It is joyful when you find a friend or disciple, but it is even more pleasant when a person who has walked in darkness finds light and healing. Let's talk today about the meaning of the phraseologism "prodigal son".
Source
Let's turn to the Bible, the Gospel of Luke. The old man had two sons, one - serious and positive, the other - strange and frivolous. And so the second decided to ask his father for part of the money that was rightfully due to him, and left home. Of course, he squandered his fortune. Then he worked as a swineherd and died of hunger. A frivolous young man would have been glad to eat from the pelvis of the animals he looked after, but he was not supposed to. And suddenly it dawned on the fugitive: “Father is rich, he has many people in his service, and they are all full and fed, I will confess, I will beg for work.” No sooner said than done. The prodigal son appeared (the meaning and origin of the phraseological unit are being considered now) to his father, made a speech, and he dressed him in the best clothes, slaughtered the fattest calf and threw a feast.
When the brother of the unlucky boy was returning home from the field, he heard the sounds of fun and asked the servants what was happening. He was told that his runaway relative had returned, and his father was very happy. The industrious son became angry and refused to enter the house. His father came out to him. The following dialogue took place between them:
You didn’t even give me a goat to slaughter so that I could feast with friends, and in honor of the prodigal son you arranged a whole holiday, although I honestly worked for you at a time when he squandered a fortune.
What are you, you were with me and next to me. Everything that is mine is yours. And your brother is like dead and resurrected, lost and found.
After the last words, the eldest son, apparently, understood and comprehended everything. In any case, the tale ends there. We apologize for the overly modern language. One way or another, but the meaning of the phraseologism "prodigal son" still needs to be explained.
Symbolization of the image
Nowadays, if they run away from home, they often do not return, and the biblical myth, or rather its hero, has become a household name. Christian morality places the repentant sinner higher than the consistent righteous. It's a paradox, but the one who walked in the dark and then came out to the light is more valuable than the one who stayed all the time near the truth. There can be no rational evidence for this, we are talking about religious dogmas. Probably, the sinner is valued by God higher because he was on the other side, but by a conscious volitional decision he nevertheless chose good. Such is the moral meaning and meaning of the phraseologism "prodigal son".
In any case, the prodigal son is called the one who first rejected something, and then returned to his original beliefs. For example, a mathematician refused to engage in exact science and turned to subjective science - philology. He got tired of the latter three years later, and he again returned to the Movement of Mathematics back and forth, which fits perfectly into the meaning of the phraseologism "prodigal son."
And why did the father from the parable do this?
The parent's act had not only moral, but also political or, if you like, practical meaning. His frivolous son, firstly, will never leave home again, and secondly, he will be much more righteous than his brother. He was tempted, he suffered. The prodigal son knows what the bottom of life is, what the abyss is, but his brother believes and does good out of habit. That is why I was very happy about the return of the “mot”.
When people use the expression "the return of the prodigal son", the meaning of the phraseological unit implies not only remorse for previous behavior, but also some enrichment with new experience. Although if we move away from philosophical realities, then the person who utters this phrase simply means the return of someone home, and both a physical object and past attitudes and beliefs can be thought of under the house.
This phrase is clear to everyone when they say "the return of the prodigal son", then refer to an adult child who left the family and then returned home. Very often this is said about children who have not visited their parents for a very long time. Or about children who lived very far away, led a dissolute life, and then appeared to the family.
This phrase is biblical. In the Gospel of Luke, in the fifteenth chapter, there is a well-known parable about the prodigal son. There was once a man who had two sons. Somehow the youngest of them decided to claim his share of the property and leave home. The father agreed to give him his share, the son took it and went to distant lands. There he led a dissolute life and soon squandered all the fortune received from his father.
In the country where he lived, hard times came, many people were starving. The prodigal son decided to become a hired worker in order to somehow feed himself. He began to herd pigs, thinking that he could at least eat the food that is given to animals. But he was not allowed. Then he decided to return home and work with his father, since his workers live much better.
