THE STUDY OF CONCEPTUAL METAPHOR IN THE
PARABLES ABOUT KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IN ST.
MATTHEW’S GOSPEL
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra
in English Letters
By
YOSUA SEPTIAN ELIA
Student Number: 0642140044
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTERS SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
i
THE STUDY OF CONCEPTUAL METAPHOR IN THE
PARABLES ABOUT KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IN ST.
MATTHEW’S GOSPEL
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra
in English Letters
By
YOSUA SEPTIAN ELIA
Student Number: 0642140044
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTERS SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
ii
A Sarjana Sastra Undergraduate Thesis
THE STUDY OF METAPHORICAL LANGUAGE
OF THE PARABLES ABOUT KINGDOM OF HEAVEN
IN ST. MATTHEW’S GOSPEL
By
YOSUA SEPTIAN ELIA
Student Number: 064214044
iii
A Sarjana Sastra Undergraduate Thesis
THE STUDY OF CONCEPTUAL METAPHOR IN THE
PARABLES ABOUT KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IN ST.
MATTHEW’S GOSPEL
By
YOSUA SEPTIAN ELIA
Student Number: 064214044
Defended before the Board of Examiners on March 28, 2011
and Declared Acceptable
iv
STATEMENT OF WORK’S ORIGINALITY
I honestly declared that the thesis which I wrote does not contain the works of parts of the works of other people, except those cited in the quotations and bibliography, as a scientific paper should.
Yogyakarta, April 4th, 2011
The Writer
v
LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN
PUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH UNTUK KEPENTINGAN AKADEMIS
Yang bertandatangan di bawah ini, saya mahasiswa Universitas Sanata Dharma:
Nama : Yosua Septian Elia Nomor Mahasiswa : 064214044
Demi perkembangan ilmu pengetahuan, saya memberikan kepada perpustakaan Universitas Sanata Dharma karya ilmiah saya berjudul:
THE STUDY OF METAPHORICAL LANGUAGE OF THE PARABLES
ABOUT KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IN ST. MATTHEW’S GOSPEL.
Beserta perangkat yang diperlukan (bila ada). Dengan demikian saya memberikan kepada perpustakaan Universitas Sanata Dharma hak untuk menyimpan, mengalihkan dalam bentuk media lain, mengelolanya dalam bentuk pangkalan data, mendistribusikan secara terbatas, dan mempublikasikannya ke internet atau media lain untuk kepentingan akademis tanpa meminta ijin dari saya maupun memberikan royalti kepada saya selama tetap mencantumkan nama saya sebagai penulis.
Demikian pernyataan ini saya buat dengan sebenarnya.
Dibuat di Yogyakarta Pada tanggal: 4 April 2011 Yang menyatakan
vi
MOTTO PAGE
“Life must be understood
backwards in order to live
your future”—Kierkegaard
“They are not told about the graciousness of God
in a parable but are shown a situation of ordinary
life which has been revolutionized by grace”
(McFague, 1975: 71)
vii
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
First, I would like to extend the sweetest gratitude to my advisor, Dr. Francis Borgias Alip, Mpd., M.A. for his advice and supports. Second, I would like to convey my appreciation to my co-advisor, Dra. Bernardine Ria Lestari M.S. Third, I would also thank to my academic advisor, Anna Fitriati S.pd, M.hum., for encouraging me to study hard in each semester. Fourth, I send my best regards to all lecturers in English literature department and to all its staff. Fifth, I would like to give my appreciation to all library staff for their help. Last but not least, I would like to thank all my friends. Thank you very much for the time that we have shared together.
viii
TABLE OF CONTENT
TITLE PAGE……… i
APPROVAL PAGE………. ii
ACCEPTANCE PAGE... iii
STATEMENT OF WORK’S ORIGINALITY... iv
LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH UNTUK KEPENTINGAN AKADEMIS... v
MOTTO PAGE... vi
A. Review of Related Studies………. 7
1. Understanding Israelite metaphor... 7
2. The Parables of Matthew... 8
B. Review of Related Theories……….. 10
1. Theory of Parable………... 10
d. The Structure of Parable... 16
2. Theory on Metaphor... 18
3. Parable as Extended Metaphor... 19
4. Theory of Conceptual Metaphor……… 21
C. Theoretical Framework………. 22
CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY……….. 23
A. Object of the Study………... 23
B. Approach of the Study……….. 23
ix
1. Data Collection... . 25
2. Data Analysis... 25
CHAPTER IV: ANALYSIS……….. 27
A. The Parable about the Kingdom of Heaven………. 27
1. Parable... 27
2. Similitude... 39
B. The Conceptual Metaphors of the Parables………. 44
1. Agriculture Domain... 44
2. Treasure Domain... 47
3. Wedding Domain... 48
4. Animal Domain... 49
5. Business Domain... 50
6. Architecture Domain... 52
7. Pastry Domain... 53
8. Household Domain... 53
9. Family Domain... 54
CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION……… 55
BIBLIOGRAPHY……….... 58
APPENDIX I... 60
x
ABSTRACT
YOSUA SEPTIAN ELIA (2011). The Study of Metaphorical Language of the Parables about Kingdom of Heaven in St. Matthew’s Gospel. Yogyakarta: Department of English Letters, Faculty of Letters, Sanata Dharma University
This thesis dicusses the metaphorical language in the parables about the kingdom of Heaven in St. Matthew’s gospel. The parables found in St. Matthew’s gospel concern about the virtues which Jesus Christ delivered about kingdom of Heaven. In this thesis, there are presents two problem formulations. The first problem is to identify the parables which concern about the Kingdom of Heaven. The second problem is to determine the conceptual metaphors which construct the parables. This thesis used library method in analyzing the data. In order to identify the parables, theory of parable was applied. Meanwhile, theory of conceptual metaphor was used to determine the conceptual metaphors of the parable. The approach used in present thesis was cognitive linguistics.
Through the course of the analysis, seventeen parables related to the Kingdom of Heaven were found. They are the Parable of the Wise and Foolish Builders, the Parable of the Sower, the Parable of the Weeds, the Parable of the Mustard Seed, the Parable of the Yeast, the Parable of Hidden Treasure, the Parable of the Pearl, the Parable of the Net, the Parable of the Household, the Parable of the Lost Sheep, the Parable of the Unmerciful Servant, the Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard, the Parable of the Two Sons, the Parable of the Tenants, the Parable of the Wedding Banquet, the Parable of the Ten Virgins, and the Parable of the Talents. Twelve parables belong to parable, while five parables are classified as similitude.
xi
ABSTRAK
YOSUA SEPTIAN ELIA (2011). The Study of Metaphorical Language of the Parables about Kingdom of Heaven in St. Matthew’s Gospel. Yogyakarta: Jurusan Sastra Inggris, Facultas Sastra, Universitas Sanata Dharma.
