Luke 16:6

6 "The debtor replied, 'Eight hundred gallons of olive oil.' "The manager told him, 'Take my master's ledger. Quick! Sit down, and write "four hundred!"'

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.

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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'll do so that people will welcome me into their homes when I've lost my job.'

5 "So the manager called for each one of his master's debtors. He said to the first, 'How much do you owe my master?'

6 "The debtor replied, 'Eight hundred gallons of olive oil.' "The manager told him, 'Take my master's ledger. Quick! Sit down, and write "four hundred!"'

7 "Then he asked another debtor, 'How much do you owe?' "The debtor replied, 'A thousand bushels of wheat.' "The manager told him, 'Take the ledger, and write "eight hundred!"'

8 "The master praised the dishonest manager for being so clever. Worldly people are more clever than spiritually-minded people when it comes to dealing with others."