When he returned, he asked for forgiveness from his father and asked to become his servant. The father was very happy about the return of his son, ordered him to be dressed in good clothes, killed a calf in his honor and arranged a holiday. When the eldest son returned from work and saw a holiday in honor of his dissolute brother, he was offended and decided not to even enter the house. The father, seeing him, said that he should not be offended, because he was always next to him, and his father shared all his wealth equally with him. And the youngest son was already dead for his father, but he is alive and returned home, and this is a great joy - the return of the prodigal son.
For Christians, this is one of the most important biblical parables, which symbolizes the life of a person without God (the life of the prodigal son in foreign lands) and his return to God when he repented and decided to live in harmony with his Father (the return of the prodigal son to his father and his repentance).
This parable is part of the Jewish oral tradition. In an ancient Jewish legend, there are also words that the prodigal son forgot his language in a foreign land, and when he returned home, he could not even call his father. Then he cried out in despair. This parable is reflected in the celebration of the Jewish New Year. The cry of the young man symbolizes the sound of the shofar in the synagogues - a musical instrument made from the horn of an animal.
With the spread of Christianity, the parable of the prodigal son became popular not only among Jews, but throughout the Christian world. This, of course, contributed to the fact that the phrase "the return of the prodigal son" became winged in many languages of the world.
The catchphrase "the return of the prodigal son" gave its name to many great works of art, the most famous of which is Rembrandt's "The Return of the Prodigal Son", written in the 60s of the 17th century.
The parable of the prodigal son can be called without exaggeration one of the most famous gospel stories. According to her story, paintings are painted and statues are created, she is remembered in films on biblical themes ... Even in the speech of a person who is far from religion, no, no, yes, it will slip: “Oh, you prodigal son!” Moreover, there is a day during which the words of the parable are repeated in all Orthodox churches of the world. What kind of story is this?
A story of fall, repentance and all-forgiving love
Let us briefly recall the essence of the gospel story.
One father had two sons. Each of the children hoped in time to receive his share of the inheritance; however, it seemed insulting to the younger to wait for the death of a parent in order to gain, as they would say now, financial independence. He went to his father and asked to allocate the part of the economy assigned to him immediately, and having received it, he soon sold it and went to foreign lands in search of a wild life.
Having squandered his fortune, the guy fell into deep need and was forced to take on the most menial work, just not to die of hunger. After pushing around for some time in a foreign land, the young man decided to return to his native side, confess his mistakes and ask to return to his parental home. At least as a hired worker! But the father, exhausted by anxiety for the unreasonable offspring, did not even listen to his repentant speeches - he immediately ordered the servants to dress and put on the unlucky traveler and arrange a festival in his honor.
What happened made everyone happy, except for the brother of the young man, who remained at home all this time, obediently fulfilling his filial duty. Confident that he was a victim of injustice, he began to blame his parent - they say, how is it? I work tirelessly, and do not deserve a holiday like the one that this worthless reveler was awarded?!
The eldest son could not rejoice at the return of his brother ...
“You are always with me,” he heard in response. “And all that is mine is yours. But your brother was dead and lost, but now he is alive and is found. How can I not rejoice?"
What does the parable of the prodigal son teach? It will be easier to answer this question if we dwell in more detail on each of the images displayed in it.
Father
It seems that many will guess that under the guise of a father in this story the Lord himself appears, always ready to forgive and accept his children - if only they wanted to come. And they will be right.
Imagine! After all, the father of the young man was probably offended by the unreasonable behavior of his son. Disappointed by his long absence. Perhaps he was annoyed at the loss of half of his fortune, about which he could at least casually, but reproach the offspring who appeared on the threshold: they say, he let down on my drunken friends what I had made over the years of honest work! .. But the parent did not even think of scolding.