Skripsi ini membahas tentang bahasa metaforis yang berada di dalam parabel tentang Kerajaan Surga di dalam injil menurut St. Matius. Parabel-parabel yang ditemukan di Injil menurut St. Matius berpusat pada ajaran yang Yesus Kristus sampaikan mengenai Kerajaan Surga. Di dalam skripsi terdapat dua rumusan permasalahan yang akan dibahas. Masalah pertama adalah menentukan parabel-parabel yang berpusat pada Kerajaan Allah. Masalah kedua adalah menentukan conceptual metaphor (metafor konseptual) membentuk parabel-parabel. Skripsi ini menggunakan metode penelitian perpustakaan dalam menganalisis data. Agar dapat menemukan parabel-parabel, teori mengenai parabel digunakan. Sementara, teori mengenai conceptual metaphor (metafor konseptual) digunakan untuk menentukan metafor-metafor konseptual di dalam parabel-parabel. Pendekatan yang digunakan dalam skripsi ini adalah kognitif linguistik.
Melalui analisis, sebanyak tujuh belas parabel yang berkaitan dengan Kerajaan Surga ditemukan, yaitu the Parable of the Wise and Foolish Builders, the Parable of the Sower, the Parable of the Weeds, the Parable of the Mustard Seed, the Parable of the Yeast, the Parable of Hidden Treasure, the Parable of the Pearl, the Parable of the Net, the Parable of the Household, the Parable of the Lost Sheep, the Parable of the Unmerciful Servant, the Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard, the Parable of the Two Sons, the Parable of the Tenants, the Parable of the Wedding Banquet, the Parable of the Ten Virgins, and the Parable of the Talents. Dua belas parabel digolongkan ke dalam tipe parabel, sementara lima parabel diklasifikasikan ke dalam similtude.
Terdapat sebanyak tujuh belas conceptual metaphor (metafor konseptual) yang membentuk parabel. Lima parabel bersumber dari dunia pertanian, yaitu the Parable of the Tenants, the Parable of the Weeds, the Parable of the Mustard Seed, the Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard, dan the Parable of theSower. Domain pernikahaan digunakan pada dua parabel, yaitu the Parable of the Wedding Banquet dan the Parable of the Ten Virgins. Domain harta digunakan juga untuk membentuk dua parabel, yaitu the Parable of the Pearl dan the Parable of Hidden Treasure. Parabel-parabel yang berasal dari dunia bisnis adalah the Parable of the Unmerciful Servant dan the Parable of the Talents
1
A.Background of the Study
The Holy Bible has been an inspiration for many people since the first century. It has drawn attention to many people from various backgrounds. It can be studied from many different angles. Those who are interested in history can study the course of historical progresses of the Jewish people in it. Meanwhile, archaeologists can also use it as reference when they want to excavate a new site in the Middle-East area, although it has been criticized for its objectivy. Linguists also can make use of it, if they want to examine the language in the Holy Bible. This present thesis concerns the language use in the Holy Bible. Specifically, the focus of the study is in the metaphorical language in the parables about the Kingdom of Heaven in St. Matthew’s Gospel.
The Second Testament is initiated by the birth of Jesus. In fact, the whole contents of the Second Testament refer to Jesus. He is the heart of Christianity. He is the word of God that is manifested in this world. Travelling across the Middle-East areas, he preached about the kingdom of Heaven. This is the central message—or the good news—that he wanted to share to those who were interested in salvation. Every time he delivered his teachings, he never expressed it in a clear crystal way. He always left his audience enigmas because he spoke metaphorically in the form of short stories widely known as parable. In the course of this study, it will be found later that every time he mentioned about kingdom of Heaven, Jesus always used a parable in explaining about it. This manner of delivering teaching or wisdom is commonly done in Jewish tradition (Boucher, 1981: 11).
Speaking about perspective, this study will examine the metaphorical language in the perspective of cognitive linguistics. In this perspective, metaphor is not regarded as the property of people with eloquence in language use—such as poet, or in the Bible, the prophets. Lay people often use metaphorical language, although they seldom realize it (Lakoff and Johnson, 1980: 3). The misunderstanding is furthered by the common belief that it is the way of expressing ideas by means of language. In fact, a metaphor is more than just that simple language expression, because metaphor is also used to conceive a concept in terms of another concept (Ungerer and Schmid, 1996: 118). In the words of George Lakoff and Mark Johson, the proponents of cognitive linguistics,
The essence of metaphor is understanding and experiencing one kind of thing in terms of another (Lakoff and Johnson, 1980: 5).
So far, the introduction revolves around metaphor, parables, and kingdom of Heaven. These aspects will be the focuses of this study. This thesis will examine the metaphorical language used in the parables about the Kingdom of Heaven in the Gospel according St. Matthew.
The reason of choosing this topic is that because there is no previous work that analyzes the conceptual metaphor in the Gospel.
B.Problem Formulation
1. What are the parables about kingdom of Heaven in St. Matthew’s Gospel?
2. What are the conceptual metaphors in the parables?
C.Objectives of the Study
The first objective of this study is to collect the parables which concern about the kingdom of Heaven. This process of selection will not randomly assigned. It will make use of the theory on metaphor as the guideline. The second objective attempts to find the conceptual metaphors that serve as the bedrocks of the metaphors in those parables.
D.Definition of Terms
There are some terms that are important to be reviewed shortly in this section in order to avoid misunderstanding. Those terms are:
1. Metaphor: In Exploring Poetry: Writing and Thinking about Poetry, Frank Madden defines metaphor as
A more direct and more complete comparison than a simile. A metaphor does not announce itself; it states that something is something else (my love is a red rose) or implies it (my love has red petals and sharp thorns) (Madden, 2002: 65).
2. Parable: There are many forms of parable. It is a kind of narrative popularly used by rhetoricians or wise people. According to Madeleine L. Boucher, parables are a tradition which had already spread accross Mediterranian world long before Jesus began his ministry (Boucher, 1981: 11). In modern time, the term parable is commonly used to refer to stories in the gospel.
3. Gospel: The term is derived from Greek word, evanggelion. In Pengantar Injil Sinoptik, Suharyo makes the term more specific. He says that in the second century the word gospel started to be used to denote the writings concerning the life and ministry of Jesus Christ (Suharyo, 1989: 15). The Gospel is divided into four books. Each is named after the four of Jesus’ disciples. They are St. Matthew, St. Mark, St. Luke, and St. John.
4. Cognitive Linguistics: According to Friedrich Ungerer and Hans-Joerg Schmid, in their book An Introduction to Cognitive Linguistics, cognitive linguistics is
An approach to language that is based on our experience of the world and the way we perceive and conceptualize it (Ungerer and Schmid, 1996: x).
