Luke 19:11-13

The Parable of the Ten Minas

19:11 While the people were listening to these things, Jesus ¹  proceeded to tell a parable, because he was near to Jerusalem, ²  and because they thought ³  that the kingdom of God ⁴  was going to ⁵  appear immediately. 19:12 Therefore he said, “A nobleman ⁶  went to a distant country to receive ⁷  for himself a kingdom and then return. ⁸  19:13 And he summoned ten of his slaves, ⁹  gave them ten minas, ¹⁰  and said to them, ‘Do business with these until I come back.’

[19:11]  ¹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[19:11]  ² map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[19:11]  ³ tn The present active infinitive δοκεῖν (dokein) has been translated as causal.

[19:11]  ⁴ sn Luke means here the appearance of the full kingdom of God in power with the Son of Man as judge as Luke 17:22-37 describes.

[19:11]  ⁵ tn Or perhaps, “the kingdom of God must appear immediately (see L&N 71.36).

[19:12]  ⁶ tn Grk “a man of noble birth” or “a man of noble status” (L&N 87.27).

[19:12]  ⁷ sn Note that the receiving of the kingdom takes place in the far country. This suggests that those in the far country recognize and acknowledge the king when his own citizens did not want him as king (v. 14; cf. John 1:11-12).

[19:12]  ⁸ sn The background to this story about the nobleman who went…to receive for himself a kingdom had some parallels in the area’s recent history: Archelaus was appointed ethnarch of Judea, Samaria, and Idumea in 4 b.c., but the people did not like him. Herod the Great also made a similar journey to Rome where he was crowned King of Judea in 40 b.c., although he was not able to claim his kingdom until 37 b.c.

[19:13]  ¹¹ tn See the note on the word “slave” in 7:2.

[19:13]  ¹² sn That is, one for each. A mina was a Greek monetary unit worth one hundred denarii or about four months’ wages for an average worker based on a six-day work week.