Editing Parable of the Talents

{{Short description|Parable taught by Jesus of Nazareth according to Christian gospels}}
{{For|the novel by Octavia E. Butler|Parable of the Talents (novel)}}
[[File:Parable of talents.jpg|thumb|300px|The parable of the talents, depicted in a 1712 woodcut. The lazy servant searches for his buried talent, while the two other servants present their earnings to their master.]]

The '''Parable of the Talents''' (also the '''Parable of the Minas''') is one of the [[parables of Jesus]]. It appears in two of the [[Synoptic Gospels|synoptic]], [[Canonical Gospels|canonical gospels]] of the [[New Testament]]:

* {{bibleref2|Matthew|25:14–30}}
* {{bibleref2|Luke|19:11–27}}

Although the basic theme of each of these parables is essentially the same, the differences between the parables in the [[Gospel of Matthew]] and in the [[Gospel of Luke]] are sufficient to indicate that the parables are not derived from the same source.<ref name="Hultgren" /> In Matthew, the opening words link the parable to the preceding [[Parable of the Ten Virgins]], which refers to the [[Kingdom of God|Kingdom of Heaven]].<ref name="Hultgren" /> The version in Luke is also called the '''Parable of the Pounds'''.

In both Matthew and Luke, a master puts his servants in charge of his goods while he is away on a trip. Upon his return, the master assesses the [[stewardship]] of his servants. He evaluates them according to how faithful each was in making wise investments of his goods to obtain a profit. It is clear that the master sought some profit from the servants' oversight. A gain indicated faithfulness on the part of the servants. The master rewards his servants according to how each has handled his stewardship. He judges two servants as having been "faithful" and gives them a positive reward. To the single "unfaithful" servant, who avoided even the safe profit of bank interest, a negative compensation is given.

A thematically variant parable appears in the non-canonical [[Gospel of the Hebrews]], wherein the servant who hid his money from his cruel master is rebuked, but presented as more righteous than the wealthiest servant, who squandered his money and was cast into darkness.<ref name="ReferenceA">Eusebius, ''Theophany on Matthew'' 22</ref>

==Settings==
While the basic story in each of these parables is essentially the same, the settings are quite different. 
*The setting of the parable of the talents in [[Matthew 25]] is the Mt. Olivet discourse. In [[Matthew 24]]–[[Matthew 25|25]], the overall theme is end-time events, warning, and parables. "The direct cautions and warnings ({{bibleverse|Matthew|24:42|KJV}}, {{bibleverse|Matthew|24:44|KJV}}; {{bibleverse|Matthew|25:13|KJV}}) must be for the disciples (his audience)—warnings to be watchful and to be ready for Christ's coming".
*The setting of the parable of the minas in [[Luke 19]] was out in the open among the crowd. Zacchaeus had just believed and the Lord acknowledged his salvation. But, the crowd was now looking for Jesus to set up his kingdom.<ref name="Finley">Finley, Tom. ''The Parable of the Talents and the Parable of the Minas ({{bibleverse|Matthew|25:14–30|KJV}} and {{bibleverse|Luke|19:11–27|KJV}})''. Online: {{Cite web |title=Archived copy |url=http://seekersofchrist.org/talents/talents.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160222185449/http://www.seekersofchrist.org/TALENTS/talents.pdf |archive-date=2016-02-22 |access-date=2015-04-17}}</ref>{{Unreliable source?|date=May 2018|reason=Points to a paper on a random religious web site; no information about where this was originally published}}

==The values of a talent==
A [[Talent (measurement)|talent]] (Ancient Greek {{lang|grc|τάλαντον}}, ''talanton'' 'scale' and 'balance') was a unit of weight of approximately {{convert|80|lb}}, and when used as a unit of money, was valued for that weight of silver.<ref>Ridgeway, William, "Measures and Weights" in Whibley, Leonard (ed). ''A Companion to Greek Studies'', Cambridge University Press, 1905, p. 444.</ref> As a unit of [[currency]], a talent was worth about 6,000 [[denarius|denarii]].<ref name="Hultgren" /> A denarius was the usual payment for a day's labour.<ref name="Hultgren" /> At one denarius per day, a single talent was therefore worth 20 years of labor (assuming a 6-day work week, because nobody would work on the weekly Sabbath).