7
A.Review of Related Studies
To sustain the foundation of the analysis, two previous related studies are presented in this chapter. There are two studies reviewed, e.g. Marc Zvi Brettler’s
God is King: Understanding Israelite Metaphor and John R. Donahue’s The Gospel in Parable: Metaphor, Narrative, and Theology in the Synoptic Gospels.
1. Understanding Israelite Metaphor
The present thesis manages to provide studies on Israelite metaphorical language in order to have insight from these previous studies. One of them is done by Marc Zvi Bretller. In his book, God is King: Understanding Israelite Metaphor, Brettler traces the source of metaphorical concept GOD IS KING. The primary result of this study is the description of what calling GOD IS KING meant in ancient Israel. His findings suggest that the metaphorical concept God is King is essential for the Isrealite culture. Tracing back to the First Testament, Brettler examines the royal appealations that is used to address God. Among of them are king and master. He furthers his study into royal qualities. When discussing about this, he comments that
Despite the fact that these people long to have such an ideal king, there are almost none who ever exist. Indeed, the most exalted King David closely resembles to this idealization. He continues his study by examining the domain of royal trappings. In this part, he explores the clothing as well as ornaments usually used by the kings in order to distinguish them from the other Israeli people. At first, he mentions the crown as the most distinctive feature of a king. He also mentions other ornaments which are tightly close to the kingship, such as royal bracelets, royal garments, royal platform, scepter, and throne. In the following chapter, he discusses about the role of the king in his sovereignty. His exploration in this chapter focuses on the relation between the king and people within his kingdom. The last part of his study is to examine the ritual process of assuming the throne.
.Brettler’s study provides valuable source for this study, since it has the same focus as this thesis. GOD IS KING metaphor has relation with the topic of discussion of this study, which emphasizes on the metaphorical language in describing the Kingdom of Heaven.
2. The Parables of Matthew
John R. Donahue presents the study of parables in St. Matthew’s Gospel in his book, The Gospel in Parable: Metaphor, Narrative, and Theology in the Synoptic Gospels. Through this book, he explores the aspects of parables in the four Gospels. One of the Gospels analyzed is, of course, St. Matthew’s.
In discussing St. Matthew’s Gospel, Donahue starts his study by making comparison between parables in St. Matthew’s Gospel and the parables in the three other Gospels. Then, he underlines the most distinctive characteristics of this Gospel. Here, he mentions that, compared to St. Mark’s, St. Matthew’s Gospel has more parables. He continues that the style of the Gospel is indicated by the stark contrasts and reversals (Donahue, 1988: 63). Speaking about the important aspect of this Gospel, once again compared to St. Mark’s Gospel, Donahue comments that
While Mark’s discourse serves his Christology and the summons to discipleship, Matthew stresses more the ethics and the relation of ethics to eschatology (Donahue, 1988: 64).
In other words, St. Matthew’s Gospel concerns about the ethical matters which are imposed to those who follow Jesus’ footstep in order to reach salvation. This is the focal point of this Gospel.
Since the present thesis focuses on the parables in St. Matthew’s Gospel, it will be appropriate to put Donahue’s work as one of references in the related previous studies. To sum up, his study provides characteristics of parables in St. Matthew’s Gospel, the focal points of this Gospel, and also the method of parable examination. These aspects are useful for the prospect of this present study.
B.Review of Related Theories
To conduct the analysis, some related theories are needed so that the analysis will not be shaky. Theories that are gathered relate to the focus of this study. Those theories include the theory of parable and the theory of conceptual metaphor. Each theory presented here has relation to the questions formulated for this study.
1. Theory of Parable
a. The Concept of Parable
7). For this occassion, many other theorists agree with Scott. John Dominic Crossan, in In Parables: The Challange of Historical Jesus, also says that
The Hebrew term mashal and its septugiant translation parabole refer to a very broad field of language and the use of this latter term in the New Testament is just as general (Crossan, 1973: 7)
It has been said before that mashal includes variety of literary genre. The term covers literary forms, such as a proverbial saying, a byword, a prophetic figurative oracle, a song of derision, a didactic poem, and a similitude (Gowler, 2000: 42-43). This evidence suggests that the term parable has not been the same as it is today. Madeleine L. Boucher suggests
The term parable is not, and indeed should not be, used in the sam senses in scholarly discussion today as it was in antiquity (Boucher, 1981: 13).
Boucher comments further that the term parable as it is comprehended this day refers to any of the Gospel stories which is more or less extended (Boucher, 1981: 14).
From above explanations, it can be concluded that mashal, which covers the broad area of literary form, is the original term for parable. This term covers literary form, such as proverbial saying as well as parable as it is understood this days. Using Boucher’s statement about the meaning of parable, this study is in line with modern comprehension of parable, which refers to stories in the Gospel.
b. Elements of Parable
In her book, Madeleine L. Boucher defines elements of parables. The first criterion she mentions is that parable is a narrative which has various forms. Some stories are concise, while the other might be developed into a long story (Boucher, 1981: 15). Usually these narratives derive their materials from many things which relate well with people in daily life. According to Boucher, the common sources of these narratives are
Taken from real life, from nature or the human scene. They are simple and realistic stories, drawn from the everyday life of the household, the kitchen, farming and fishing, the courtroom, temple worship (Boucher: 1981, 15). So far, it has been cited from Boucher’s work that a parable is narrative which draws its story from real life—either by nature or human scene. However, she mentions that a parable is more than just a story. It is also used, according to Boucher, as the tool to transfer values (Boucher, 1981: 15).
Serving as the tool for transferring value, parable is often difficult to understand. Indeed, to capture the meaning of the stories is not easy, because some points of the stories are stated directly, some are not obvious (Boucher, 1981: 15). This is because a parable has two layers of meaning. The first meaning is its literal meaning, while the second is figurative meaning. Therefore, when reading a parable is not enough to read its literal meaning. To comprehend the intended meaning of the stories, one needs to read between the lines.
Are far more important. It is to bring about a change of mind, or a better change of heart, in the hearer, perhaps to move the hearer to conversion (Boucher, 1981: 16).
In Suharyo’s words, the sole purpose of a parable is to invite the audience to contemplate their lives or their deeds so that they can judge it by themselves and lead to a new way of life (Suharyo, 1989: 145).
From these remarks, it can be concluded that the purpose of a parable is to persuade the audience to rebuild their own lives by thinking deep in thought about the story, which is drawn from daily lives, and making their judgment of their lives to it in the hope for a better way of life.
c. Types of Parable
So far, the discussion has revealed some aspects of a parable based on theories related to it presented by some experts. When discussing a parable, there is a need to comprehend types of parables. Boucher writes down three basic types of parable (Boucher, 1981: 17). According to her, the types of parables are divided based on its structures. She mentions that those three types are similitude, parable, and exemplary story.
i. Similitude
an open comparison between a concept with other concept. The difference is that similitude refers to the type of parable in the Gospel.
