![Parable of the hidden treasure Rembrandt - Gerard Dou](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a9/Parable_of_the_hidden_treasure_Rembrandt_-_Gerard_Dou.jpg)
The Parable of the Hidden Treasure is a well known
parable of Jesus
A parable is a succinct, Didacticism, didactic story, in prose or Verse (poetry), verse, that illustrates one or more instructive lessons or principles. It differs from a fable in that fables employ animals, plants, inanimate objects, or forces ...
, which appears in
Matthew
Matthew may refer to:
* Matthew (given name)
* Matthew (surname)
* ''Matthew'' (ship), the replica of the ship sailed by John Cabot in 1497
* ''Matthew'' (album), a 2000 album by rapper Kool Keith
* Matthew (elm cultivar), a cultivar of the Ch ...
br>
13:44 and illustrates the great value of the
Kingdom of Heaven
Kingdom of Heaven may refer to:
Religious
* Kingdom of Heaven (Gospel of Matthew)
**Kingship and kingdom of God, or simply Kingdom of God, the phrase used in the other gospels
* Kingdom of Heaven (Daviesite), a schismatic sect, founded by Will ...
. It immediately precedes the
parable of the Pearl
The Parable of the Pearl (also called the Pearl of Great Price) is one of the parables of Jesus. It appears in Matthew 13 and illustrates the great value of the Kingdom of Heaven.
This is the penultimate parable in Matthew 13, coming just before ...
, which has a similar theme. The parable has been depicted by artists such as
Rembrandt
Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (, ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), usually simply known as Rembrandt, was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker and draughtsman. An innovative and prolific master in three media, he is generally consid ...
.
Narrative
The brief
parable
A parable is a succinct, didactic story, in prose or verse, that illustrates one or more instructive lessons or principles. It differs from a fable in that fables employ animals, plants, inanimate objects, or forces of nature as characters, w ...
of the hidden treasure is as follows:
![Treasure and Pearl](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1f/Treasure_and_Pearl.jpg)
The setting here presupposes that someone has buried a treasure and later died. The current owner of the field is unaware of its existence. The finder, perhaps a farm labourer, is entitled to it, but is unable to conveniently extract it unless he buys the field.
For a
peasant
A peasant is a pre-industrial agricultural laborer or a farmer with limited land-ownership, especially one living in the Middle Ages under feudalism and paying rent, tax, fees, or services to a landlord. In Europe, three classes of peasants ...
, such a discovery of treasure represented the "ultimate dream."
[Craig S. Keener, ]
A Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew
', Eerdmans, 1999, , p. 391.
Interpretation
This parable is interpreted as illustrating the great value of the Kingdom of Heaven, and thus has a similar theme to the parable of the pearl. John Nolland comments that the good fortune reflected in the "finding" reflects a "special privilege,"
[John Nolland, ]
The Gospel of Matthew: A commentary on the Greek text
', Eerdmans, 2005, , pp. 563–65. and a source of joy, but also reflects a challenge,
just as the man in the parable gives up all that he has, in order to lay claim to the greater treasure he has found.
John Calvin
John Calvin (; frm, Jehan Cauvin; french: link=no, Jean Calvin ; 10 July 150927 May 1564) was a French theologian, pastor and reformer in Geneva during the Protestant Reformation. He was a principal figure in the development of the system ...
writes of this parable:
The hidden nature of the treasure may indicate that the Kingdom of Heaven "is not yet revealed to everyone."
[William David Davies & Dale C. Allison, ]
A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Gospel According to Saint Matthew: Commentary on Matthew VIII–XVIII
', Continuum, 1997, , pp. 435–37.
However, other interpretations of the parable exist, in which the treasure represents
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
or the
Church
Church may refer to:
Religion
* Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities
* Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination
* Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship
* Chris ...
.
