Original Research

The parable of the Two Mothers: An unhiding reading of the parable of the Prodigal Son

Charel D. du Toit
Verbum et Ecclesia | Vol 45, No 1 | a3169 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.4102/ve.v45i1.3169 | © 2024 Charel D. du Toit | This work is licensed under CC Attribution 4.0
Submitted: 17 April 2024 | Published: 30 August 2024

About the author(s)

Charel D. du Toit, Department of New Testament and Related Literature, Faculty of Theology and Religion, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa

Abstract

The parable of the Prodigal Son is traditionally viewed from an androcentric perspective, focusing on the male characters, such as the father and brothers. However, this article suggests that the original listeners may have perceived female characters as present and significant. It briefly explores the roles of the Prodigal’s mother and the father’s mother, proposing an alternative interpretation. Evidence indicates that a 1st-century audience might have envisioned a parallel narrative, termed ‘the Parable of the Two Mothers’, within the story. This imagined parallel parable could reflect the high-context understanding of the original hearers. The article aims to reconstruct this proposed parallel parable not only as a potentially imagined narrative within the Prodigal Son but also as a counter-narrative tool. This tool seeks to aid faith communities in addressing gender-based violence (GBV) by offering a narrative device that brings women’s voices to the forefront in congregational and social contexts.

Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: The interdisciplinary nature of this article contributes to the debate on the roles and importance of women in the church by investigating the value that women had in the parables of Jesus. Furthermore, this article promotes an inclusive reading of biblical texts aiming to combat the pandemic of GBV in South African communities. By reading women as present in the text, emphasis is given to the voices of women in the Bible and the importance of their representation today. This research is also in line with the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5: Gender equality and women empowerment.


Keywords

Prodigal Son; Two Mothers; gender-based violence; parables; counter-narrative; feminism; women; unhiding

Sustainable Development Goal

Goal 5: Gender equality

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