The form of similitude is concise. Typically, it narrates a simple story drawn from events recurrent in the real life. In Boucher’s definition, similitude is
“The most concise type of parable. It briefly narrates a typical recurrent event from real life. It tells a story which everyone would recognize as a familiar experience” (Boucher, 1981: 17).
ii. Parable
The second type of parable is called parable. It seems confusing to name this type of parable with the same name. Boucher comments that this is because there is not yet an exact term for this type of parable. What she suggests is that the name of parable refers to parable which denotes to mashal and parable which belongs to this type (Boucher, 1981: 17). Despite this, the term parable will be used to refer to the second type of the parable.
A parable has longer form than similitude. Since it has more developed form, this type of parable is more ornamented with details. Boucher comments that
(NIV, verse 1). This is to be the unique introductory formula for this type of parable—parable. however, in St. Matthew’s Gospel, the beginning of the parable is similiar with similitude such as “Kingdom of Heaven is like this”, or “Kingdom of Heaven migh be compared to”.
iii. Exemplary Story
The third type of parable is called an exemplary story. Based on Boucher’s theory, there is a distinction between similitude as well as parable and exemplary story. She comments that similitude and parable present an implied comparison between two very different things (e.g. the reign of God is compared to seed), while exemplary story makes an example of a specific case in order to illustrate a general principle. Simply to say, in the similitude and parable, the teo concepts compared are not similar, while in exemplary story the concepts are similar (Boucher, 1981: 20).
details. The last type of parable is an exemplary story. This type of parable shares some features with parable. It is resemblant to a parable in the length of the content and its once-upon-a-time introduction. The only distinctive feature of it is that exemplary story derives its material from examples in the real life. It presents actual facts, or examples, when suggesting ideas, or concepts.
d. Structure of Parable
The last aspect which is important in examining parable is its structure. Among theorists who discuss about the structure of parable is Rudolf Bultmann. His major work, entitled The History of the Synoptic Tradition, dissect the body of the parable. His theory of parable’s structure is well documented in Boucher’s The Parable (Boucher, 1981: 23-24):
First of all, according to Bultmann, the story in a parable is narrated in one set of events. It means that the story in a parable is complete in a single narrative. There is no continuation of the narrative to tell the other parts of story.
unessential character is never mentioned in the parable. The mother of the two sons (Matthew 21: 28-30) does not exist, because it doesn not have any relevance with the topic of the parable.
Third, the personality of the characters is often characterized by what they do, or what the other characters say about them. The case in the parable of the ten Maidens (Matthew 25: 1-13) reveals the difference of personality of the maidens by what they do.
Fourth, just like folk stories, a parable also utilizes repetition. Such a literary device is used to remember the important aspect of the story. Twice do the prodigal son confesses “Father, I have sinned against Heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son” (NIV, verses 19 and 21). The parable of the Unmerciful Servant has also the form of repetition. However, the case is different since it is not the unmerciful servant who repeat the utterance “Be patient with me. I will pay back everything” (NIV, verses 26 and 29), but his contemporary. Still, there is a repetition. Only the speaker is different.
The last aspect of the structure of a parable is that it often employs a contrastive concept. Most of the contrastive concepts in the parables, of St. Matthew’s especially, involve only two concepts. The parable of the Sower, (Matthew 13:3-8), is an exception, because it contains four contrastive units. The concepts being contrasted represent the important points of the parable.
the Greek translation of mashal. Mashal covers many literary forms, such as a proverbial saying, a byword, or even a parable in the Gospel. The root of the word means “to represent” or “to be like” (Gowler, 2000: 42-43). Therefore, the term parable is not the same as it is understood today. Parable in modern era refers to stories in the Gospels (Boucher, 1981: 14).
The second aspect is that a parable is narrative drawn from daily situations which is supposed as the means of transffering value and persuades the audiences to reverse the course of life.
The third aspect of this theory reveals three types of parable. They are a similitude, a parable, and an exemplary story. A similitude has a concise form and typically begun with “Kingdom of Heaven is like”. A parable has longer form and it is like folk story which has opening, such as “A farmer went out to sow”. The last type is called exemplary story. This type is almost parallel with a parable.
2. Theory on Metaphor
Since the focus of this study is on conceptual metaphor, there is a need to present theory on relation between on metaphor in general before plumbing the conceptual metaphor.
from the idea of the main purpose of those figurative languages, i.e. to compare. The difference is on the way each figurative language works.
The way metaphor works is that it compares two concepts by using schematic form A is B. In this schema, A becomes B. It works its way by associating the shared characteristics of two concepts, but not based on physical resemblance. Using metaphor Achilles is a lion, Vyvyan Evans and Melanie Green postulate that
The resemblance is not physical: Achilles does not actually look like a lion. Instead, due to cultural knowledge which holds that lions are courageous, by describing Achilles as a lion we associate him with the lion's qualities and ferocity (Evans and Green, 2006: 293).
3. Parable as Extended Metaphor
The idea of parable as metaphor was started by Robert W. Funk’s
Language, Hermeneutic, and Word of God. Norman Perrin compiles Funk’s book in his own book Entitled Jesus and the Language of the Kingdom (1976). There are two important points that Funk discusses about parable as metaphor. The first about distinction between simile and metaphor, and the second is function of metaphor in parable.
Funk, in Perrin’s Jesus and the Language of the Kingdom, says that the difference between simile and metaphor is not merely a matter of grammar, but it involves the essential function of them. Perrin comprehends the distinction of these two concepts as
and induces a vision of that which cannot be conveyed by prosaic and discursive speech” (Perrin, 1976: 135)
He adds that another distinctive element that simile and metaphor share is that simile makes illustration in comparing two concepts, while metaphor produces new meaning in the story—in Funk’s words, the creative of meaning. It is the creative function of metaphor which funk stresses (Perrin, 1976: 136).
In parable, the story of daily lives is presented metaphorically with a brand new meaning. This provides the audience to have a new perspective on everything they usually take for granted. It is the power of metaphor which transcends everydayness into sublime contemplation. In simple words, metaphor blends the real situation and the situation which is contained in the story assuming the audience to think again about their daily lives. Therefore, a parable is not merely a simile A is like/as B anymore, but it becomes A is B. To conclude this part, it is not a matter of structure of simile or metaphor which is crucial, but it is the capability of parable in presenting metaphor in a form of narrative. In Sallie McFague’s words
“But while the grammar may suggest simile—an image that illustrates what we already know—it is obvious that we do have a genuine metaphor here, not only because we do not “already know” what the Kingdom of Heaven is but also because the image put forth—the ensuing story—is not discrete comparison but a whole nexus of images, a total situation, an extended metaphor” (McFague, 1975: 68).
4. Theory of Conceptual Metaphor
of conceptualization is essential in understanding a metaphor in the cognitive linguistics perspective.
