The King in Luke 19

[Nehemiah1]

Is true that the king in the parable of Luke 19 is a symbolical person inspired by Herod Archelaus?

 

[BartholomewB]

Verse 14 reads, in the JB translation:

• But his compatriots detested him and sent a delegation to follow him with this message, “We do not want this man to be our king.”

A footnote explains:

• Probably alluding to the journey of Archelaus to Rome in 4 B.C. to have the will of Herod the Great confirmed in his favour. A deputation of Jews followed him there to thwart the attempt.

 

[Gorgias]

Is true that the king in the parable of Luke 19 is a symbolical person inspired by Herod Archelaus?

Parables tell stories with lessons. Good parables take on elements that are familiar to the audience, so that they are able to relate to them easily. In that way, the lesson of the parable isn’t lost. (That’s why modern Christians who read Jesus’ parables sometimes get lost in the weeds – we don’t understand the context, so we get ourselves pointed in all sorts of confused directions in a way that the original audiences wouldn’t have.)

So, given the genre of ‘parable’, I think the answer to your question might be “the king in the parable is merely a king in general; however, the actions would be very relatable to the original audience, since they might bring to mind actual events in the audience’s memory.”