Allegory
Allegory as a Literary Device in Scripture
Allegory is essentially an extended metaphor in which characters, events, or details represent abstract ideas or deeper meanings. The Bible contains numerous examples of deliberate allegory used by its authors. The psalmist portrays Israel as a vine brought out of Egypt, planted and cultivated by God, then ravaged by enemies (Psalm 80:8-19). Ecclesiastes 12:3-7 uses an elaborate allegory of a deteriorating house to describe the aging process and approach of death. Jesus' teaching about the Good Shepherd in John 10:1-16 is an extended allegorical picture of His relationship with His people. Paul's description of the armor of God in Ephesians 6:11-17 assigns spiritual meaning to each piece of a soldier's equipment.
Paul's Use of Allegory
The most explicit use of the term allegory in the Bible comes from Paul himself. In Galatians 4:21-31, he describes the story of Sarah and Hagar as an allegory, stating that these things "may be taken figuratively" (Galatians 4:24). The two women represent two covenants: Hagar represents the covenant of law from Mount Sinai that produces slavery, while Sarah represents the covenant of promise that produces freedom. Paul does not deny the historical reality of the Genesis account but draws out a deeper typological meaning to make his theological argument about law and grace.
Allegorical Interpretation in Jewish Tradition
Long before the Christian era, Jewish scholars in Alexandria developed methods of allegorical interpretation to explain difficult or seemingly unworthy passages of Scripture. The most famous of these was Philo of Alexandria (first century AD), who applied techniques borrowed from Greek philosophical interpretation of Homer to the Hebrew Scriptures. Philo read many of the patriarchal narratives and Mosaic laws as symbolic expressions of philosophical truths. This approach was motivated partly by the desire to make the Hebrew Bible intellectually respectable to Greek-educated audiences and partly by discomfort with anthropomorphic descriptions of God.
The Fourfold Sense of Scripture
Early Christian interpreters, especially in the Alexandrian school led by Origen and Clement, adopted and expanded allegorical methods. This eventually developed into the medieval doctrine of the fourfold sense of Scripture: the literal sense (what happened), the allegorical sense (what to believe), the moral sense (what to do), and the anagogical sense (what to hope for). Under this system, virtually every passage of Scripture was believed to contain hidden spiritual meanings beyond its plain historical sense.
The Reformation and Modern Approaches
The Protestant Reformers, particularly Martin Luther and John Calvin, reacted strongly against excessive allegorization. They insisted on the primacy of the literal-historical sense of Scripture, arguing that allegorical readings could make the Bible say almost anything the interpreter wished. Luther famously called allegory the "beautiful harlot" who seduced interpreters away from the text's true meaning. Modern biblical scholarship generally distinguishes between allegory as a literary device used intentionally by biblical authors and allegorical interpretation imposed on texts that were not originally intended to be read symbolically.
Guidelines for Reading Biblical Allegory
When the biblical text itself signals allegory, as Paul does in Galatians 4 or Jesus does in many parables, readers should follow the author's lead in drawing out symbolic meaning. However, caution is warranted when no such signals are present. The best approach honors both the historical meaning of the text and the deeper theological truths it conveys, recognizing that Scripture speaks on multiple levels without losing its grounding in real history and God's actual dealings with His people.
Biblical Context
Allegory appears as a literary device in Psalm 80:8-19, Ecclesiastes 12:3-7, Isaiah 5:1-7 (the Song of the Vineyard), John 10:1-16, and Ephesians 6:11-17. Paul explicitly uses the term in Galatians 4:24. The parables of Jesus, while technically distinct from allegory, often employ allegorical elements. The Song of Solomon has traditionally been read allegorically by both Jewish and Christian interpreters.
Theological Significance
The presence of allegory in Scripture affirms that God's truth can be communicated through symbolic and figurative language as well as through direct statement. However, the history of allegorical interpretation also serves as a cautionary tale about the dangers of reading meanings into the text that its authors did not intend. The biblical use of allegory enriches theological understanding by connecting concrete narratives to deeper spiritual realities, particularly the relationship between the old and new covenants.
Historical Background
Allegorical interpretation originated with Greek philosophers who read Homer's myths as encoding philosophical truths. This method was adopted by Hellenistic Jewish scholars in Alexandria, most notably Philo (c. 20 BC, 50 AD). Early Church Fathers in Alexandria, especially Origen (c. 185-254 AD), developed elaborate allegorical readings of Scripture. The Antiochene school, by contrast, favored more literal interpretation. The medieval fourfold sense dominated Western biblical interpretation until the Reformation, when the literal-historical method was restored to primacy.