There are many experts who have explained theory of conceptual metaphor. The most concise theory of it is presented by Zoltan Kovecses in his book
Metaphor: A Practical Introduction (2002). A conceptual metaphor is the heart of cognitive linguistics, because in this field a metaphor is regarded as “understanding one conceptual domain in terms of the other conceptual domain” (Kovecses, 2002: 3). This process interaction between two domain is known as mapping. This process of interaction is unidirectional. It means the mapping process always starts from the source domain to target domain.
From that comprehension, it can be figured out that conceptual metaphor maps two different domains. One of the domain is used to understand the other domain. These two domains are known as the source domain and the target domain. The source domain is the concept, or terminology, which is used to conceptualize target domain. An example given by Lakoff and Johnson, “time is money” indicates two different domain. In this conceptual metaphor, time acts as the target domain while money is the source domain. The source domain usually derives from the concrete world, while the target domain is asbtract. In Kovecses’ words,
Therefore, a conceptual metaphor always starts with the concrete concepts in order to shed a light to the more intangible concepts.
This theory is relevant to this study, since it will serve as the foundation of the metaphorical basis of metaphors.
C.Theoretical Framework
The theories mentioned above are added in this section with definite purposes. The theory of parables will be used in answering the first question. This theory provides definition, elements, and structure of the parables. Therefore, there should not be a random selection process in identifying the parables. The second and third theory are used to clarify the parable as extended metaphor.
23
A.Object of the Study
The data taken in this study have been in the form of sentences or phrases. The source of the data is from Holy Bible New Internatiol Version, from which the parables in St. Matthew’s Gospel are taken.
Holy Bible New International Version is published by Zondervan Publishing House in 1983. This newest version of the Bible is a completely new translation of it done supervised by scholars. The original source of the Bible is taken from various texts in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. This new translation version focuses at the accuracy and the fidelity to the original texts.
B.Approach of the Study
The basis of cognitive linguistics is that language reflects the pattern of thought (Evans and Green, 2006: 5). It assumes that the mind acts as mediator to interact with the world by storing many information about it (Geeraerts and Cuyckens, 2007: 5). Therefore, the focal point of cognitive linguistics lies on the relation between mind and the world as articulated in language use. Geerarts and Cuyckens states that
Cognitive Linguistics is interested in our knowledge of the world and studies the question how natural language contributes to it (Geeraerts and Cuyckens, 2007: 6).
It has been stated before that metaphor is the most studied subject in cognitive linguistics. Indeed, metaphor is vastly studied in this field. The landmark of metaphorical study begins with the work of George Lakoff and Mark Johnson in their book entitled Metaphor We Live By (1980).
Through their work, they postulate that it is erroneous to believe that metaphor is not an ordinary language (Lakoff and Johnson, 1980: 3). It is also false to believe that metaphor is given only to talented people. The last but not the least, it is somewhat incorrect to say metaphor is simply a matter of language expression.
Metaphors are not just a way of expressing ideas by means of language, but a way of thinking about something (Ungerer and Schmid, 1996: 118).
It is an instrument that they use to conceptualize a concept in terms of another concept. This is known as conceptual metaphor.
This approach is related to this present study, because metaphor in cognitive linguistics is seen as the best example of aspects of human cognition featured in language usage (Grady, 2007: 188). Some points which can be concluded from this perspective in metaphor is that metaphor is a not just a matter of words, but it is a property of a concept which is used to understand the other more vague concepts through logical reasoning even by lay people (Kovecses, 2002: viii).
C. Method of the Study
The present study has employed a library method. There have been several steps taken in conducting the analysis.
1. Data Collection
The first step taken was conducting close-reading on the parables in St. Matthew’s Gospel. After the close-reading process, the parables were then sorted out into a list. The next step taken was to copy the sorted parables, so that it would make the analysis more easily.
2. Data Analysis
was done in accordance with the theory of parable. This theory helped the selection process in the way it provided insights about the elements as well as the structure of parable.
27
This chapter presents the examination of the two questions stated in the beginning chapter. Since there are two problems, this chapter will be divided into two sections. The first part will attempt to identify the parables related to Kingdom of Heaven. The second part will examine the conceptual metaphors which underlie in the parable. The findings in each section of this chapter will be written based on its qualifications.
A. The Parable about the Kingdom of Heaven
1. Parable
a. The Parable of the Wise and Foolish Builder (Matthew 7: 24-27)
It has been stated previously that parable has shared typical opening just like similitude, i.e. the usage of expressions “like” or “as”. This parable introduces the story with such opening formula:
Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock(NIV, verse 24)
The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash. (NIV, verses 25 and 27).
In the story, this sentence is repeated twice in order to give the idea of natural phenomenon so that the audience will make distinction of which builder is more prepared in building a house. The form of repetition, based on Bultmann’s theory, is essential in parable.
This parable also employs the contrastive unit. The entities being contrasted in this parable are the two builders. Specifically, it is the personality of the two builders which is contrasted. The first builder constructs his house with a plan, while the second builder constructs the house without any plans. This presence of contrastive method proves to be important element in the parable. Overall, the structure of the parable is developed. This parable belongs to the second type of parable, i.e. parable.
b. The Parable of the Sower (Matthew 13: 3-8)
The second parable is told in front of the assembly of Jesus’ followers. This is revealed by the situation given by the writer of the Gospel. This narrative suits to be called parable for several considerations. First of all, it is a story about activity which occurs in daily life.
When Jesus narrated this parable, he did not use the typical beginning as it is found in the first parable. Instead, he begins by directly mentioning the character’s activity:
Looking at this beginning, it is proper to classify this parable into the parable. Moreover, it has more details despite the minimum amount of character.
This parable is economical in terms of the amount of the character. Unlike the first parable, this narrative includes only a single character. His existence in the story as the sole character is not without purpose, because later it will be found out that his single existence in there is to represent a concept. However, it is not this farmer that is to be the central point of the parable. It is the seed that is focal in the story. This can be known by the repetition of the phrases “some fell” (NIV, verses 4 and 5) and “other seed fell” (NIV, verses 7 and 8). According to Bultmann, the form of repetition is utilizied to emphasize the important aspect of the story (Boucher, 1981: 24).
This character sows seed in four different soils. Those soils can be regarded as contrastive units, since every seed sown in each soil comes with different outcome. Last of all, this parable is narrated in one single event.
c. The Parable of the Weeds (Matthew 13: 24-30)
This parable is narrated in sequence with the previous parable. this parable is introduced with typical beginnning, but this time it mentions two concepts which are compared
The Kingdom of Heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field (NIV, verse 24).
parable, the Kingdom of Heaven is parallel to the activity of a farmer. This is activity, like the second parable, which can be seen in daily occurence.
