Reference: Fable
American
An idle, groundless, and worthless story, like the mythological legends of the heathen and the vain traditions of the Jews. These were often not only false and weak, but also pernicious, 1Ti 4:7; Tit 1:14; 2Pe 1:16.
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And profane and old women's fictions reject, and exercise thyself in devotion.
Not holding to Jewish fictions, and commands of men, having turned away from the truth.
Easton
applied in the New Testament to the traditions and speculations, "cunningly devised fables", of the Jews on religious questions (1Ti 1:4; 4:7; 2Ti 4:4; Tit 1:14; 2Pe 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 (Jg 9:8-15); and (2) that of the cedars of Lebanon and the thistle as Jehoash's answer to Amaziah (2Ki 14:9).
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The trees going forth went to anoint over them a king; and they will say to the olive, Reign thou over us. And the olive will say to them, Left I my fatness which by me they will honor God and men, and went I to wander about over the trees? read more. And the trees will say to the fig tree, Come thou, reign over us. And the fig tree will say to them, Left I my sweetness, and my good produce, and went I to wander about over the trees? And the trees will say to the vine, Come thou, and reign over us. And the vine will say to them, Left I my new wine-making, rejoicing God and men, and went I to wander about over the trees? And all the trees will say to the buckthorn. Come thou, reign over us. And the buckthorn will say to the trees, If in truth ye anoint me for king over you, come, take refuge in my shadow: and if not, fire shall come forth from the buckthorn and shall consume the cedars of Lebanon.
And Jehoash king of Israel will send to Amaziah king of Judah, saying, The thorn-bush which was in Lebanon sent to the cedar which was in Lebanon, saying, Thou shalt give thy daughter to my son for a wife: and a beast of the field which was in Lebanon will pass by and will tread down the thorn-bush.
Neither hold to fictions and endless genealogies, which offer questions, rather than the arrangement of God in the faith:
And profane and old women's fictions reject, and exercise thyself in devotion.
Not holding to Jewish fictions, and commands of men, having turned away from the truth.
Fausets
It represents man's relations to his fellow man; but the PARABLE rises higher, it represents the relations between man and God. The parable's framework is drawn from the dealings of men with one another; or if from the natural world, not a grotesque parody of it, but real analogies. The fable rests on what man has in common with the lower creatures; the parable on the fact that man is made in the image of God, and that the natural world reflects outwardly the unseen realities of the spiritual world. The MYTH is distinct from both in being the spontaneous symbolic expression of some religious notion of the apostate natural mind. In the fable qualities of men are attributed to brutes. In the parable the lower sphere is kept distinct from the higher which it illustrates; the lower beings follow the law of their nature, but herein represent the acts of the higher beings; the relations of brutes to each other are not used, as these would be inappropriate to represent man's relation to God.
Two fables occur in Scripture: (1) Jotham's sarcastic fable to the men of Shechem, the trees choosing their king (Jg 9:8-15). (2) Joash's sarcastic answer to Amaziah's challenge, by a fable, the sarcasm being the sharper for the covert form it assumes, namely, the cedar of Lebanon and the thistle (2Ki 14:9). Eze 17:1-10 differs from the fable in not attributing human attributes to lower creatures, and in symbolizing allegorically prophetical truths concerning the world monarchies; it is called chidah, "a riddle," from chaadad "to be sharp", as requiring acumen to solve the continued enigmatical allegory.
The fable of Jotham (1209 B.C.) is the oldest in existence; the Hebrew mind had a special power of perceiving analogies to man in the lower world; this power is a relic of the primeval intuition given to Adam by God who "brought every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air, unto Adam to see what he would call them." Other nations were much later in this style of thought, the earliest prose fables in Greece being those of the legendary Aesop, about 550 B.C. Many of the proverbs are "condensed fables" (Pr 26:11; 30:15,25,28).
