Die gelykenis van die barmhartige Samaritaan: Narratiewe tegnieke en vergelykingskonstruksies

Abstract

The parable of the Good Samaritan: Narrative techniques within an extended comparison
This paper argues that the narrative structure of the parable as an extended comparison is crucial to an elucidation of religious doctrine. The content of neighbourly love is clarified through the presentation of narrative material in the parable of the Good Samaritan. The arrangement of events, the distribution of actantial roles and the manipulation of focalization all point to an unexpected revelation of neighbourly love: the loving deed of the Samaritan is presented as a deviation from normal or expected behaviour; contrary to accepted social classification, the person capable of neighbourly love is an outcast; and lastly, the person in need of help determines from his point of view which one of the passers-by is capable of love. The universal applicability of the parable may be traced to the structure of the comparison where the vehicles are given but the tenors left open.