The structure of this parable is developed making possible to give rich details. Therefore, it might be proper to include this parable to parable. There might be objection about the characters. It is stated before that the amount of characters in parable is no more than three. In fact, this parable has four characters: the farmer, the enemy, the servants, and the harvesters. It might be simple to say it as an exception. However, it might be correct to regard servants and harvesters as one single unit, since they are subjects to the farmer who acts as the landowner. Therefore, to put it into comprehension, the parable consists of three characters: the landlord, the enemy of the landlord, and workers who work for the landlord.
There is a form of contrastive unit in this parable: the weeds and the wheat. The consideration of this assumption is that the two concepts will be treated differently when the harvest comes.
d. The Parable of the Net (Matthew 13: 47-48)
This narrative might generate the story from the parable of the Weeds. Only does this parable simplify its form and modify its story. Unlike the parable of the Weeds, it does not have conversations in it. However, this parable can be said to be moderately developed. The introductory fomula of this parable is typical.
Looking at these three points, it can be concluded that this parable belongs to parable.
Structurally, there is only one character involved in the story, i.e. fishermen. It is true that the fishermen are considered to be plural. However, Bultmann has stated before that these people should be treated as one single unit, since they share one characteristic, i.e., fisherman. The presence of the net is considered to be eminent. It is indicated by the fish which are caught by it. These fish are opposed to each other. From this contrastive unit, which is the important device of a narrative, it is true that it is really important to this parable.
e. The Parable of the Lost Sheep (Matthew 18: 12-13)
This parable is told directly after the discourse about who is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven. The corpus of this parable is moderately developed. The introductory formula of this parable is unique, because it starts with a question
What do you think? If a man own a hundred sheep (NIV, verse 12)
Its unusual beginning makes it clear that this parable can be classified into parable. From its opening, there is no device of comparison, just like the parable of the Sower (Matthew 13: 3-8).
decision is considered to be strong message from this parable, even though if there is no further explanation by Jesus himself in verse 14.
f. The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant (Matthew 18: 23-34)
This parable is more developed, making it possible to provide details, such as conversations. This narrative derives its story from the court life. The typical beginning occurs again in this parable.
Therefore, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a king who want to settle accounts with his servants(NIV, verse 23).
Specifically, this example suggests that Kingdom of Heaven is compared to a king’s relationship with one of his servants. There are two characters involved in the story. They are the king and the servants. This parable utilizes both repetitive and contrastive methods. The repetition occurs first in verse 26
The servant fell on his knees before him. ’Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything’ (NIV, verse 26).
and then in verse 29.
His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back’ (NIV, verse 29).
It is true that the structure and the speaker of the repetition are different, but still it has one meaning—begging to be patient until the debt is settled. This is the first focal point of this parable.
can be traced by his decision to forgive his indebted servant. However, while this forgiven servant meets his contemporary who has debt to himself, this servant shows no mercy for his fellow servant. This indicates an opposing characteristic to the King’s.
To sum up the analysis, there are two importan aspects of this parable. The first aspect is emphasized in the act of begging of forgiveness as it is repeated twice in verse 26 and 29. The second aspect of this parable is the different characteristics of the two characters in responding to the first aspect as it is shown in the king’s and the servant’s responses.
g. The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard (Matthew 20: 1-15)
This narrative has developed corpus. It presents conversations between the landowner and his hired men. Here, the landowner serves as the source domain of comparison which is used to map the target domain, i.e. Kingdom of Heaven. The source domain is developed into story which is related to the domain of agriculture. The introductory formula of the parable is typical
For the Kingdom of Heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire men to work in his vineyard(NIV, verse 1).
Instrinsically, this parable has two main characters. They are the landowner and hired men. There is repetitive method found in the parable as shown in verse 4 :
You also go and work in my vineyard (NIV, verse 7).
It is noticed that the concept a denarius—a validated money at that time— also occurs repetitively in this parable as it is stated in verse 2 “He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard” (NIV), verse 9, “The workers who hired about the eleventh hour came and each recieved a denarius” (NIV), verse 10 “But each of them also received a denarius”, and verse 13 “Friend, I am not being unfair to you. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius?” (NIV).
The workers hired in different time might indicate the presence of contrastive method. There are four group of people who has been hired in different time. The first is in the first hour, the second is in the third hour, the third is in the sixth hour, and the last is in the eleventh hour. Therefore, it should be right to regard these people are different in terms of the time.
Considering the corpus of the parable as well as its internal structure, it might be appropriate to regard this parable as a parable.
h. The Parable of the Two Sons (Matthew 21: 28-30)
This parable is concise in form. However, it is dynamic since it contains conversations in it. This parable opens with question imposed by Jesus
This opening is the uniqeness of a parable. Such an opening is also found in the parable of the Sower and of the Lost Sheep. Its story derives from domestic family live.
This parable involves three characters, i.e. the father and the two sons. There are repetitive and contrastive methods. The repetitive method is shown in the father’s inquiry for his sons to work in the vineyard.
Son, go and work today in the vineyard (NIV, 21).
The second occurance of his inquiry is not stated directly, since it takes indirect form. Still, it can be regarded as the repetition of the inquiry.
The contrastive method in this parable is revealed in the sons’ responses to the father’s inquiry. The first son answers ‘no’, while the second son replies ‘yes’. Despite refusing it at first, the first son finally does what his father wishes. On the contrary, the second does not do that.
From the explanation above, the father’s inquiry and the sons’ responses to it must be considered to be important aspects for this parable. To sum up the discussion, it can be said that this parable is a parable.
i. The Parable of the Tenants (Matthew 21: 33-39)
Listen to another parable: There was a landowner who planted a vineyard (NIV, verse 33).
The corpus of the parable is much more detailed compared to the Two Sons. The opening of the story foreshadows the domain from which this story derives— agriculture.
The internal stucuture of the parable consists of three characters and a repetitive method. Actually, there are four characters in this parable. However, since the tenants and the servants work for the landowner, it must be regarded as one unit. The other characater is the son of the landowner. The repetitive method is implemented in the action taken by the tenants to the landowner’s servants.
The tenants seized his servants; they beat one, killed another, and stoned a third. Then he sent other servants to them, more than the first time, and the tenants treated them the same way (NIV, verse 35-36).
Not only do they kill the servants, they also kill the landowner’s son
So they took him out of the vineyard and killed him (NIV, 39).
What this characters do in response to the landowner’s envoys is characterized themselves in the story. This repetitive action of the tenants does emphasize the central attention in the story. From the examination of this parable, it might be righ to classify this parable as a parable.
j. The Parable of the Wedding Banquet (Matthew 22: 1-13)
The Kingdom of Heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son (NIV, verse 1).
The story derives its material from the court life which celebrates the wedding of the king’s son. The form of the parable is developed making it possible to provide details and conversations.
