“The kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins”: analysis of Mt 25,1-13

Abstract

The pericope Mt 25,1-13, of the ten virgins, is one of the most commented texts in the First Gospel. In general, its textual unity is not questioned and this is one of the few consensuses among researchers regarding this pericope. The discussion about its literary genre pits those who defend it as a parable against those who consider it an allegory. This definition is not merely a formality, as it directly influences the possible hermeneutical possibilities for this text. This article therefore looks at the history of the interpretation of Mt 25,1-13. To do this, we offer a segmentation and translation of the text, notes on textual criticism, form criticism and literary genre criticism. This is followed by an exegetical commentary based on the main words in the pericope of Mt 25,1-13. Finally, the history of the interpretation of the proposed pericope is presented. The methodology used is the Historical-Critical Method and bibliographical research. In this sense, the article demonstrates that the definition of a literary genre does not necessarily imply that there are no elements of another literary genre in the same text. With this, the pericope of Mt 25,1-13, as an open work, is contemplated in its polysemy, obviously without arbitrariness, but within the interpretative limits imposed by the text itself.