==Narratives==
===Parable of the Talents===
The "Parable of the Talents", in {{bibleref2|Matthew|25:14–30}} tells of a master who was leaving his house to travel, and, before leaving, entrusted his property to his servants. According to the abilities of each man, one servant received five talents, the second had received two, and the third received only one. The property entrusted to the three servants was worth eight talents, where a [[Talent (measurement)|talent]] was a significant amount of money. Upon returning home, after a long absence, the master asks his three servants for an account of the talents he entrusted to them. The first and the second servants explain that they each put their talents to work, and have doubled the value of the property with which they were entrusted; each servant was rewarded:
{{Quote|His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. |Matthew 25:23}}

The third servant, however, had merely hidden his talent, burying it in the ground, and was punished and kicked out by his master:
{{Quote|Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art a hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed: And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine. His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed: Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury. Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents. For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him, that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath. And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. |Matthew 25:24–30}}

===Parable of the Minas ===
In Luke's Gospel ({{bibleref2|Luke|19:12–27}}), Jesus told this parable because he was near [[Jerusalem]] and because his disciples thought the [[kingdom of God]] would appear immediately. The parable follows on from [[Zacchaeus]]' meeting with Jesus and the disciples "hearing" his declaration of restitution to those whom Zacchaeus had defrauded.<ref>{{bibleverse||Luke|19:11|NKJV}}: NKJV: ''...as they heard these things''</ref> The objective of investing or trading during the absence of the master was intended to counter expectations of the immediate appearance of God's kingdom. The parable of the [[Mina (unit)|minas]] is generally similar to the parable of the talents, but differences include the inclusion of the motif of a king obtaining a kingdom<ref name="LTJ">Luke Timothy Johnson and Daniel J. Harrington, ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=eum1ijxbr6kC&pg=PA292 The Gospel of Luke]'', Liturgical Press, 1991, {{ISBN|0-8146-5805-9}}, p. 292.</ref> and the entrusting of ten servants with one mina each, rather than a number of talents ({{nowrap|1 talent {{=}}}} 60 minas). Only the business outcomes and consequential rewards of three of the servants' trading were related. Additionally, Luke included at the beginning an account of citizens sending a message after the nobleman to say that they did not want him as their ruler; and, at the end, Luke added that the nobleman instructed that his opponents should be brought to him and slain, as well as the unprofitable servant deprived of his mina.

The parallels between the Lukan material (the Gospel of Luke and [[Book of Acts]]) and [[Josephus]]' writings have long been noted.<ref>Steve Mason, ''Josephus and Luke-Acts'', (1992), pp. 185–229</ref><ref>Gregory Sterling, ''historiography and Self-Definition: Josephos, Luke-Acts and Apologetic historiography'' (1992)</ref><ref>heinz Schreckenberg, ''Flavius Josephus and the Lukan Writings'' (1980), pp. 179–209.</ref><ref>Max Krenkel, ''Josephus und Lukas'' (1894)</ref> The core idea, of a man traveling to a far country being related to a kingdom, has vague similarities to [[Herod Archelaus]] traveling to [[Rome]] in order to be given his kingdom; although this similarity is not in itself significant, Josephus' account also contains details which are echoed by features of the Lukan parable.<ref>Luke Timothy Johnson, Daniel J. Harrington, ''The Gospel of Luke'' (1991), endnote 12, page 289</ref> Josephus describes Jews sending an embassy to [[Augustus]], while Archelaus is travelling to Rome, to complain that they do not want Archelaus as their ruler;<ref name="Josephus">Josephus, ''Antiquities of the Jews'', 17:11</ref><ref>Luke Timothy Johnson, Daniel J. Harrington, ''The Gospel of Luke'' (1991), endnote 14, p, 290</ref> when Archelaus returns, he arranges for 3000 of his enemies to be brought to him at the [[Temple in Jerusalem]], where he has them slaughtered.<ref name="Josephus" />

