What's a metaphor?

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I am working on a monograph that wrestles with the way in which the identity, prerogatives, mission, and privileges of Israel are applied to the addressees of the letter of 1 Peter, whom most scholars agree are predominantly if not exclusively Gentile in makeup. One of the most common ways that scholars make sense of the way in which Israelite identity is being appropriated by Gentiles in 1 Peter,  is to speak of Israel as a metaphor. In other words, in the letter of 1 Peter, they say, "Israel" is being used as a metaphor (or the controlling metaphor) for the church and its mission in society. Some argue that using Israel as a metaphor is problematic, even imperialistic, while others seem rather indifferent to the enterprise and consider it to be benign in nature. I am not going to weigh in on this at this time, but this common move to refer to what is happening in 1 Peter as metaphor, coupled with the wide range of reactions that scholars have regarding the usage of metaphor, has led me to do a little more reading on metaphor theory and to ask afresh, What is a metaphor? (insert bad dad joke)

In reality, I have a number of questions I am seeking to gain clarity on:


  • How does a metaphor work? What is the mechanics, if you will, of a metaphor?
  • What are the limits of a metaphor? 
  • What do we need to know in order to understand the metaphor? 
  • How dependent are we on authorial intent?
  • Why is metaphorical language often considered inferior to "literal" references?
  • Who determines the acceptable entailments of metaphors?
  • What is the relationship between analogy and metaphor?
  • What's the relationship between narrative and metaphor?
  • What happens when the meaning of the  "vehicle" of the metaphor changes over time?
  • How does metaphor theory shape biblical theology, especially when metaphors are so unsystematic?
  • How might metaphor theory help us be better readers of Scripture, which is saturated with metaphor?
  • How might metaphor theory help clarify our  theological differences (for example, realizing that some difference come from different views on what a metaphor entails)?
Anyway, this is part of what I will be doing this summer, along with re-examining whether "Israel" is a metaphor for the church in 1 Peter!


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