Parable of the leaven

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Depiction of the parable in an etching by Jan Luyken

The parable of the leaven is a parable of Jesus that is handed down in the Gospels according to Matthew ( Mt 13.33  EU ) and Luke ( Lk 13.20-21  EU ).

text

The parable in the form handed down by Matthew reads in the Luther translation (revised version from 1984):

"He told them another parable: The kingdom of heaven is like a leaven that a woman took and mixed with half a hundredweight of flour until it was completely leavened."

- Matthew 13:33  LU

The evangelist Luke gives the parable in a similar form:

“And again he said: With what should I compare the kingdom of God? It is like a leaven that a woman took and mixed with half a hundredweight of flour until it was completely leavened. "

- Luke 13: 20-21  LU

interpretation

The parable has largely the same meaning as the parable of the mustard seed that immediately precedes it in both Gospels . In both cases it should be expressed that the kingdom of God begins very small and inconspicuous, but gains more and more space where the gospel is preached and accepted. The very large amount of half a hundredweight of flour (literally 3 Sata = "measure"; corresponds to about 36 liters), which is unusual for a private household, underlines that the kingdom of God, despite its small beginning, is taking on indescribable dimensions.

Even in antiquity, sour bread was mainly eaten. This required sourdough to acidify the bread dough. A small portion of the bread dough was usually left to sour and kept until the next baking. The sourdough was mixed with water and allowed to ferment before baking. This mixture was then mixed with the dough with the addition of more water and salt. A very small amount of sourdough was enough for this.

See also

Web links

Commons : Parable of Sourdough  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. Stuttgart Explanatory Bible , 2nd edition 1992, Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft Stuttgart , ISBN 3-438-01121-2 , pp. 1191 and 1295f
  2. Calwer Bible Lexicon, ed. T. Schlatter, K. Gutbrod and R. Kücklich, 6th edition, 1989, ISBN 3-7668-3028-7 , p. 1178