The joy of the return of the prodigal son was so great that a feast was immediately thrown in the house! And, of course, the first to sit at the table was a washed, dressed up and shod tramp, who appeared almost naked under his father's roof. The gesture, by the way, is symbolic: having ordered to find shoes for his son, the father accepted him into the house on the same rights, although the young man agreed to the role of a simple worker who was not supposed to wear shoes.
There was no greater joy for a father than to see his child alive and unharmed.
If an earthly father did this for his son-revelers, and easily, without anger in his soul, then really the Heavenly Father will not accept a repentant sinner? Let him do a lot of mischief, waste the great gifts given to him - time, strength, spiritual purity - let him grieve and anger the Father more than once ... One has only to realize his fall, be imbued with a desire to change life, come to the threshold of God's temple with a bowed head - and you will be heard . For those who truly love us will not turn away from us.
It is not for nothing that Jesus himself, in his conversations with his disciples, says that in heaven one repentant sinner is more welcome than 99 righteous people.
Prodigal son
Actually, why is the son called prodigal? Because far from his father's house led a dissolute life? Not really. If you turn to expert linguists, they will tell you: the word used to designate an unreasonable young man in church books can be translated not only as “dissolute” or “wasteful”, but also as “lost”, “lost”, “lost”.
The repentant sinner is the same prodigal son who returned home
A son is lost, lost in a foreign land in pursuit of pleasure. The one who departed from God and His love in search of a life not burdened by everyday work on his soul is lost ... And the one who managed to wake up one day and, having a sober look at himself from the outside, find the strength to embark on the path of correction, is found. Saved. Returned to the parental shelter, where you can forget the hardships experienced, heal the soul weary of sin and truly resurrect ...
Even the meaning of the phraseologism "prodigal son" keeps a touch of positive in itself. When we use it in everyday speech, we usually mean someone who has gone astray, left family, friends, or a tight-knit group. But at the same time, we often seem to imply that the “free vagrant” can still come to his senses and return. How else, because a kindred soul, and not a stranger!
righteous son
When we read the biblical parable of the prodigal son, we traditionally focus on key images: the tramp boy and his parent. Meanwhile, the second offspring is a curious figure!
How can one not remember the arrogant righteous Pharisee and the penitent publican!
How does the gospel describe it? An honest guy, meekly working on his father's arable land and vineyards, while his brother merrily burned his share of the inheritance in distant lands ... It seems that the eldest son had reason to grumble at the sight of the jubilation that rose in the house because of the negligent offspring. After all, after what was created, it was not easy for an honest man and brother to call him!
But it is worth looking at history from a different angle, and the picture changes.
If, under the guise of the prodigal son, the legend brings us a sinner, then his righteous brother is a person who lives strictly according to the commandments of God. A regular churchgoer. Observant of posts. Knowing by heart prayers and where, when, and in what order they should be read. AND…
… And he does not have the strength in his soul to rejoice for the resurrected - read, churched, reunited with God - brother. Alas, the righteousness of such people is not based on love, but on selfishness: look, Lord, how diligently I serve you, I try, I fulfill every letter of your commandments! You won’t put me, who is pious through and through, on the same level as a sinner, at whom, on occasion, I won’t hesitate to snort contemptuously: let him know his place, unworthy ...
Another common symbol of a sinful person is a lost lamb.
In a word, the parable gives food for thought to everyone. For sinners - to find hope for salvation, remembering the mercy of God. The righteous - to test the soul for pride. This year, the memory of the prodigal son is dedicated to February 24, the second preparatory week before Lent. Let's try to spend this day profitably and if we don't eradicate evil impulses in our souls, then at least realize them, and having realized, take the first step towards eradicating our shortcomings.
Video: The Parable of the Prodigal Son
For the youngest - and for adults who are more comfortable with visual information - we offer you to watch a cartoon from the Orthodoxy in Details channel ...
