦ θεοῦ ἐν παραβολῇ present the Reign of God in a parable vs. 30. ἐν παραβολαῖς λαλεῖν τινι Mt 13:10, 13; Mk 12:1. ἐν παραβολαῖς λέγειν τινί Mt 22:1; Mk 3:23. λαλεῖν τινί τι ἐν παραβολαῖς Mt 13:3, 34a. διδάσκειν τινά τι ἐν παραβολαῖς Mk 4:2. ἀνοίξω ἐν παραβολαῖς τὸ στόμα μου Mt 13:35 (Ps 77:2). γίνεταί τινί τι ἐν παραβολαῖς someth. comes to someone in the form of parables Mk 4:11; cp. Lk 8:10. According to Eus. (3, 39, 11), Papias presented some unusual parables of the Savior, i.e. ascribed to Jesus: Papias (2:11).—AJülicher, Die Gleichnisreden Jesu I² 1899; II 1899 [the older lit. is given here I 203–322]; GHeinrici, RE VI 688–703, XXIII 561f; CBugge, Die Hauptparabeln Jesu 1903; PFiebig, Altjüdische Gleichnisse und d. Gleichnisse Jesu 1904, D. Gleichnisse Jesu im Lichte der rabb. Gleich. 1912, D. Erzählungsstil der Ev. 1925; LFonck, Die Parabeln des Herrn³ 1909 (w. much lit. on the individual parables), The Parables of the Gospel³ 1918; JKögel, BFCT XIX 6, 1915; MMeinertz, Die Gleichnisse Jesu 1916; 4th ed. ’48; HWeinel, Die Gleichnisse Jesu⁵ 1929; RBultmann, D. Geschichte der synoptischen Tradition² ’31, 179–222; MDibelius, D. Formgeschichte des Ev.² 33; EBuonaiuti, Le parabole di Gesù: Religio 10–13, ’34–37; WOesterly, The Gospel Parables in the Light of Their Jewish Background ’36; EWechssler, Hellas im Ev. ’36, 267–85; CDodd, The Parables of the Kgdm.³ ’36; BSmith, The Par. of the Syn. Gosp. ’37; WMichaelis, Es ging e. Sämann aus. zu säen ’38; OPiper, The Understanding of the Syn. Par.: EvQ 14, ’42, 42–53; CMasson, Les Paraboles de Marc IV ’45; JJeremias, D. Gleichn. Jesu⁴ ’56 (Eng. tr. ’55); ELinnemann, Jesus of the Parables, tr. JSturdy, ’66; AWeiser, D. Knechtsgleichnisse der synopt. Evv. ’71; JKingsbury, The Parables of Jesus in Mt 13, ’69; FDanker, Fresh Persp. on Mt, CTM 41, ’70, 478–90; JKingsbury, ibid. 42, ’71, 579–96; TManson, The Teaching of Jesus, ’55, 57–86; JSider, Biblica 62, ’81, 453–70 (synoptists); ECuvillier, Le concept de ΠΑΡΑΒΟΛΗ dans le second évangile ’93.

ⓑ Apart fr. the Syn. gospels, παρ. is found in our lit. freq. in Hermas (as heading: Hs 1:1; 2:1; 3:1; 4:1; 5:1; [6:1; 7:1; 8:1]) but not independently of the synoptic tradition. Hermas uses παρ. only once to designate a real illustrative (double) parable, in m 11:18. Elsewh παρ. is for Hermas an enigmatic presentation that is somet. seen in a vision, somet. expressed in words, but in any case is in need of detailed interpretation: w. gen. of content (s. a above) τοῦ πύργου about the tower Hv 3, 3, 2. τοῦ ἀγροῦ about the field Hs 5, 4, 1. τῶν ὀρέων 9, 29, 4. δηλοῦν τὴν παραβολήν 5, 4, 1a. παρ. ἐστιν ταῦτα 5, 4, 1b. ἀκούειν τὴν παραβολήν v 3, 3, 2; 3, 12, 1; Hs 5, 2, 1. παραβολὰς λαλεῖν τινι 5, 4, 2a. τὰ ῥήματα τὰ λεγόμενα διὰ παραβολῶν 5, 4, 3b; γράφειν τὰς παρ. v 5:5f; Hs 9, 1, 1; συνιέναι τὰς παρ. m 10, 1, 3. γινώσκειν Hs 5, 3, 1a; 9, 5, 5. νοεῖν m 10, 1, 4; Hs 5, 3, 1b. ἐπιλύειν τινὶ παρ. 5, 3, 1c; 5, 4, 2b; 3a. συντελεῖν 9, 29, 4. ἡ ἐπίλυσις τῆς παρ. explanation, interpretation of the parable 5, 6, 8; αἱ ἐπιλύσεις τῶν παρ. 5, 5, 1. ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ εἰς δούλου τρόπον κεῖται ἐν τῇ παρ. the Son of God appears in the parable as a slave 5, 5, 5. ἡ παρ. εἰς τοὺς δούλους τοῦ θεοῦ κεῖται the par. refers to the slaves of God 2:4.—S. also the headings to the various parts of the third division of Hermas (the Parables) and on Hermas gener. s. Jülicher, op. cit. I 204–209.—εἰ δὲ δεῖ ἡμᾶς καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν σπερμάτων μὴ ποιεῖσθαι τὴν παρ. but if we are not to draw our comparison from the (action of) the seeds AcPlCor 2:28.—BScott, Profiles of Jesus, Parables: The Fourth R 10, ’97, 3–14.—B. 1262. DELG s.v. βάλλω. M-M. EDNT. TW. Sv.