אבנימ

Biblical Hermeneutics Part Second Chapter 11

In this chapter Terry defines and describes the uses of two of the most common tropes: the simile and the metaphor. Similes are formal comparisons between two things, which have some resemblance or likeness between them. Grammatically a simile will occur with words such as “like” or “as” as the comparative connector, e.g. “my love is like a red, red rose.” Metaphors are more frequently used than similes, and are implied comparisons in which words are actually turned from their literal meanings to some new meaning, which impresses the mind, e.g. “love is a rose.”

Similes occur frequently in Scripture and normally present little if any difficulty in interpretation since their comparisons are explicit. Similes may often be crowded together, especially in Hebrew parallelisms. When a simile is extended and developed, it often becomes a full-fledged parable, as in Matthew 7.24-27.

Metaphors, (from Gk. ???? – to carry over) more common than similes, occur when the sense of one word is transferred to another. They are so common because they are by nature part of the constant evolution of language in which we seek to know and understand new concepts in terms of familiar ones. “Every language is, therefore, to a great extent, a dictionary of faded metaphors.” In Scripture, their sources are mainly the characteristics of the land, customs of the people and patterns of religious worship. When a metaphor is extended and developed, it may become an allegory, as in Matthew 5.14-16