13:1 So Abram went up from Egypt into the Negev. 1 He took his wife and all his possessions with him, as well as Lot. 2 13:2 (Now Abram was very wealthy 3 in livestock, silver, and gold.) 4
13:3 And he journeyed from place to place 5 from the Negev as far as Bethel. 6 He returned 7 to the place where he had pitched his tent 8 at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai. 13:4 This was the place where he had first built the altar, 9 and there Abram worshiped the Lord. 10
13:5 Now Lot, who was traveling 11 with Abram, also had 12 flocks, herds, and tents.
39:6 Surely people go through life as mere ghosts. 18
Surely they accumulate worthless wealth
without knowing who will eventually haul it away.” 19
12:13 Then 20 someone from the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell 21 my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” 12:14 But Jesus 22 said to him, “Man, 23 who made me a judge or arbitrator between you two?” 24 12:15 Then 25 he said to them, “Watch out and guard yourself from 26 all types of greed, 27 because one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” 12:16 He then 28 told them a parable: 29 “The land of a certain rich man produced 30 an abundant crop, 12:17 so 31 he thought to himself, 32 ‘What should I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ 33 12:18 Then 34 he said, ‘I 35 will do this: I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 12:19 And I will say to myself, 36 “You have plenty of goods stored up for many years; relax, eat, drink, celebrate!”’ 12:20 But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life 37 will be demanded back from 38 you, but who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ 39 12:21 So it is with the one who stores up riches for himself, 40 but is not rich toward God.”
1 tn Or “the South [country]” (also in v. 3).
2 tn Heb “And Abram went up from Egypt, he and his wife and all which was his, and Lot with him, to the Negev.”
3 tn Heb “heavy.”
4 tn This parenthetical clause, introduced by the vav (ו) disjunctive (translated “now”), provides information necessary to the point of the story.
5 tn Heb “on his journeys”; the verb and noun combination means to pick up the tents and move from camp to camp.
6 map For location see Map4-G4; Map5-C1; Map6-E3; Map7-D1; Map8-G3.
7 tn The words “he returned” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
8 tn Heb “where his tent had been.”
9 tn Heb “to the place of the altar which he had made there in the beginning” (cf. Gen 12:7-8).
10 tn Heb “he called in the name of the
11 tn Heb “was going.”
12 tn The Hebrew idiom is “to Lot…there was,” the preposition here expressing possession.
13 tn The word means “cattle, livestock, possessions” (see also Gen 26:14). Here it includes the livestock, but also the entire substance of his household.
14 tn Or “amounted to,” “totaled.” The preterite of הָיָה (hayah, “to be”) is sometimes employed to introduce a total amount or an inventory (see Exod 1:5; Num 3:43).
15 tn The word עֲבֻדָּה (’avuddah, “service of household servants”) indicates that he had a very large body of servants, meaning a very large household.
16 tn Heb “and that man.”
17 tn The expression is literally “sons of the east.” The use of the genitive after “sons” in this construction may emphasize their nature (like “sons of belial”); it would refer to them as easterners (like “sons of the south” in contemporary American English). BDB 869 s.v. קֶדֶם says “dwellers in the east.”
18 tn Heb “surely, as an image man walks about.” The preposition prefixed to “image” indicates identity here.
19 tc Heb “Surely [in] vain they strive, he accumulates and does not know who gathers them.” The MT as it stands is syntactically awkward. The verb forms switch from singular (“walks about”) to plural (“they strive”) and then back to singular (“accumulates and does not know”), even though the subject (generic “man”) remains the same. Furthermore there is no object for the verb “accumulates” and no plural antecedent for the plural pronoun (“them”) attached to “gathers.” These problems can be removed if one emends the text from הֶבֶל יֶהֱמָיוּן (hevel yehemaun, “[in] vain they strive”) to הֶבְלֵי הָמוֹן (hevley hamon, “vain things of wealth”). This assumes a misdivision in the MT and a virtual dittography of vav (ו) between the mem and nun of המון. The present translation follows this emendation.
20 tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
21 sn Tell my brother. In 1st century Jewish culture, a figure like a rabbi was often asked to mediate disputes, except that here mediation was not requested, but representation.
22 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
23 tn This term of address can be harsh or gentle depending on the context (BDAG 82 s.v. ἄνθρωπος 8). Here it is a rebuke.
24 tn The pronoun ὑμᾶς (Jumas) is plural, referring to both the man and his brother; thus the translation “you two.”
25 tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
26 tn See L&N 13.154 for this use of the middle voice of φυλάσσω (fulassw) in this verse.
27 tn Or “avarice,” “covetousness.” Note the warning covers more than money and gets at the root attitude – the strong desire to acquire more and more possessions and experiences.
28 tn Grk “And he.” Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the connection to the preceding statement.
29 tn Grk “a parable, saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated here.
30 tn Or “yielded a plentiful harvest.”
31 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate that this is a result of the preceding statement.
32 tn Grk “to himself, saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated here.
33 sn I have nowhere to store my crops. The thinking here is prudent in terms of recognizing the problem. The issue in the parable will be the rich man’s solution, particularly the arrogance reflected in v. 19.
34 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
35 sn Note how often the first person pronoun is present in these verses. The farmer is totally self absorbed.
36 tn Grk “to my soul,” which is repeated as a vocative in the following statement, but is left untranslated as redundant.
37 tn Grk “your soul,” but ψυχή (yuch) is frequently used of one’s physical life. It clearly has that meaning in this context.
38 tn Or “required back.” This term, ἀπαιτέω (apaitew), has an economic feel to it and is often used of a debt being called in for repayment (BDAG 96 s.v. 1).
39 tn Grk “the things you have prepared, whose will they be?” The words “for yourself” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.
40 sn It is selfishness that is rebuked here, in the accumulation of riches for himself. Recall the emphasis on the first person pronouns throughout the parable.