比喻

A figure of speech that describes one thing in terms of another, pervasive throughout Scripture. God is described as a shepherd (Psalm 23), rock (Psalm 18:2), fortress (Psalm 91:2), father (Matthew 6:9), husband (Isaiah 54:5), and consuming fire (Hebrews 12:29). Jesus' 'I am' statements are metaphors: bread of life, light of the world, door, good shepherd, vine. Parables are extended metaphors. The prophets employed vivid metaphors: Israel as an unfaithful wife (Hosea 1-3), a vineyard producing wild grapes (Isaiah 5), and dry bones coming to life (Ezekiel 37). Biblical metaphors make abstract spiritual truths concrete, memorable, and emotionally engaging.