A representation of an abstract or spiritual meaning through concrete or material forms; figurative treatment of one subject under the guise of another. Used in Galatians 4:24, where the apostle refers to the history of Isaac the free-born, and Ishmael the slave-born, and makes use of it allegorically. Every parable is an allegory. Nathan (2 Samuel 12:1-4) addresses David in an allegorical narrative. In the eightieth Psalm there is a beautiful allegory: “You brought a vine out of Egypt,” (Psa. 80:8-9). In Ecclesiastes 12:2-6, there is a striking allegorical description of old age.