Luke 19:12-13

19:12 Therefore he said, “A nobleman ¹  went to a distant country to receive ²  for himself a kingdom and then return. ³  19:13 And he summoned ten of his slaves, ⁴  gave them ten minas, ⁵  and said to them, ‘Do business with these until I come back.’

[19:12]  ¹ tn Grk “a man of noble birth” or “a man of noble status” (L&N 87.27).

[19:12]  ² 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]  ³ 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]  ⁴ tn See the note on the word “slave” in 7:2.

[19:13]  ⁵ 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.