Son of man, put forth a riddle, and speak a parable unto the house of Israel;
Put forth a riddle - a continued allegory, expressed enigmatically, requiring more than common acumen and serious thought. The Hebrew, х chiydaah (H2420)] is derived from a root [chaadad] 'to be sharp' - i:e., calculated to stimulate the attention and whet the intellect. Distinct from 'fable,' in that it teaches not fiction but fact. Not like the ordinary riddle, designed to puzzle, but to instruct. The "riddle" is here identical with the "parable" х maashaal (H4912)], only that the former refers to the obscurity, the latter to the likeness of the figure to the thing compared.