Early Jewish parables from the New Testament and Rabbinic Literature (Lieve Teugels)

This talk offers an introduction to the phenomenon of didactic stories called “parables” in midrash (rabbinic biblical commentary) from the first centuries of the common era. This will help us to better understand Jesus ’teaching in parables as related in the New Testament. The talk includes presentations of some early Jewish parables, from the NT and rabbinic sources, that share the common themes of learning and students in comparative perspective. Starting point is the parables of the talents in Matthew 25 and the minas in Luke 19. This seminar was chaired by Dr Helen Spurling. About the Speaker Lieve Teugels is Associate Professor of Jewish Studies at the PThU in Amsterdam. Before that she had lectured at Utrecht University. From 2000-2002 she was visiting scholar at JTSA in New York. Her research focuses on rabbinic literature, mainly midrash, about which she has many publications. In the last years she has worked a lot on rabbinic parables, as part of a larger project “Parables and the Partings of the Ways.” In this project she published The Meshalim in the Mekhiltot. An Annotated Edition and Translation of the Parables in Mekhilta de Rabbi Ishmael and Mekhilta de Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai (TSAJ 176), Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen, 2019. See lieveteugels.nl.