Is the Almighty's saying, "Have you not considered those who left their homes in thousands, fearing death," a parable or a historical account?

The exegetes mentioned that the verse speaks of a group from the Children of Israel who fled from pestilence or from jihad, fearing death. So, Allah caused them to die, and then He brought them back to life. The purpose of the story is to alert that death and life are solely in the hand of Allah the Almighty, and it was made an introduction to commanding the Ummah of Muhammad (peace be upon him) to engage in jihad.