…And a wonderful video sequence from MYDROSTVEKOV
Video: The Return of the Prodigal Son
And the end." Phraseologism is built on the collision of antonymous components: alpha and omega are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet ...
Such expressions are found in all languages of the world. For example, we say: “Study everything from A to Z”, and in tsarist times they said “From the basics to Izhitsa”. Az is the first letter of the Old Slavonic alphabet, izhitsa, according to the last letter. Phraseologism "from alpha to omega" means "everything is complete", "from beginning to end".
Once, King Eurystheus instructed Hercules to clear the barnyard of King Avgii from manure. The father of Avgius, the sun god Helios, gave his son huge herds: three hundred bulls for Bilonogus, two hundred red bulls and twelve bulls as white as snow. And another bull, like the sun, lit up everything around with beauty. Avgii's barnyard was never cleaned, and the king ordered Hercules to clear it of manure in one day. Hercules agreed, and Avgiy promised to give him a tenth of his herds for work: the king did not believe that so much could be done in one day.
The expression is attributed to the ancient Roman writer and orator Cicero (106 - 43 BC). In an effort to popularize Greek culture in Rome, Cicero in his writings devoted a significant place to the theory of oratory developed by the Greeks. He especially singled out the inhabitants of Attica, who were famous for their eloquence. "All of them were ... sprinkled with salt of wit ..." - wrote Cicero.
Oh, what an accurate, military dictionary it is,
Without attitskoi salt and spicy pepper.
(E. Malanyuk, Fifth Symphony)
Sergei Ivanovich.
"Gordian knot" - phraseological unit, which each of us heard, but What does the idiom "Gordian knot" mean? not everyone will explain.
According to the legend cited by the ancient Greek historian Plutarch (I-II centuries AD), the Phrygians, having listened to the advice of the oracle, elected the first king who met them with a cart at the temple of Zeus. It was a simple peasant Gordey.
In memory of his unexpected exaltation, Gordey placed this cart in the temple of Zeus, tying the yoke to it with a very tangled knot. Alexander the Great, learning about the oracle's prophecy
Drach. prodigal son in los angeles, just on the lawn,
A man fell down into the grass
And sees through the planet: horses play
And Roska plays in the shawl of their pupils.
A man has fallen and sees through the whole earth
Your grass and your path
Such that I can’t separate at all
From that spore in paradise.
A man fell under alien palm trees
And he sees verbose and bushes,
And a gray-haired mother with gray-haired doors,
Where two stars huddle on the rafters.
A man has fallen, and only he can get up,
And do not let him down with cranes. 1. Which wanders, wanders, constantly changing its place of residence. To become a prodigal knight ... to move out of the house into the wide world - That's what he immediately conceived (fr., XII, 1953, 114).
◊ Prodigal Son, deputy - About a man who, after long wanderings and a dissolute life, returns with repentance to his family. * On Wednesday. [Zhanna:] Well, your dear Petya will return to you very quickly, like a prodigal son, without a penny and, possibly, without a jacket (Kor., Why is a laughingstock. Zare, 1958, 86).
2. trans.
Prodigal son
Prodigal son
From the Bible. In the Gospel of Luke (ch. 15) there is a parable about the prodigal son, which tells that once a certain man divided his property between his two sons; the younger, having taken his share, left home and, wandering in foreign lands, squandered his estate.
Having reached the extreme degree of need, he decided to return to his father's house. The father received him, hugged and kissed him. The son, timid, said (v. 21): “Father! I have sinned against heaven and before you, and I am no longer worthy to be called your son.” But the father, seeing his sincere repentance, ordered him to be dressed in the best clothes and made a feast for him, saying (v. 24): “Let us eat and be merry! For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.”
The expression "prodigal son" means: a son who has gone out of obedience to his father; used in the meaning: a dissolute person, morally unstable, but more often in the meaning: repentant of his errors ..
Encyclopedic Dictionary of winged words and expressions. - M.: "Lokid-Press". Vadim Serov. 2003 .
