The Parable of the Heifer in Hosea 10:11–13

Abstract

A parable is a succinct didactic story narrated to illustrate a particular lesson or truth. Christian readers are mostly familiar with Jesus’ parables in the New Testament, but the Hebrew Bible (OT) has its own share of parables. They appear often as narrative prose: e.g., 2 Sam. 12:1–4 (Parable of the Ewe Lamb); 2 Sam. 14:5–7 (the Two Brothers Fighting); 1 Kgs. 20:39–40 (the Escaped Prisoner). Isaiah’s Vineyard Song (Isa. 5:1–2) is a good example of a parable in verse form (also the Lioness and Her Whelps in Ezk. 19:2–9 and the Parable of the Vine in Ezk. 19:10–14).