The word chidah is once translated 'proverb,' Habakkuk 2:6 but is often translated 'riddle.' It signifies 'problem,' a hidden mode of speaking, which conceals the sense under figurative expressions. The parable of the great eagle in Ezekiel 17:2,3 , is also called a 'riddle.' The word commonly translated 'proverb,' and used for the Book of Proverbs is mashal, signifying 'comparison, similitude.' Proverbs are short sentences calculated to arrest attention and be retained in the memory. Deuteronomy 28:37; 1 Samuel 24:13; Psalm 69:11; Proverbs 1:1; Ecclesiastes 12:9; Isaiah 14:4; Jeremiah 24:9; Ezekiel 12:22,23; Ezekiel 18:2,3; etc. In the N.T. are the words
1, παραβολή, 'a similitude, comparison.' In the A.V. this is only once translated 'proverb,' Luke 4:23; but is often translated 'parable.'
2, παροιμία: this is more an obscure saying, John 16:25,29; 2 Peter 2:22; it is translated 'parable' in John 10:6 , but 'allegory' would be a better rendering.