This narrative consists of three characters. They are the king, the servants, and people in the street. The people in the street shared a common characteristic, i.e. people outside the court. This narrative employs both repetition and contrast. The repetitive method occurs when the king sends his servants to invite people on the street to come to wedding banquet. The first occurance happens in verse 3. This invitation is rejected by the people. The second occurence is repeated in verse 4. The response to the second invitation is vary, more specific and extreme.
But they paid no attention and went off—one to his field, another to his business. The rest seized his servants, mistreated them and killed them (NIV, verses 5-7).
k. The Parable of the Ten Virgins (Matthew 25: 1-13)
This parable takes its source material from a weeding occasion. Its typical beginning compares Kingdom of Heaven with the ten virgins who is prepared to wait for the bridegroom. The introductory formula of this parable is relatively new, because it uses the future tense
At that time the Kingdom of Heaven will be like ten virgins.. (NIV, verse 1).
Its corpus is developed into conversations, so that it is dynamic. There is contrastive method in this narrative. This method is represented in the opposite characteristic of the virgins. Five of the virgins are considered wise because they prepare themselves by providing more oil for their lamps while waiting for the bridegroom. On the contrary, the other five women are foolish, because they do not prepare to bring the additional oil for their lamps. When the bridegroom finally appears, the foolish virgins are away to buy the oil. This point are focal to this parable.
Examining the corpus and elements of the parable, it can be concluded that this parable belongs to parable.
l. The Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25: 14-30)
provides details and conversations in it. The introductory formula is again similar to the Ten Virgins.
This narrative involves two characters, i.e. the master and the servants. The recurrent concept in this narrative, which indicates its important presence, i.e. talent. There occurs also a repetitive statements as
’Master’, he said, ‘you entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five more.’ His master replied. ‘well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with few things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’ (NIV, verses 20-21).
This statements occurs again in verses 22-23. Despite the different amount of talents given, it still has the same concept, i.e. money.
The last servant immediately indicates the contrast with the previous two servants. His action early in the story foreshadow his characteristic. The master finally sends remark about him as being, “wicked, lazy servant” (NIV,verse 26). Therefore, different talents and characteristics between the first two servants and the third servant are considered to be essential concept to this parable. To sum up, the form and the internal structure of the parable indicates that this is parable.
2. Similitude
a. The Parable of the Household (Matthew 13: 52)
compared of this parable refers to the teachers of the law. These people are then compared to the owner of a house who has both old and new furniture. By examining its form, this parable belongs to similitude.
Therefore every teacher of the law who has been instructed about the Kingdom of Heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old (NIV, verse 52).
Structurally, this parable has only one character. Although this character is the point of comparison, but it is not the focal of the parable. It is the furniture which is important to this parable, since this concept has two different characteristics—the new and the old furniture—which indicate the contrast.
b. The Parable of the Mustard Seed (Matthew 13: 31-32)
The Mustard Seed is narrated in sequence with parable of the Weeds. This is to be the first parable which has a concise form. Examining the content of the parable, there are not much details compared to the previous three parables. This parable consists only of seven lines
The parable is introduced by
The Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field (NIV, verse 31).
There is one character in the story, namely the farmer. This farmer sows seed in his field. Unlike the previous seed in the previous three parables, this parable is more specific from the beginning about the genus of the seed, e.g. mustard seed. The specificness of the seed is considered to be important. This assumption will be strengthened by the form of contrastive unit related to the seed in verse 32
Though it is the smallest of all you seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of the garden plants and becomes a tree.. (NIV, verse 32).
Parallel to Bultmann’s theory, contrastive unit is a literary device which is used to emphasize the important aspect of a story, just like repetition.
c. The Parable of the Yeast (Mattew 13: 33)
d. The Parable of the Hidden Treasure (Matthew 13: 44)
Robert H. Smith regards this parable as a twin of the next parable (Smith, 1989: 179). It is twin in terms of the form as well as the course of the story. This parable consists only of four lines. This story also presents only one character and its identity remains anonymous. As usual, this parable is introduced with the typical formula.
The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field (NIV, Verse 44).
It is clearly stated the point of comparison is on the concept of hidden treasure. However, it is not enough to draw the conclusion only from the intorductory formula. To make it solid, one can see the course of the story. It is the hidden treasure that makes that unidentified man decides to sell all his belongings.
When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field (NIV, Verse 44).
Therefore, it is true that hidden treasure is an essential concept to this parable. To sum up the discussion on this parable, it might be proper to put this parable into a similitude.
e. The Parable of the Pearl (Matthew 13: 45)
character, and the course of action. What makes this parable different is that this parable is more specific. The character is recognized as a merchant and the treasure is identified as the pearl. There are no commentaries about this. However, it can be assumed that the specificness of this parable tends to draw more closer connection to the real situation.
This parable still has the same focal point on the concept compared with Kingdom of Heaven—the pearl. Indeed the character and the treasure are specific, but the course of action is approximately still the same:
When he found one of the great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it (NIV, verse 45).
By examining these two parables, the form of repetition appears at last. In parable of the Hidden Treasure, there is sentence “..in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field” (NIV, verse 44), while in the Pearl it is stated ”he went away and sold everything (NIV, verse 45). These two utterances indicate that that treasure is the focal of these two parables.
B. Conceptual Metaphors of the Parabel
1. Agriculture Domain
i. The Parable of the Sower (Matthew 13: 3-9)
Looking at glance, the title itself indicates that this parable derives its source domain from agriculture. Indeed, the words like sower, seed, soil, plant, root,
thorns, and crop are associated with agricultural field. This parable uses this domain as the sole source domain of the parable. This parable still has the same topic as the previous one. Its focal point lies on the personality of the people, to whom the message about Kingdom of Heaven is delivered. The concepts used in this parable are explained by Jesus in details (Matthew 13: 18-23). Reading through the explanation, it can be concluded that the conceptual metaphor of this parable is HUMAN IS SOIL.
ii. The Parable of the Weeds (Matthew 13: 24-30)
This parable is uttered after explaining the parable of the Sower. The topic of this narrative is about the separation between good and evil. When explaining this topic, Jesus uses terms from agriculture. Words, such as good seed, wheat,
emphasized in the contrastive concept wheat and weeds. In verses 38-39, he explains that
The good seed stands for the sons of the Kingdom. The weeds are the sons of evil one (NIV, verse 38-39).
By considering the importance of contrastive unit in the parable and the focal point of this parable, it can be concluded that the conceptual metaphor of this parable, indeed, HUMAN IS PLANT. This conceptual metaphor is very conventional.
iii. The Parable of the Mustard Seed (Matthew 13: 31-32)
It seems that agricultural domain is the recurrent source in the parables in St. Matthew’s Gospel. The title has already suggested that this has connection with agriculture. The focal point of this parable is about Jesus’ ministry spreading the words of God. The parable utilizes the contrastive unit in terms of quantity. This is sampled in the verse 32:
Though it is the smallest of all your seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree.. (NIV, verse 32).
iv. The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard (Matthew 20: 1-16)
This parable returns its basic conceptual domain to agriculture. This makes agriculture to be the most recurrent domain in parable about Kingdom of Heaven in St. Matthew’s Gospel. However, there are only two metaphorical linguistics expressions which relate to this domain, i.e landowner and vineyard. Therefore, it is appropriate to consider this parable having agricultural domain as its source domain.