==Version in the Gospel of the Hebrews==
[[Eusebius of Caesarea]] includes a paraphrased summary of a parable of talents taken from a "[[Jewish-Christian gospels|Gospel written in Hebrew script]]" (generally considered in modern times to be the [[Gospel of the Nazarenes]]); this gospel is presumed to have been destroyed in the destruction of the [[Theological Library of Caesarea Maritima]] in the 7th century (in historically controversial circumstances) and has yet to be found. In that gospel, Eusebius writes that while the man who had hidden the talent was rebuked for its burial, only the man who had received two talents had invested and gained a return on his investment. The recipient of the five talents instead "wasted his master's possessions with harlots and flute-girls"; it was he, in the Hebrew gospel, that was sent into the darkness (Eusebius expressly identifies the darkness as being imprisonment).<ref name="ReferenceA" /><ref name="Piper1995">{{Cite book |last=Ronald Allen Piper |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F_KbL5s6h_kC&pg=PA297 |title=The Gospel Behind the Gospels: Current Studies on Q |publisher=BRILL |year=1995 |isbn=90-04-09737-6 |page=297}}</ref>

==Depositing funds with the bankers==
The third servant in Matthew's version was condemned as wicked and lazy, because he could have deposited his talent with the bankers ({{langx|el|τραπεζιταις}}, ''trapezitais'', literally, table or counter-keepers, just as bankers were originally those who sat at their ''bancum'', or bench).<ref>[http://biblehub.com/commentaries/ellicott/matthew/25.htm Ellicott's Commentary for Modern Readers] on Matthew 25, accessed 21 February 2017</ref> The [[Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges]] notes that this was "the very least the slave could have done, [as] to make money in this way required no personal exertion or intelligence",<ref>[http://biblehub.com/commentaries/cambridge/matthew/25.htm Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges] on Matthew 25, accessed 21 February 2017</ref> and [[Johann Albrecht Bengel|Johann Bengel]] commented that the labour of digging a hole and burying the talent was greater than the labour involved in going to the bankers.<ref>[http://biblehub.com/commentaries/bengel/matthew/25.htm Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament] on Matthew 25, accessed 21 February 2017</ref>

==Interpretations==
In Matthew, the opening words appear to link the parable to the [[parable of the Ten Virgins]], which immediately precedes it.<ref name="Hultgren">Arland J. Hultgren, ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=P2UvmRVLF18C&pg=PA271 The Parables of Jesus: A Commentary]'', Eerdmans Publishing, 2002, {{ISBN|0-8028-6077-X}}, pp. 271–281.</ref> That parable deals with wisdom in an [[Christian eschatology|eschatological]] context.<ref name="Hultgren" /> This parable, however, has been interpreted in several ways.

===As a teaching for Christian believers===
====As personal abilities====
Traditionally, the parable of the talents has been seen as an exhortation to Jesus' disciples to use their God-given gifts in the service of God, and to take risks for the sake of the [[Kingdom of God]]. These gifts have been seen to include personal abilities ("talents" in the everyday sense), as well as personal wealth. Failure to use one's gifts, the parable suggests, will result in negative judgment.<ref name="Hultgren" /> From a psychological point of view, the failure is the immediate result of the failure of feeling God's love. The first two servants are able to see God in a positive perception, as understanding, generous, and kind, while the third servant sees God as harsh, demanding, and critical.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Wilkie Au |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xIk8DAAAQBAJ&q=the+parable+of+the+talents |title=God's Unconditional Love: Healing Our Shame |last2=Noreen Cannon Au |publisher=Paulist Press |year=2016 |isbn=978-1-58768-570-5}}</ref>