![Buried treasure](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/55/Buried_treasure.jpg)
In St. Thomas Aquinas' ''Catena Aurea'', he compiles the comments of some of the Church Fathers on this passage, who point out that like the treasure hidden in the field, the Gospel comes without cost, and is open to all – but to truly possess heavenly riches, one must be willing to give up the world to buy it. The Fathers also identify that the field in which the treasure is hidden is the discipline of Heavenly learning:
The New Testament scholar
Adolf Jülicher
Adolf Jülicher (26 January 1857 – 2 August 1938) was a German scholar and biblical exegete. Specifically, he was the Professor of Church History and New Testament Exegesis, at the University of Marburg. He was born in Falkenberg near Berlin and ...
offers a deceptively simple explanation of the parable. He identifies three parts to parables or similitudes (extended similes or metaphors): the picture part (), the reality part (), and the point of comparison (''
tertium comparationis
''Tertium comparationis'' (Latin for "the third artof the comparison") is the quality that two things which are being compared have in common. It is the point of comparison which prompted the author of the comparison in question to liken someone o ...
''). In this instance, the picture part is the hidden treasure, the reality part is God's kingdom, and the point of comparison is the inestimable value of the kingdom.
In light of previous parables in Matthew where God or Jesus acts on behalf of his church, Lutheran theologian David P. Scaer understands the treasure in the field to be humanity, and the one purchasing the field to be Christ. Thus, as the man in the parable sells all that he has to buy the field, so Christ gives up his life in order to redeem humanity.
Commentary from the Church Fathers
Chrysostom
John Chrysostom (; gr, Ἰωάννης ὁ Χρυσόστομος; 14 September 407) was an important Early Church Father who served as archbishop of Constantinople. He is known for his preaching and public speaking, his denunciation of ab ...
: "The foregoing parables of the leaven, and the grain of mustard-seed, are referred to the power of the Gospel preaching, which has subdued the whole world; in order to show its value and splendour, He now puts forth parables concerning a pearl and a treasure, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field. For the Gospel preaching is hidden in this world; and if you do not sell your all you will not purchase it; and this you ought to do with joy; wherefore it follows, which when a man hath found, he hideth it."
Hilary of Poitiers
Hilary of Poitiers ( la, Hilarius Pictaviensis; ) was Bishop of Poitiers and a Doctor of the Church. He was sometimes referred to as the "Hammer of the Arians" () and the "Athanasius of the West". His name comes from the Latin word for happy or ...
: "This treasure is indeed found without cost; for the Gospel preaching is open to all, but to use and possess the treasure with its field we may not without price, for heavenly riches are not obtained without the loss of this world."
Jerome
Jerome (; la, Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος Σωφρόνιος Ἱερώνυμος; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was a Christian presbyter, priest, Confessor of the Faith, confessor, th ...
: "That he hides it, does not proceed of envy towards others, but as one that treasures up what he would not lose, he hides in his heart that which he prizes above his former possessions."
Gregory the Great
Pope Gregory I ( la, Gregorius I; – 12 March 604), commonly known as Saint Gregory the Great, was the bishop of Rome from 3 September 590 to his death. He is known for instigating the first recorded large-scale mission from Rome, the Gregori ...
: " Otherwise; The treasure hidden in the field is the desire of heaven; the field in which the treasure is hidden is the discipline of heavenly learning; this, when a man finds, he hides, in order that he may preserve it; for zeal and affections heavenward it is not enough that we protect from evil spirits, if we do not protect from human praises. For in this present life we are in the way which leads to our country, and evil spirits as robbers beset us in our journey. Those therefore who carry their treasure openly, they seek to plunder in the way. When I say this, I do not mean that our neighbours should not see our works, but that in what we do, we should not seek praise from without. The kingdom of heaven is therefore compared to things of earth, that the mind may rise from things familiar to things unknown, and may learn to love the unknown by that which it knows is loved when known. It follows, And for joy thereof he goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field. He it is that sells all he has and buys the field, who, renouncing fleshly delights, tramples upon all his worldly desires in his anxiety for the heavenly discipline."