The analogies in the lower creatures are to man's lower virtues or defects, his worldly prudence, or his pride, indolence, cunning (compare Mt 10:16). "Fables" mean falsehoods in 1Ti 1:4; 4:7, "old wives' fables"; Tit 1:14, "Jewish fables," the transition stage to gnosticism; 2Pe 1:16, "cunningly devised (Greek text: sophisticated) fables," devised by man's wisdom, not what the Holy Spirit teacheth (1Co 2:13); incipient gnostic legends about the genealogies, origin, and propagation of angels (Col 2:18-23).
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The trees going forth went to anoint over them a king; and they will say to the olive, Reign thou over us. And the olive will say to them, Left I my fatness which by me they will honor God and men, and went I to wander about over the trees? read more. And the trees will say to the fig tree, Come thou, reign over us. And the fig tree will say to them, Left I my sweetness, and my good produce, and went I to wander about over the trees? And the trees will say to the vine, Come thou, and reign over us. And the vine will say to them, Left I my new wine-making, rejoicing God and men, and went I to wander about over the trees? And all the trees will say to the buckthorn. Come thou, reign over us. And the buckthorn will say to the trees, If in truth ye anoint me for king over you, come, take refuge in my shadow: and if not, fire shall come forth from the buckthorn and shall consume the cedars of Lebanon.
And Jehoash king of Israel will send to Amaziah king of Judah, saying, The thorn-bush which was in Lebanon sent to the cedar which was in Lebanon, saying, Thou shalt give thy daughter to my son for a wife: and a beast of the field which was in Lebanon will pass by and will tread down the thorn-bush.
As a dog turned back upon his vomit, the foolish one repeated in his folly.
To the leech two daughters: Give, give. Behold, three shall not satisfied; four shall not say, Wealth:
The ants a people not strong, and they will prepare their bread in the summer;
The lizard will take hold with their hands, and it is in the temples of the king.
And the word of Jehovah will be to me, saying, Son of man, propose an enigma and use a parable to the house of Israel; read more. And say, Thus said the Lord Jehovah: The great eagle great of wings, long of the wing-feather, full of feathers, which to him variegation, came to Lebanon, and he will take the foliage of the cedar. He plucked off the head of the suckers, and he will bring it to the land of Canaan, and he set it in a city of merchants. And he will take from the seed of the land, and he will give it in a field of seed; he took it to many waters, he set it a willow. And it will spring up, and it will be for a spreading vine low of stature, for its branches turning towards him, and its roots will be under him: and it will be for a vine, and it will make branches, and it will send forth foliage. And there will be one great eagle, great of wings, and many feathers: and behold, this vine turned her roots to him, and sent forth her branches to him, to water it from the ascendings of its planting. In a good field by many waters it was planted, to make branches to bear fruit, to be for a great vine. Say, Thus said the Lord Jehovah: Shall it prosper? shall he not pluck up its roots, and cut off its fruit, and dry up all the fresh foliage of its springing up? It shall be dried up, and not in its great strength, and by much people to lift it up from its roots. And behold, being planted, shall it prosper? as the east wind strikes upon it? drying up, shall it not be dried up? it shall be dried up upon the risings of its springing up.
Behold I send you as sheep in the midst of wolves; be ye therefore discerning as serpents, and pure as doves.
Which also we speak, not in words taught of man's wisdom, but in them taught of the Holy Spirit; examining spiritual things by spiritual.
Let none condemn you being willing in humility and religious worship of angels, going into what he has not seen, vainly puffed up by the mind of his flesh, And not having power over the Head, from whom all the body, by all the senses of touch and connections furnished and joined together, increases with the increase of God. read more. If therefore ye died with Christ from the elements of the world, why, as living in the world, do ye dogmatize, (Touch not; neither taste; neither shouldest thou handle; Which are all for corruption in the using;) according to the commands and doctrines of men? Which things truly are having the word of wisdom in worship according to one's will, and humility, and prodigality of the body; not in any honour to satisfying the flesh.
Neither hold to fictions and endless genealogies, which offer questions, rather than the arrangement of God in the faith:
And profane and old women's fictions reject, and exercise thyself in devotion.