Finley suggests these interpretations among the teachings for Christians:
*The nobleman ({{bibleref2|Lk|19:12}}), or the man ({{bibleref2|Matthew|25:14}}) is Christ.
*The journey of the master to another place and his return ({{bibleref2|Matt|25:14–15}}, {{bibleref2|Matthew|24:19}}; {{bibleref2|Luke|19:12}}, {{bibleref2|Luke|19:15}}) speaks of Christ's going away to Heaven at his ascension and his return as the time when he comes again.
*His entrustment to his servants of his possessions while he is away on his journey should be Christ's gifts and various possessions ("capital") given to the believers in his church in anticipation of them producing a spiritual "profit" for Him in the kingdom of God. While he is away, he expects his believers to "'Do business with this until I come back.'" ({{bibleref2|Luke|19:13}}).
*His evaluation of the business they have conducted during his absence takes place upon his return and is an account of their activity ({{bibleref2|Matt|25:19}}; {{bibleref2|Luke|19:15}}). This must be the Judgment Seat of Christ, which is only for believers. This pictures an evaluation of stewardship.
*The positive rewards for two of the servants are based upon their faithfulness to properly use what Christ entrusted to them. This probably speaks of positive reward for believers who are faithful to serve Christ.
*The negative reward (recompense) for the unfaithful servant likely speaks of some negative dealing by Christ with an unfaithful believer.<ref name=Finley/>

The poet [[John Milton]] was fascinated by the parable (interpreted in this traditional sense),<ref name="Urban">David V. Urban, "[https://books.google.com/books?id=vnFc5Zdu3U0C&pg=PA1 The Talented Mr. Milton: A Parabolic Laborer and His Identity]" in ''Milton Studies'', Volume 43, Albert C. Labriola (ed.), Univ of Pittsburgh Press, 2004, {{ISBN|0-8229-4216-X}}, pp. 1–18.</ref> referring to it repeatedly, notably in the sonnet "[[When I Consider How My Light is Spent]]":<ref name="Urban" />

<blockquote><poem>
When I consider how my light is spent
Ere half my days, in this dark world and wide,
And that one Talent, which is death to hide,
Lodg'd with me useless, though my Soul more bent
To serve therewith my Maker, and present
My true account, lest he returning chide;
"Doth God exact day-labour, light denied?"
I fondly ask. But Patience to prevent'
That murmur, soon replies: "God doth not need
Either man's work or his own gifts; who best
Bear his mild yoke, they serve him best. His state
Is kingly. Thousands at his bidding speed
And post o'er land and ocean without rest:
They also serve who only stand and wait."
</poem></blockquote>

Some critics interpret the poem's exhortation to be ready to receive God's will as a critique of a misunderstanding of the parable as literal or economic, and that waiting, rather than amassing wealth to prove one's worth, is the proper way to serve God.<ref>Lewalski, Barbara. ''The Life of John Milton: A Critical Biography'', Malden, MA: Blackwell, 2003. Ebook. Page 306.</ref> While the narrator worries over his limited accomplishments, Patience reminds him that God does not need "man's work". Milton may even be contrasting God (as King) with the lord of the parable.<ref>[http://www.shmoop.com/consider-light-spent-blindness/parable-talents-symbol.html "When I Consider How My Light Is Spent (On His Blindness)."] Shmoop Editorial Team. Shmoop.com. Shmoop University, Inc., 11 Nov. 2008. Web. 5 Aug. 2014.</ref>

