Ben Avraham
Well-Known Member
It's very likely the authors of Jewish scripture had used allegory and symbolism is convey there message,and poetry too. If everything in Jewish scripture is meant to be taken literally then God showed Moses his rear-end at Mount Sinai. Balaam had a talking donkey. Jonah actually spent three days and nights in the belly of a great fish. There are many other examples. Jewish scripture also attributes human characteristics to God. God sees, hears, talks, walks, etc. The writers of the Gospels had used these same technics. In all known Gospels including the non canonical Gospels Jesus is portrayed as not revealing the divine but the divine revealed. Each of the Gospels does this somewhat differently, but the message is always the same. Matthew's Gospel draws from the Book of Exodus to portray Jesus as the new and greater Moses, where is Luke's Gospel does not. It is not necessary to use the same symbols in order to have the same message.
Allegories and parables are used everywhere to teach about Theology which we as humans would not be able to understand if spoken of literally. Most teachings in the Jewish Scripture aka the Tanach is effected allegorically to convey its messages through its prophets and through their dreams and visions. Every thing is possible in a dream or vision even for God o exhibit rear-end, for a mule to talk and for a fish to swallow a man. Now, to understand the point those allegories point to, we must exercise our knowledge of metaphorical language. Now, to draw from the book in the Tanach as the authors of the NT did to enhance Biblical credibility for the church of Paul is vandalism of a religion by another based on Christian preconceived notions.