By considering words like to hire men to work, pay them a denarius,
workers, and pay them their wages, it can be judged apropriately that this parable emphasizes its conceptual domain from labor domain.
The intended goal of this parable is to express the idea of sharing the same reward that will be earned from God regarding of serving His will. By looking at these two aspects, the conclusion is that this parable has conceptual metaphor GOD IS EMPLOYER.
v. The Parable of the Tenants (Matthew 21:33-40)
This narrative lies it conceptual domain in agricultural domain. In this parable, this domain is used to enrich details of this narrative. Metaphorical linguistics expressions related to this domain are landowner, planted, vineyard,
The idea of this parable focuses on the wrath of God upon people who disregard God’s envoys. The landowner here represents God and the son refers to Jesus himself. The concept of a landowner has occured before in the previous parable (Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard). The servants might be interpreted as the prophets. The vineyard—parallel to field—is the world, while the farmers refers to those Israeli who reject the prophet. Note that the concept of a farmer here is not in the same sense like farmer in the Parable of the Sower. Farmer in that parable is parallel to the landowner and the sower (Parable of the Weeds and Parable of the Mustard Seed). Based on the analysis, the conceptual metaphor of this parable is GOD’S WRATH IS FATHER’S REVENGE.
2. Treasure Domain
i. The Parable Hidden Treasure and the Pearl (Matthew 13: 44-46)
These two parables will be discussed at once, because they are told in sequence and share the same conceptual domain. These parables express the mental state of the person who can find the Kingdom of Heaven. Both characters are extremely joyful when they have found the treasure. Treasure, great value,
3. Wedding Domain
i. The Parable of the Wedding Banquet (Matthew 22: 1-14)
This narrative use the concept from court life domain in its beginning, i.e.
king. However, the title and the course of the story relate to the domain of marriage. Metaphorical linguistics expressions, such as weeding clothes, weeding hall, and wedding banquet. Moreover, the first verse indicates the presence of the bridegroom, i.e. the king’s son
The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son (NIV, verse 1).
The demonstrations of those metaphorical linguistics expressions is that the king, just like in Parable of the Unmerciful Servant, refers God, while the son, similar in the parable of the Wedding Banquet demonstrates Jesus, as the Son of God. The party itself, the wedding banquet, is the Jesus’ initiation as the Messiah. The servants, like in the prior parables are related to prophets who have preached for the messiah. This is strengthened by the killing of the servants by the invited people which is parallel with Parable of the Tenants. The dress code in the wedding refers to the attitude of people.
ii. The Parable of the Ten Virgins (Matthew 25: 1-13)
This parable has the issue of Jesus’ second coming. The story is developed with references to weeding domain. The parable demonstrates the concept of bridegroom as the messiah, while the ten virgins are people who wait for the messiah. The intended goal of waiting for the bridegroom is to be taken into the wedding banquet, which is the heavenly feast.
The first two steps have identified the domain and the demonstration of the parable. From these steps, the conceptual metaphor of this parable is THE COMING OF THE MESSIAH IS A WEDDING PARTY.
4. Animal Domain
i. The Parable of the Net (Matthew 13: 47-51)
This parable has the same topic with Parable of the Weeds. Only is this parable simplified in its form. The source domain of this parable is also switched from agriculture. Although the title presumes that it has relation with fishing, there is a need to exemplify the metaphorical linguistics expressions of the parable. Words like net, fish, and fishermen are related to the domain of fishery. As mentioned afore, this parable has the same topic with Parable of the Weeds.
The difference is that this parable conceptualizes good and bad people with good and bad fish. Therefore, the conceptual metaphor of this parable is HUMAN IS ANIMAL.
ii. The Parable of the Lost Sheep (Matthew 18: 12-14)
Parable of the Lost Sheep expresses the idea of God’s love for mankind. From this parable, Jesus emphasizes his mission to search for the sinners. The title suggests that this parable associates with husbandry domain. This domain is used as the source domain. Husbandry is reccurent domain which is used thoroughly in Hily Bible, especialy in Psalm. In this parable, sinners are conceptualized as the sheep which has gone ashtray. Similar to the Parable of the Net, this narrative also employs the conceptual metaphor HUMAN IS ANIMAL.
5. Business Domain
i. The Parable of the Unmerciful servant (Matthew 18: 23-35)
This narrative emphasizes on act of forgiving. This topic is focal in Jesus’ teaching. When explaining about this topic, Jesus uses concept king to refer to God. This has already revealed by Brettler’s study, God is King: Understanding Israelite Metaphor. Based on this explanation, Jesus draws terms from the court life domain. Words such as king and servants belong to this domain. However, the focal point of this parable is not derived from the court life domain. In fact, this parable derives its conceptual domain from economy. Words such as accounts,
court life domain. Here the act forgiveness the sin is parallel to the king’s forgiveness to the servant (NIV, verse 35). Sin as the important clue for this parable is conceptualized by debt. Therefore, the conceptual metaphor for this parable is SIN IS DEBT.
ii. The Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25: 14-30)
This narrative introduces a new domain, but still has the same topic as the last two parables. The source domain of this parable derives from business domain. Metaphorical linguistics expressions representing this domain are money,
talents, accounts, deposit, bankers, and interest.
The parable conceptualizes Jesus as the man—or the master—of the servants who are regarded to be those who want to be his disciples. Money and talents are in the same sense the seed, while interest is parallel to the plant, or the fruit.
From the analysis, it can be concluded that this parable has conceptual domain which originates from economy domain. The conceptual metaphor for this parable is SECOND COMING IS BUSINESS INTEREST.
such as architecture, pastry, fishery, husbandry, interior house, court life, family relationship, and bussiness domain.
6. Architecture Domain
i. The Parable of the Wise and Foolish Builders (Matthew 7: 24-27)
This parable has association with the architectural domain. This parable is intended to explain two kinds of people in respect to the Kingdom of Heaven. The course of its narrative is filled with terms from architecture. Builders, house,
foundation, and rock are concepts originated from this domain. Beside using architecture, this parable employs also terms from the weather domain. The metaphorical linguistics expressions which indicate weather domain are shown in the sentence below
The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house (NIV, verse 25).
Considering that the italicized words are in full sentece, it can be read as bad weather. From this first step, it can be clearly seen that this parable uses the domain of architecture and weather as the source domains of the conceptual metaphor.
