Luke 16:6

6 And he said, A hundred baths of oil. And he said to him, Take thy writing and sit down quickly and write fifty.

Luke 16:6 Meaning and Commentary

Luke 16:6

And he said an hundred measures of oil
Or "baths of oil", the same quantity as in ( Ezra 7:22 ) where Aben Ezra F9 calls them, (twdm) , "measures", as we do here; and Jarchi F11 observes, that they were, (twxnm lwlbl) , "to mingle with the meal, or flour offerings"; which illustrates the above observation, that they were for the temple service; and the bath was the measure of oil, as the ephah was of wheat F12; and they were both of the same quantity, ( Ezekiel 45:11 ) . According to Godwin F13 it held four gallons and a half; so that a hundred of them contained four hundred and fifty gallons; though some make the measure much larger. Some say the "bath" held six gallons, one pottle, and half a pint; and others, seven gallons, two quarts, and half a pint; and others, nine gallons, and three quarts.

Take thy bill,
or "writing"; which showed the bargain made for so many measures; and which acknowledged the receipt of them, and promised payment:

and sit down quickly;
for his case required haste;

and write fifty;
just half; that it might appear he had bought but fifty, and was accountable for no more.


FOOTNOTES:

F9 In Ezr. vii. 22.
F11 In ib.
F12 Kimchi in Ezek. xlv. 14.
F13 Moses & Aaron, l. 6. c. 9.

Luke 16:6 In-Context

4 I know what I will do, that when I shall have been removed from the stewardship I may be received into their houses.
5 And having called to [him] each one of the debtors of his own lord, he said to the first, How much owest thou to my lord?
6 And he said, A hundred baths of oil. And he said to him, Take thy writing and sit down quickly and write fifty.
7 Then he said to another, And thou, how much dost thou owe? And he said, A hundred cors of wheat. And he says to him, Take thy writing and write eighty.
8 And the lord praised the unrighteous steward because he had done prudently. For the sons of this world are, for their own generation, more prudent than the sons of light.
The Darby Translation is in the public domain.