oa Key Texts: David Flusser, Die rabbinischen Gleichnisse und der Gleichniserzähler Jesus (1981)

The article discusses the ‘key text’ by David Flusser, Die rabbinischen Gleichnisse und der Gleichniserzähler Jesus. While the book could have done with a stiff round of editing, it harbours treasures of insight and learning. Flusser’s main partners in discussion are Adolf Jülicher and his interest in fables, and Joachim Jeremias, whose book on Jesus’ parables functioned as a springboard for Flusser. A survey of the twelve chapters leads to a listing of six important points where Flusser’s approach either was accepted as a starting point for further research or remained the subject of debate. Foremost are his twin insights that the parables of Jesus and the rabbis derive from fables and other forms of Hellenistic popular teaching and subsequently came to represent a genre of its own.