What is a Talent in the Bible? 
A talent is something we can call an ability or gift that we have received from God. This term was first used in the bible in the book of Matthew, and it is the source of the English word talent. Matthew didn’t think of talents in the same way as we do today, though. He actually thought of them in terms of their weight: talents were from twenty-six to thirty-six kilograms.
a man skillful in his work
In the Bible, a man skillful in his work is highly regarded. In verse one of Proverbs, we read, “Do you see a man skillful in his work?” This term literally means “well-versed” or “excelling in some area.” People with high skills are commended and admired by others. For example, in Isaiah 16:5, the Messiah is described as an expert in righteousness.
a man owed ten thousand talents to a king
The Bible tells the story of a servant who owed a king ten thousand talents. In the parable, the king forgave the man’s debt. Ten talents are a lot of money. Ten thousand talents would be $11.9 billion today, and ten thousand silver talents would be $161 million. In the story, the servant begged the king for mercy, as he had no hope of repaying his debt.
The debt was a lifetime’s worth of wages, and it was almost impossible to imagine how the servant could pay such a large sum of money. The story also shows the king’s great mercy. It’s impossible to imagine how a slave could ever owe such a large sum of money, but it was the king’s graciousness that made the debtor pay the entire sum.
The kingdom of heaven is like a king who makes accounts with his servants. One of his slaves owed a king ten thousand talents, but he did not have the money to pay him back. So, the king sold the servant’s wife and children in order to make the payment.
Thousands of years later, the Augsburg Hoard was found, containing more than five thousand coins, which would have been the equivalent of nearly one talent. In fact, a Roman soldier would have earned this amount over the course of eleven to fifteen years of service. This treasure is the largest hoard ever discovered in Germany. The highlight passage in the Bible is not a literal translation, but a recording of the translator’s thoughts while reading the original.
a servant owes ten thousand talents to a king
The parable of the talents illustrates the importance of paying attention to our money. In Matthew’s version, the word “talent” means loan, but it also means a “bazaar.” This is a phrase that can mean millions of dollars, and it is used to describe an unsustainable amount of debt. The servant owed ten thousand talents to a king, and he couldn’t pay it back. So, the king decided to auction his family off at a slave market to pay the debt.
In biblical times, ten talents was a lot of money. For the average man, it was almost unimaginable. The servant begged for more time, but he never paid it back. Meanwhile, another man owed the king one hundred denarii and could have paid it back with time and luck. If he had been grateful and acted generously towards his fellow man, he could have paid back his debt.
The debt was enormous. Many scholars believe that it was worth hundreds of millions of dollars. In today’s currency, that would be more than a billion dollars. Jesus’ use of hyperbole is a powerful way to illustrate the enormous debt. It is also a good illustration of the importance of mercy and how the king shows His compassion.
In the time of Jesus, the talanton was a large denomination of money. A talent weighed 6,000 denarii, so a ten thousand talents would be the equivalent of more than sixty million denarii. In Roman terms, a servant would have to work for 6,000 days to earn a single talent. By Jewish standards, ten thousand talents would be worth ten million dollars, which is more than one hundred times as much as the silver talent was worth.
a servant throws himself at the mercy of a king
The story of a servant who throws himself at the mercy of a King in the Bible is one that we should learn from. This servant owed the king many silver coins and had been unable to repay the amount. When his debtor refused to pay, the servant choked him and was thrown into prison. The other servants were horrified by this punishment.
The story is well known. The servant begs for mercy from the king. He is asking for more time, but he knows that he is not capable of repaying the debt. He knows that he can never pay the money back, and the king grants mercy. The king forgives the debt, erasing the servant’s worry and allowing him to start afresh. The king also gives the servant 1 talent, which is equal to 6000 denarii.
The parable of the unforgiving servant was a powerful introduction to a new covenant and a powerful promise to come. The parable also introduced the idea of a Messiah and Jesus as the promised Messiah. Western cultures are largely bank-dependent, and this parable shows the importance of forgiveness.
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