This study explores the intertextual relationship between Plato’s Myth of Er and Luke’s Parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man. It examines how a reader familiar with Plato’s work as an ante-text interprets Luke’s parable. By identifying echoes of the Myth of Er within Luke’s narrative, the reader establishes Plato’s text as the geno-text and Luke’s parable as the pheno-text. Through comparative analysis, the reader discerns thematic and structural commonalities, thereby confirming intertextuality. Contrasting the two narratives further reveals differences, enabling the reader to construct meaning in the pheno-text through the framework of the geno-text. Ultimately, the reader interprets the pheno-text’s message while transcending the geno-text’s influence. This process demonstrates how intertextual reading can enrich biblical interpretation.
Wookyoung Lee (Fri,) studied this question.