What Is Literal and What Is Symbolic in Scripture?

Jewish interpretive tradition never forced a binary choice between literal and symbolic. The classical framework is PaRDeS—an acronym for four levels of reading: Peshat (plain/literal), Remez (allegorical), Derash (homiletical), and Sod (mystical). Rashi (1040–1105 CE) championed peshat as the indispensable foundation, while Maimonides (1138–1204 CE) in the Guide for the Perplexed argued that anthropomorphic descriptions of God must be read allegorically to protect divine incorporeality.

A classic test case is Deuteronomy 11:18, which commands binding God's words as a sign on the hand and between the eyes Deuteronomy 11:18. The Talmudic rabbis read this literally—producing the practice of wearing tefillin (phylacteries)—while some medieval commentators also saw a metaphorical call to internalize Torah. Both readings coexist without contradiction in mainstream Jewish thought.

Psalm 119:138 declares God's testimonies 'righteous and very faithful' Psalms 119:138, a verse the rabbis treated as a literal affirmation of Torah's reliability while simultaneously mining it for deeper ethical instruction. Isaiah 29:11, with its image of a sealed book that even the learned cannot read Isaiah 29:11, was interpreted by the Talmud as a prophecy about spiritual blindness in exile—a symbolic reading layered over a historical one.

The governing principle, articulated by the Talmudic sage Rabbi Ishmael and later systematized, is that scripture does not depart from its plain sense (ein mikra yotzei midei peshuto), yet the plain sense alone is rarely considered exhaustive. Disagreement between the school of Rashi and that of Ibn Ezra (1089–1167 CE) over how much allegory is permissible remains a live scholarly conversation today.

Christianity inherited Jewish interpretive diversity and dramatically expanded it, particularly because the New Testament authors read the Hebrew scriptures as pointing forward to Jesus. John 5:39 records Jesus himself saying, 'Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me' John 5:39—a statement that launched centuries of typological and allegorical reading of the Old Testament.

The Apostle Paul insisted that spiritual truths are communicated in spiritual language: 'not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual' 1 Corinthians 2:13. This gave early Christian interpreters like Origen (184–253 CE) and Augustine (354–430 CE) warrant for extensive allegorizing. Origen proposed a threefold sense—literal, moral, and spiritual—roughly paralleling the Jewish PaRDeS.

The Protestant Reformation pushed back hard. Martin Luther and John Calvin insisted on the sensus literalis—the grammatical-historical plain meaning—as the only safe anchor against speculative allegory. Yet even they acknowledged that some texts are inherently figurative. Peter's description of believers as 'lively stones' built into 'a spiritual house' and 'an holy priesthood' 1 Peter 2:5 is almost universally read as metaphor, not architecture.

2 Timothy 3:16 grounds the entire enterprise: 'All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness' 2 Timothy 3:16. Evangelicals cite this to defend verbal inspiration and thus a high view of the literal text; others argue that 'profitable' doesn't mean every sentence is a propositional fact. Psalm 19:7—'The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul' Psalms 19:7—is similarly read both as a literal claim about Torah's reliability and as a poetic celebration of divine wisdom. The debate between historical-critical scholars (e.g., Rudolf Bultmann, 1884–1976) and inerrantists (e.g., B. B. Warfield, 1851–1921) shows the question is far from settled.

Islamic hermeneutics distinguishes between muḥkamāt (clear, unambiguous verses) and mutashābihāt (ambiguous or allegorical verses), a distinction rooted in Quran 3:7 itself. The Quran affirms its own authority as revealed truth: 'That which We have revealed to you of the Book is the truth, confirming what came before it' Quran 35:31—a verse classical scholars like al-Ṭabarī (839–923 CE) read as establishing the Quran's primacy over earlier scriptures while also validating continuity with them.

The dominant Sunni position, articulated by scholars from al-Ashʿarī (874–936 CE) onward, holds that the ẓāhir (outward, literal) meaning is authoritative unless a compelling reason exists to depart from it. This is why most classical jurists took Quranic legal commands (prayer times, inheritance shares, dietary rules) as straightforwardly binding. However, passages describing God's 'hand' or 'face' generated fierce debate: the Muʿtazilites allegorized them to protect divine transcendence, while traditionalists like Ibn Ḥanbal (780–855 CE) insisted on affirming the literal wording without asking 'how' (bilā kayf).

Sufi interpreters, especially Ibn ʿArabī (1165–1240 CE), developed elaborate symbolic (bāṭin) readings of Quranic narratives, seeing the story of Moses and Pharaoh, for instance, as an allegory of the soul's struggle with ego. Mainstream Sunni scholarship has generally resisted this, insisting that allegorical readings require explicit textual or rational justification and cannot override the plain sense without evidence. The tension between these camps is one of the most productive—and contentious—in Islamic intellectual history.

Jewish scripture presents God’s testimonies as righteous and very faithful, which grounds a presumption that its plain teachings are trustworthy for life and practice Psalms 119:138.

It also contains direct imperatives—such as laying God’s words on the heart and binding them “for a sign upon your hand” and as “frontlets between your eyes”—which many readers take as indicating concrete obligations while also carrying symbolic force about constant remembrance Deuteronomy 11:18.

At the same time, the prophets acknowledge that some revelation can remain like the words of a sealed book to the learned, signaling that not all meanings yield easily and that discerning literal from symbolic may require humility and patience Isaiah 29:11.

The Torah and Psalms affirm that God’s law is perfect and restores the soul, encouraging readers to pursue wisdom in interpretation even when facing passages whose figurative or literal sense is debated Psalms 19:7.

Christian teaching holds that all Scripture is God-breathed and useful for doctrine, reproof, correction, and instruction in righteousness, which means its literal claims carry divine authority for belief and practice 2 Timothy 3:16.

At the same time, Christians are told that understanding comes not by human wisdom but by the Holy Spirit teaching spiritual things, indicating that recognizing symbolism requires spiritually guided discernment rather than merely literalistic reading 1 Corinthians 2:13.

Jesus says the Scriptures testify about him, so many Christians read earlier texts in a Christ-centered way that may reveal symbolic or typological dimensions beyond the immediate literal sense John 5:39.

The New Testament itself uses overt metaphor—calling believers “living stones” and a “spiritual house”—as a clear example that some passages intend symbolic meaning to convey spiritual realities 1 Peter 2:5.

The Qur’an states that what has been revealed from the Book is the truth and a confirmation of what came before, anchoring a literal claim about its status and its relationship to prior scripture Quran 35:31.

This affirmation situates interpretation within a framework where the Qur’an’s clear assertions are taken as true while its confirmatory role guides how earlier texts are understood, balancing plain meaning with the recognition of continuity across revelations Quran 35:31.

Because the verse also affirms that God is fully aware and seeing of His servants, Muslim readers are reminded that God’s knowledge frames proper understanding, which cautions against readings driven only by human speculation when distinguishing literal from symbolic Quran 35:31.