Jerome
Jerome (; la, Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος Σωφρόνιος Ἱερώνυμος; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was a Christian presbyter, priest, Confessor of the Faith, confessor, th ...
: "Or, That treasure in which are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge (Col. 2:3.), is either God the Word, who seems hid in Christ’s flesh, or the Holy Scriptures, in which are laid up the knowledge of the Saviour."
Augustine
Augustine of Hippo ( , ; la, Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430), also known as Saint Augustine, was a theologian and philosopher of Berbers, Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia (Roman pr ...
: " Or, He speaks of the two testaments in the Church, which, when any has attained to a partial understanding of, he perceives how great things lie hid there, and goes and sells all that he has, and buys that; that is, by despising temporal things he purchases to himself peace, that he may be rich in the knowledge of God."
[ ]
Gospel of Thomas
A similar parable also appears in the
Gospel of Thomas
The Gospel of Thomas (also known as the Coptic Gospel of Thomas) is an extra-canonical Logia, sayings gospel. It was discovered near Nag Hammadi, Egypt, in December 1945 among a group of books known as the Nag Hammadi library. Scholars specu ...
(Saying 109):
[''Gospel of Thomas'']
Lamb translation
an
This work's version of the parable of the Pearl appears earlier (Saying 76), rather than immediately following, as in Matthew.
[Brad H. Young, ]
The Parables: Jewish Tradition and Christian Interpretation
', Hendrickson Publishers, 2008, , pp. 202–206. However, the mention of a treasure in Saying 76 may reflect a source for the Gospel of Thomas in which the parables were adjacent,
so that the original pair of parables has been "broken apart, placed in separate contexts, and expanded in a manner characteristic of folklore."
The multiple changes of ownership of the field are unique to the Gospel of Thomas,
and reflect a different theme from the New Testament parable.
Depictions
![Parable - The Hidden Treasure - Sir John Everett Millais - ABDAG004395](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/87/Parable_-_The_Hidden_Treasure_-_Sir_John_Everett_Millais_-_ABDAG004395.jpg)
There have been several depictions of the New Testament parable in art, including works by
Rembrandt
Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (, ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), usually simply known as Rembrandt, was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker and draughtsman. An innovative and prolific master in three media, he is generally consid ...
,
Jan Luyken
Johannes or Jan Luyken (April 16, 1649 – April 5, 1712) was a Dutch poet, illustrator, and engraving, engraver.[James Tissot
Jacques Joseph Tissot (; 15 October 1836 – 8 August 1902), anglicized as James Tissot (), was a French painter and illustrator. He was a successful painter of fashionable, modern scenes and society life in Paris before moving to London in 1871 ...]
, and
John Everett Millais
Sir John Everett Millais, 1st Baronet, ( , ; 8 June 1829 – 13 August 1896) was an English painter and illustrator who was one of the founders of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. He was a child prodigy who, aged eleven, became the youngest ...
.
See also
*
Five Discourses of Matthew
In Christianity, the term Five Discourses of Matthew refers to five specific discourses by Jesus within the Gospel of Matthew.''The Cradle, the Cross, and the Crown: An Introduction to the New Testament'' by Andreas J. Köstenberger, L. Scott Kell ...
*
Life of Jesus in the New Testament
The life of Jesus in the New Testament is primarily outlined in the four canonical gospels, which includes his genealogy and nativity, public ministry, passion, prophecy, resurrection and ascension. Other parts of the New Testament – suc ...
*
Ministry of Jesus
The ministry of Jesus, in the canonical gospels, begins with his baptism in the countryside of Roman Judea and Transjordan, near the River Jordan by John the Baptist, and ends in Jerusalem, following the Last Supper with his disciples.''Chri ...
References
{{Authority control
Hidden Treasure, Parable of the
Gospel of Matthew
Treasures in religion