addressed to “insiders,” who can work out the code. Most scholars regard Matthew 22:1–14 as also ending in an allegory. It might seem extreme and certainly not part of everyday life for a person to send troops to deal with someone who declines an invitation. So this is more than a parable. Israel invites judgment on herself here. Eta Linnemann comments, “An allegory cannot therefore be understood unless one knows … the state of affairs to which it refers. Anyone who does not have this Key can read