====As love or mercy====
Catholic bishop [[Robert Barron (bishop)|Robert Barron]] says that the talents in this parable are "a share in the mercy of God, a participation in the weightiness of the divine love," rather than personal abilities or wealth. He utilizes the interpretation of Old Testament professor Robert Schoenstene, who argues that a talent in ancient Jewish times was very weighty thus five talents was extremely heavy. Such heaviness would remind to the heaviest weight of all, the ''[[K-B-D|kabod]]'' (lit. ''heaviness'') of God in the Temple of Jerusalem, accordingly the most heavy of all is the mercy of God.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Robert Barron |author-link=Robert Barron (bishop) |date=September 22, 2014 |title=The Deeper Meaning of the Parable of the Talents |url=http://www.catholicworldreport.com/2014/09/22/the-deeper-meaning-of-the-parable-of-the-talents/ |publisher=Catholic World Report}}</ref> Similarly, a reflection in the [[Carmelites]]' website defines the talents as "love, service, sharing", the "money of the master".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Lectio Divina: Matthew 25, 14–30 |url=http://ocarm.org/en/content/lectio/lectio-divina-matthew-2514-30 |access-date=November 21, 2017 |publisher=The Order of Carmelites}}</ref> In other words, Erasmo Leiva-Merikakis says, "Our greatest talent and treasure is our ability to love, and in this enterprise the champion is the greatest risk taker, which means the one most willing to invest ''himself'' where the odds appear most against him."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Erasmo Leiva-Merikakis |year=1996 |others=Taken from ''Fire of Mercy: Heart of the Word: Meditations on the Gospel According to Saint Matthew Vol. 1'' |title=The Meaning of the Parable of the Talents |url=https://www.catholiceducation.org/en/religion-and-philosophy/spiritual-life/the-meaning-of-the-parable-of-the-talents.html |publisher=Ignatius Press}}</ref>

====As gifts from God====

[[Cornelius a Lapide]] in his ''great commentary'', writes, "By talents understand all the gifts of God, without which we can do nothing. These gifts are, I say—1st Of grace, both making grateful, such as faith, hope, charity, virginity, and all the other virtues, as well as those of grace given gratis—such as the power of working miracles, the [[Apostolate]], the Priesthood, the gift of tongues, prophecy, etc. 2d Natural gifts, such as a keen intellect, a sound judgment, a sound constitution, prudence, industry, learning, eloquence. 3d External goods and gifts, as honours, riches, rank, etc. So St. [[Chrysostom]]. For all these things God distributes unequally, according to His good pleasure. And with this end in view, that each should use them for God’s glory, and the good of himself and others."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Lapide |first=Cornelius |author-link=Cornelius a Lapide |url=http://www.catholicapologetics.info/scripture/newtestament/Lapide.htm |title=The great commentary of Cornelius à Lapide |publisher=London: John Hodges |year=1889 |translator-last=Thomas Wimberly Mossman}}</ref>

===As a critique of religious leaders===
[[Joachim Jeremias]] believed that the original meaning of the parable was not an ethical one about every man. Instead, he saw it as aimed at the scribes who had withheld "from their fellow men a due share in God's gift."<ref name="Jeremias">[[Joachim Jeremias]], ''The Parables of Jesus'', Scribner, 1954.</ref> In his view, Jesus is saying that these scribes will soon be brought to account for what they have done with the Word of God which was entrusted to them.<ref name="Jeremias" />

Jeremias also believed that in the life of the early church the parable took on new meaning, with the merchant having become an allegory of Christ, so that "his journey has become the ascension, his subsequent return ... has become the [[Second Coming of Christ|Parousia]], which ushers his own into the Messianic banquet."<ref name="Jeremias" />

===As social critique===
In ''Parables as Subversive Speech: Jesus as Pedagogue of the Oppressed'' (1994), William R. Herzog II presents a [[liberation theology]] interpretation of the "Parable of the Talents", wherein the absentee landlord reaps where he didn't sow, and the third servant is a whistle-blower who has "unmasked the 'joy of the master' for what it is — the profits of [[Exploitation of labour|exploitation]] squandered in wasteful excess."<ref name="Herzog">William R. Herzog II, ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=sG6Bjr7guSAC&pg=PA150 Parables as Subversive Speech: Jesus as Pedagogue of the Oppressed]'', Westminster John Knox Press, 1994, {{ISBN|0-664-25355-5}}, pp. 150–168.</ref> Hence, the third servant is punished for speaking the truth, and not for failing to make a profit. From the critical perspective of liberation theology, the message of the "Parable of the Talents" is that man must act in solidarity with other men when confronting social, political, and economic injustices.<ref name="Herzog" />

