Luke 16:6

6 He answered, "A hundred jugs of olive oil.' He said to him, "Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it 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 have decided what to do so that, when I am dismissed as manager, people may welcome me into their homes.'
5 So, summoning his master's debtors one by one, he asked the first, "How much do you owe my master?'
6 He answered, "A hundred jugs of olive oil.' He said to him, "Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it fifty.'
7 Then he asked another, "And how much do you owe?' He replied, "A hundred containers of wheat.' He said to him, "Take your bill and make it eighty.'
8 And his master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly; for the children of this age are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.