Prodigal son
The expression arose from the gospel parable of the prodigal son (Luke, 15, 11-32), which tells how a certain man divided his property between two sons; the youngest went to a far country and, living dissolutely, squandered his estate. Having experienced want and deprivation, he returned to his father; his father took pity on him, hugged him and kissed him; and the son said to him: "Father! I have sinned against heaven and against you, and I am no longer worthy to be called your son." But his father ordered that he be dressed in the best clothes and arranged a feast in his honor, saying: "Let's eat and be merry! For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found." The expression "prodigal son" means: a son who has gone out of obedience to his father; used in the meaning: a dissolute person, morally unstable, but more often in the meaning: repentant of his errors.
Dictionary of winged words. Plutex. 2004
See what "Prodigal Son" is in other dictionaries:
Prodigal son. In some cases, a “mistake” or “misunderstanding” in the field of word creation or individual, new word usage of a modern writer is caused by an underestimation of the subtle semantic and stylistic shades of old phraseology. ... ... The history of words
Cm … Synonym dictionary
- "PRODIGAL SON", USSR, Lithuanian film studio, 1985, color, 90 min. Psychological drama. Based on the novel by R.Kašauskas "Green Hills". After living in the city for ten years, Vilyus returns to the farm, where his older brother Petras, the main ... ... Cinema Encyclopedia
- “The Return of the Prodigal Son”, Rembrandt The parable of the prodigal son is one of the parables of Jesus Christ, given in the New Testament. It teaches the virtues of repentance and forgiveness. According to Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh, this parable "lies at the very core ... ... Wikipedia
The first project called the Prodigal Son was formed in 1993 in the Pervomaisky district of Moscow. The line-up included: Andrey Gavrilov (guitar, vocals), Andrey Kovalev (guitar, vocals) and Vis Vitalys (bass, vocals). The three of them, without a drummer, they played ... ... Russian rock. Small encyclopedia
"Prodigal son"- PRODIGUE SON (Le Fils prodigue), one-act ballet. Comp. S. S. Prokofiev, scene. B. Kokhno. 21.5.1929, Diaghilev's Russian Ballet, Theater of Sarah Bernhardt, Paris, ballet. J. Balanchine, art. J. Rouault, conductor Prokofiev; Prodigal Son - S. Lifar, Father - ... Ballet. Encyclopedia
Prodigal son- wing. sl. The expression arose from the gospel parable of the prodigal son (Luke, 15, 11-32), which tells how a certain man divided his property between two sons; the younger went to a far side and, living dissolutely, squandered his estate ... ... Universal additional practical explanatory dictionary by I. Mostitsky
- (inosk.) morally wandering, dissolute Cf. You never thought about marrying your prodigal son Anatoly. Gr. L. Tolstoy. War and Peace. 1, 1. Cf. I now fully realize that I am the prodigal son. Pisemsky. The churning sea. 1, 18. Cf. Da... Michelson's Big Explanatory Phraseological Dictionary
◘ prodigal son- From the gospel parable about the rebellious prodigal son who left home, squandered his share of the inheritance, after wandering he returned with repentance to his father's house and was forgiven. Entering the room, I immediately recognized the pictures depicting the story of the prodigal ... ... Dictionary of forgotten and difficult words from the works of Russian literature of the 18th-19th centuries
Prodigal son (inosk.) morally wandering, dissolute. Wed You never thought about marrying your prodigal son Anatoly. Gr. L. Tolstoy. War and peace. 1, 1. Cf. I now fully realize that I am a prodigal son. Pisemsky. Agitated…… Michelson's Big Explanatory Phraseological Dictionary (original spelling)
Books
- The Prodigal Son, C. Debussy. C. Debussy, The Prodigal Son, Score, For 3 voices and orchestra Edition type: Score Instruments: 3 voice, orchestra Reproduced in the original author's spelling of the 1884 edition.…