To describe how scientists are awarded authorial credit for their work, the sociologist [[Robert K. Merton]] applied the term "[[Matthew effect of accumulated advantage]]", in which [[the rich get richer and the poor get poorer]]. With the "Parable of the Talents", Merton metaphorically described the system of authorial rewards used, among the community of scientists, whereby famous scientists usually are awarded credit that is disproportionately greater than their contributions, while less-famous scientists are awarded lesser credit than is merited by their contributions; see also [[Stigler's law of eponymy]]: "No scientific discovery is named after its original discoverer."<ref>Gerald Holton (December 2004). Robert K. Merton, 4 July 1910 — 23 February 2003. 148. American Philosophical Society. {{ISBN|1-4223-7290-1}}.</ref>

==Depictions in the arts==
[[File:Teachings of Jesus 30 of 40. parable of the talents. Jan Luyken etching. Bowyer Bible.gif|thumb|300px|The teachings of Jesus: the ''Parable of the Talents'', as etched by [[Jan Luyken]].]]

[[File:Parable_of_the_Talents._Mironov.jpg|thumb|The ''Parable of the Talents'', depicted by artist [[Andrei Mironov (painter)|Andrei Mironov]]. Oil on canvas, 2013]]

The "Parable of the Talents" has been depicted by artists such as [[Rembrandt]], [[Jan Luyken]], and [[Matthäus Merian]]. In literature, the ''[[Threepenny Novel]]'' (1934), by [[Bertolt Brecht]] (1895–1956), presents a social critique of the parable as an ideological tool of [[Capitalism|capitalist]] exploitation of the worker and of society.<ref>Bertolt Brecht, ''Threepenny Novel'', Penguin Books, 1962, {{ISBN|0-14-001515-9}}, p. 365.</ref>

In religious music, the [[hymn]] "Slave of God, Well Done!", by [[John Wesley]], notably alludes to the "Parable of the Talents" ({{bibleref2|Matthew|25:23|NIV}}), which was written on the occasion of the death of [[George Whitefield]] (1714–1770), the English [[Anglicanism|Anglican]] cleric who was instrumental to the [[First Great Awakening]] (ca. 1731–55) in Britain and in the [[Thirteen Colonies|American colonies]].<ref>James Thomas Lightwood, ''Samuel Wesley, Musician: The story of his life'', Ayer Publishing, 1972, {{ISBN|0-405-08748-9}}, p. 222.</ref>

The hymn "Slave of God, Well Done!" begins thus:
<blockquote><poem>
Slave of God, well done!
Thy glorious warfare's past;
The battle's fought, the race is won,
And thou art crowned at last.<ref>[http://www.hymntime.com/tch/htm/s/e/servogod.htm The Cyber Hymnal: ''Slave of God, Well Done!'']</ref></poem></blockquote>

''[[Parable of the Talents (novel)|Parable of the Talents]]'' is a science fiction novel, published in 1998, written by [[Octavia E. Butler]].

==See also==
<!--Alphabetical:-->
* [[Life of Jesus in the New Testament]]
* [[Matthew 25]]
* [[Matthew effect]]
* [[Ministry of Jesus]]
* [[Monasticism]]
* [[Sabbath economics]]
* [[Stewardship]]
* [[Usury]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}
{{Refbegin|30em}}
* Crossan, John Dominic ''The Power of Parable'' (HarperOne 2013)
* Malina, Bruce J. and Rohrbaugh, Richard L. ''Social Science Commentary on the Synoptic Gospels'' (Fortress Press 1993)
* Meier, John P. ''A Marginal Jew: Rethinking the Historical Jesus, Volume V: Probing the Authenticity of the Parables'' (The Anchor Yale Bible Reference Library 2016)
{{Refend}}

==Further reading==
*{{Cite book |last=Knecht |first=Friedrich Justus |title=A Practical Commentary on Holy Scripture |publisher=B. Herder |year=1910 |chapter=[[s:A Practical Commentary on Holy Scripture/Part_2/Chapter_62|The Parable of the Talents]]}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Parable of the Talents}}
* [http://www.biblical-art.com/biblicalsubject.asp?id_biblicalsubject=742&pagenum=1 Biblical-art.com]
* [http://www.thebricktestament.com/the_gospels/parable_of_the_harsh_master/lk19_11.html Parable of the Harsh Master] at [[The Brick Testament]].

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