Reading the Prodigal Son

This chapter is a review of approaches to the parable of the Prodigal Son from the perspective of biblical and literary studies. The focus in biblical studies on a search for the parable’s meaning in the historical context of the life of Jesus or of the early Church is compared with literary study’s interest in the parable as offering a shared vocabulary with which to explore universal themes. The differences in understanding the significance of the parable’s history of reception are discussed, and the limits of the parable’s openness and flexibility in terms of multiple meanings are considered. The variety of ways in which the Prodigal Son has been read across time and place is celebrated and the aim of the book as a discussion of specific genres, literary periods, and places, rather than a survey, is introduced.