Fable
1:
Fable — applied in the New Testament to the traditions and speculations, “cunningly devised fables”, of the Jews on religious questions (1 Tim. 1:4; 4:7; 2 Tim. 4:4; Titus 1:14; 2 Pet. 1:16). In such passages the word means anything false and unreal. But the word is used as almost equivalent to parable. Thus we have (1) the fable of Jotham, in which the trees are spoken of as choosing a king (Judg. 9:8–15); and (2) that of the cedars of Lebanon and the thistle as Jehoash’s answer to Amaziah (2 Kings 14:9).
Easton, M. (1996, c1897). Easton's Bible dictionary. Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
2:
FABLE (Gk. muthos, “myth”). A fictitious story employed for the purpose of enforcing some truth or precept. Neander, Life of Christ, thus distinguishes between the parable and fable: “The parable is distinguished from the fable by this, that, in the latter qualities or acts of a higher class of beings may be attributed to a lower, e.g., those of men to brutes; while in the former the lower sphere is kept perfectly distinct from that which it seems to illustrate. The beings and powers thus introduced always follow the law of their nature, but their acts, according to this law, are used to figure those of a higher race.” Of the fable, as thus distinguished from the parable, we have but two examples in the Bible: (1) that of the trees choosing their king, addressed by Jotham to the men of Shechem (Judg. 9:8–15); (2) that of the cedar of Lebanon and the thistle, as the answer of Jehoash to the challenge of Amaziah (2 Kings 14:9).
In the NT fable is used for invention, falsehood, “cleverly devised tales,” or (NIV) “cleverly invented stories” (2 Pet. 1:16). “The fictions of the Jewish theosophists and Gnostics, especially concerning the emanations and orders of the eons, i.e., spirits of the air, are called myths” (1 Tim. 1:4; 4:7, “fables,” KJV; 2 Tim. 4:4; Titus 1:14).
Unger, M. F., Harrison, R. K., Vos, H. F., Barber, C. J., & Unger, M. F. (1988). The new Unger's Bible dictionary. Revision of: Unger's Bible dictionary. 3rd ed. c1966. (Rev. and updated ed.). Chicago: Moody Press.
3:
fable, a short fictitious story that usually uses animals, plants, or inanimate objects as characters to teach a moral lesson. There are two clear examples of this form in the Bible: Jotham’s fable of the thorn tree (Abimelech) that was chosen king instead of more worthy trees (Jerubbaal’s sons; Judg. 9:7-15) and Jehoash’s fable of the thorn bush (Amaziah) that arrogantly challenged the cedar of Lebanon (Jehoash) and was trampled (2 Kings 14:9; 1 Chron. 25:18). In some older English translations (e.g., kjv) ‘fables’ (Gk. mythos) refer to false teachings that were being urged upon the early church (1 Tim. 1:4; 2 Tim. 4:4; 2 Pet. 1:16). Most newer translations use the word ‘myths.’ D.R.B.
Achtemeier, P. J., Harper & Row, P., & Society of Biblical Literature. (1985). Harper's Bible dictionary. Includes index. (1st ed.) (298). San Francisco: Harper & Row.
4:
Fable
A fictitious narrative or statement in which there are marvelous happenings in unusual circumstances, usually involving animals or plants which speak and act like human beings. Originating in an oral folk tradition, the fable seeks both to entertain and teach a moral lesson. The genre is known in the literature of the ancient Near East centuries before it appears in Hebrew literature. There are also pictorial representatives from the 2nd millennium b.c.e. involving animals and plants which suggest that a crucial moment in a presumed fable is being illustrated.
One of the best examples of the fable genre is found in Judg. 9:7–15, a narrative of Abimelech’s efforts to establish a kingship in Israel. The negative attitude toward kingship is illustrated graphically in Jotham’s fable of the thorn or bramble tree (Abimelech) which was chosen king instead of more worthy trees — the olive, fig, and vine (Jerubbaal’s sons). The olive, fig, and vine each offer lengthy reasons in poetic form why they cannot agree to the request of the trees to rule over them, but the bramble accepts conditionally.
Another example of a fable featuring talking plants occurs in 2 Kgs. 14:8–10 (cf. 2 Chr. 25:18). King Jehoash sent a message to King Amaziah of Judah simply mentioning the “thornbush on Lebanon” arrogantly challenging “a cedar on Lebanon, ‘Give your daughter to my son for a wife.’” This arrogance was met with a wild beast from Lebanon trampling down the thornbush.
The talking serpent in the Garden of Eden in Genesis represents a fabulistic element in this primeval tale of temptation, disobedience, and fall from grace. The folktale of Balaam’s wondrous talking donkey (Num. 22:21–35) is a longer and more complete example of the genre told in a humorous and ironic way. Solomon, who spoke “of trees” and “of beasts,” may have also had a reputation as a fabulist (1 Kgs. 4:33 [MT 5:13]).
New translations of the NT translate Gk. mýthos (1 Tim. 1:4; 2 Tim. 4:4; 2 Pet. 1:16) as “myth” instead of the KJV’s “fables.”
William R. Goodman, Jr.
Freedman, D. N., Myers, A. C., & Beck, A. B. (2000). Eerdmans dictionary of the Bible (452). Grand Rapids, Mich.: W.B. Eerdmans.
