Several authors such as Barbara Reid, Arland Hultgren or Donald Griggs comment that "parables are noticeably absent from the Gospel of John". According to the "Catholic Encyclopedia", "There are no parables in St. John's Gospel"; and according to the "Encyclopædia Britannica", "Here Jesus' teaching contains no parables and but three allegories, the Synoptists present it as parabolic through and through." These sources all suggest that the passage is better described as a metaphor than a parable. Some writers, however, notably John Calvin, referred to the passage by a Latin term that is typically translated into English as a "parable".