Abstract:
The Good Samaritan’s Parable (TGSP), in Luke’s Gospel, was Jesus’ wordcraft to a
Jewish lawyer who deliberately tested Him on the conditions required to inherit eternal
kingdom and to be a true neighbour. Existing studies on TGSP were interpreted from
the perspectives of allegory, religious reforms, pedagogical instructions, deontological
construct with little attention paid to its contextual interpretation of neighbourhood
character and relativity to Yorùbá context. This Study was, therefore, designed to
interrogate TGSP in Luke 10: 30-37, with a view to establishing its relative significance
to the Yorùbá Episteme of Ọmọlúàbí.
Samuel Abogunrin’s Decolonisation of Biblical Interpretation was adopted as the
framework, while the mixed methods design was utilised. Raph Martin’s grammaticohistorical approach to biblical exegesis was utilised. Three communities (Ifẹ, Oyọ and
Ìbàdàn) in Yorùbáland were purposively selected based on their familiarity with Yorùbá
pedigree. Three hundred Christian Yorùbá Respondents (men and women, 100 in each
community), were conveniently selected. A copy of the TGSP Questionnaire each
(r=0.81) was administered to the Respondents. Key informant interviews were
conducted with 18 Yorùbá Respondents owing to their knowledge of TGSP. While
qualitative data were subjected to exegetical analysis, quantitative data were analysed
using descriptive statistics.
The Good Samaritan’s parable portrays πλησίον (neighbourhood character) and
ἐπιείκεια (justice), which oscillate around the notion of ἔλεος (mercy) that encompasses
Έσπλαγχνίζηστης (compassion), and ἐπιμέλενη (hospitality). Έσπλαγχνίζηστης (Luke
10:33) is represented by being merciful and compassionate, gauging God’s own
compassion towards human beings. These virtues are the decisive motive behind the
Samaritan’s compassionate behaviour towards the victim. Most Respondents (99.2%)
perceived that Έσπλαγχνίζηστης is related to àánú (compassion), a fundamental moral
and psychological attribute, which distinguishes an Ọmọlúàbí from a worthless person.
Ἐπιμέλενη (Luke 10:34) is characterised by involving forethought in a continuous moral
and monetary support. This attribute is significant in the Samaritan’s hospitality towards
the wounded man. Ἐπιμέλενη which refers to ìsoore (benevolence), signifies a caregiver
character in continuous moral and material support towards a helpless neighbour as
represented by 99.2%. Ἐπιείκεια informs how the Samaritan’s actions not only override
and correct legalistic religious laws that controlled the Priest and the Levite, but fulfils
the double commandment of love (Jeremiah 31:33). Majority of the Respondents
(94.4%) agreed that ἐπιείκεια was relatable to ὶjὶnlẹ̀ ìfé (genuine love), centring around
interpersonal interest benevolence regardless of ethnic affiliation. As Luke 10:30-37
identifies πλησίον and ἐπιείκεια as the embodiment of good neighbourhood character
so ìwà (character), expressed in compassion, care, and mercy, is recited in Ifá corpus as
the queen of all virtues. Ἐπιείκεια is a virtue that agrees with the summary of the law
(Mark 12:29-31), meanwhile, 96% Respondents affirmed that Ọmọlúàbí is a
quintessential virtue among the Yorùbá under the guardianship of elders and prescribed
taboos.
Πλησίον and ἐπιείκεια are deployed in The Good Samaritan’s Parable in explicating
how good neighbourhood character is a threshold to enter eternal kingdom irrespective
of ethnic group (Luke 10: 30-37). Ìwà in the Yorùbá Episteme of Ọmọlúàbí is a cultural
requirement that facilitates warmth among the Yorùbá (Ogbè Alárá)
