The Parable of the Pearl (also called the Pearl of Great Price) is one of the parables of Jesus Christ. It appears in Matthew 13[1] and illustrates the great value of the Kingdom of Heaven.
This is the penultimate parable in Matthew 13, coming just before the Parable of the Dragnet. It immediately follows the Parable of the Hidden Treasure, which has a similar theme. It does not appear in the other synoptic gospels,[2] but a version of this parable does appear in the non-canonical Gospel of Thomas, Saying 76.[3] The parable has been depicted by artists such as Domenico Fetti.
The parable reads as follows:
Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it.
— Matthew 13:45-46, King James Version
- ^ Matthew 13:45–46
- ^ Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges on Matthew 13, accessed 15 January 2017
- ^ Gospel of Thomas: Lamb translation and Patterson/Meyer translation.