Allegorical interpretation of the Bible

[2]The rhyme is roughly translated: The literal teaches what God and our ancestors did, The allegory is where our faith and belief is hid, The moral meaning gives us the rule of daily life, The anagogy shows us where we end our strife.

[4] Origen, in his Treatise on First Principles, recommends for the Old and New Testaments to be interpreted allegorically at three levels, the "flesh", the "soul", and the "spirit".

He states that many of the events recounted in the Scriptures, if they are interpreted in the literal, or fleshly, sense, are impossible or nonsensical.

"[9] People of the Middle Ages shaped their ideas and institutions from drawing on the cultural legacies of the ancient world.

Medieval scholars believed this was an allegory (using the typological interpretation) of Jesus' death and his being in the tomb for three days before he rose from the dead.