Not holding to Jewish fictions, and commands of men, having turned away from the truth.
For not having followed ingeniously contrived fictions, we made known to you the power and presence of our Lord Jesus Christ, but having been spectators of his majesty.
Hastings
For the definition of a fable, as distinct from parable, allegory, etc., see Trench, Parables, p. 2 ff. Its main feature is the introduction of beasts or plants as speaking and reasoning, and its object is moral instruction. As it moves on ground common to man and lower creatures, its teaching can never rise to a high spiritual level. Worldly prudence in some form is its usual note, or it attacks human folly and frailty, sometimes in a spirit of bitter cynicism. Hence it has only a small place in the Bible. See Parable.
1. In OT.
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The trees going forth went to anoint over them a king; and they will say to the olive, Reign thou over us.
And Jehoash king of Israel will send to Amaziah king of Judah, saying, The thorn-bush which was in Lebanon sent to the cedar which was in Lebanon, saying, Thou shalt give thy daughter to my son for a wife: and a beast of the field which was in Lebanon will pass by and will tread down the thorn-bush.
And say, Thus said the Lord Jehovah: The great eagle great of wings, long of the wing-feather, full of feathers, which to him variegation, came to Lebanon, and he will take the foliage of the cedar. He plucked off the head of the suckers, and he will bring it to the land of Canaan, and he set it in a city of merchants. read more. And he will take from the seed of the land, and he will give it in a field of seed; he took it to many waters, he set it a willow. And it will spring up, and it will be for a spreading vine low of stature, for its branches turning towards him, and its roots will be under him: and it will be for a vine, and it will make branches, and it will send forth foliage. And there will be one great eagle, great of wings, and many feathers: and behold, this vine turned her roots to him, and sent forth her branches to him, to water it from the ascendings of its planting. In a good field by many waters it was planted, to make branches to bear fruit, to be for a great vine. Say, Thus said the Lord Jehovah: Shall it prosper? shall he not pluck up its roots, and cut off its fruit, and dry up all the fresh foliage of its springing up? It shall be dried up, and not in its great strength, and by much people to lift it up from its roots. And behold, being planted, shall it prosper? as the east wind strikes upon it? drying up, shall it not be dried up? it shall be dried up upon the risings of its springing up.
And hold from false prophets which come in to you in sheep's dresses, but within they are rapacious wolves.
Neither hold to fictions and endless genealogies, which offer questions, rather than the arrangement of God in the faith:
Hindering to marry, to keep from victuals which God created for participation, with thanks, for the faithful and them knowing the truth.
And profane and old women's fictions reject, and exercise thyself in devotion.
And truly from the truth will they turn away the hearing, and be turned aside to fictions.
Not holding to Jewish fictions, and commands of men, having turned away from the truth. All things truly pure to the pure: and to the defiled and unbelieving nothing pure; but also their mind and consciousness are defiled. read more. They confess to know God; and in works they deny, being abominable, and disobedient, and to every good work not tried.
And foolish questions, and genealogies, and strifes, and conflicts pertaining to the law, avoid; for they are unprofitable and vain.
For not having followed ingeniously contrived fictions, we made known to you the power and presence of our Lord Jesus Christ, but having been spectators of his majesty.
Morish
?????, lit. 'a word, a speech.' The English word is not used in the N.T. in the sense in which it is now often employed, signifying a supposed incident to teach some moral truth; but has the sense rather of myths, false stories (as the Greek word was used by later writers), which in one passage are called "profane and old wives' fables." 1Ti 1:4; 4:7; 2Ti 4:4; Tit 1:14; 2Pe 1:16.
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Neither hold to fictions and endless genealogies, which offer questions, rather than the arrangement of God in the faith:
And profane and old women's fictions reject, and exercise thyself in devotion.
Not holding to Jewish fictions, and commands of men, having turned away from the truth.
Smith
Fable.
