Parable: from the Greek word parabole which translates the Hebrew mashal which means "to be similar, to be comparable." A parable is an extended metaphor, or simile, frequently becoming a brief narrative, generally used in Biblical times for didactic purposes. (Not to be confused with an allegory.) from the Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible.

	[The parable is] a fiction capable of re-describing life. Paul Ricoeur, "Biblical Hermeneutics," Semeia Vol. 4 (1975) 89

What is a parable?