A fable is a narrative in which being irrational, and sometimes inanimate, are, for the purpose of moral instruction, feigned to act and speak with human interests and passions. --Encyc. Brit. The fable differs from the parable in that --
1. The parable always relates what actually takes place, and is true to fact, which the fable is not; and
2. The parable teaches the higher heavenly and spiritual truths, but the fable only earthly moralities. Of the fable, as distinguished from the parable [PARABLE], we have but two examples in the Bible:
See Parable
1. That of the trees choosing their king, addressed by Jotham to the men of Shechem,
2. That of the cedar of Lebanon and the thistle, as the answer of Jehoash to the challenge of Amaziah.
The fables of false teachers claiming to belong to the Christian Church, alluded to by writers of the New Testament,
1Ti 1:4; 4:7; Tit 1:14; 2Pe 1:16
do not appear to have had the character of fables, properly so called.
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The trees going forth went to anoint over them a king; and they will say to the olive, Reign thou over us. And the olive will say to them, Left I my fatness which by me they will honor God and men, and went I to wander about over the trees? read more. And the trees will say to the fig tree, Come thou, reign over us. And the fig tree will say to them, Left I my sweetness, and my good produce, and went I to wander about over the trees? And the trees will say to the vine, Come thou, and reign over us. And the vine will say to them, Left I my new wine-making, rejoicing God and men, and went I to wander about over the trees? And all the trees will say to the buckthorn. Come thou, reign over us. And the buckthorn will say to the trees, If in truth ye anoint me for king over you, come, take refuge in my shadow: and if not, fire shall come forth from the buckthorn and shall consume the cedars of Lebanon.
And Jehoash king of Israel will send to Amaziah king of Judah, saying, The thorn-bush which was in Lebanon sent to the cedar which was in Lebanon, saying, Thou shalt give thy daughter to my son for a wife: and a beast of the field which was in Lebanon will pass by and will tread down the thorn-bush.
Neither hold to fictions and endless genealogies, which offer questions, rather than the arrangement of God in the faith:
And profane and old women's fictions reject, and exercise thyself in devotion.
Not holding to Jewish fictions, and commands of men, having turned away from the truth.
Watsons
FABLE, a fiction destitute of truth. St. Paul exhorts Timothy and Titus to shun profane and Jewish fables, 1Ti 4:7; Tit 1:14; as having a tendency to seduce men from the truth. By these fables some understand the reveries of the Gnostics; but the fathers generally, and after them most of the modern commentators, interpret them of the vain traditions of the Jews; especially concerning meats, and other things, to be abstained from as unclean, which our Lord also styles "the doctrines of men," Mt 15:9. This sense of the passages is confirmed by their contexts. In another sense, the word is taken to signify an apologue, or instructive tale, intended to convey truth under the concealment of fiction; as Jotham's fable of the trees, Jg 9:7-15, no doubt by far the oldest fable extant.
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And they will announce to Jotham and he will go and stand upon the head of mount Gerizim, and he will lift up his voice and call, and say to them, Hear to me, ye lords of Shechem, and God will hear to you. The trees going forth went to anoint over them a king; and they will say to the olive, Reign thou over us. read more. And the olive will say to them, Left I my fatness which by me they will honor God and men, and went I to wander about over the trees? And the trees will say to the fig tree, Come thou, reign over us. And the fig tree will say to them, Left I my sweetness, and my good produce, and went I to wander about over the trees? And the trees will say to the vine, Come thou, and reign over us. And the vine will say to them, Left I my new wine-making, rejoicing God and men, and went I to wander about over the trees? And all the trees will say to the buckthorn. Come thou, reign over us. And the buckthorn will say to the trees, If in truth ye anoint me for king over you, come, take refuge in my shadow: and if not, fire shall come forth from the buckthorn and shall consume the cedars of Lebanon.
But they worship me in vain, teaching doctrines the commands of men.
And profane and old women's fictions reject, and exercise thyself in devotion.
Not holding to Jewish fictions, and commands of men, having turned away from the truth.