Parable of the Talents

The Parable of the Talents (also the Parable of the Minas) is one of the parables of Jesus. It appears in two of the synoptic, canonical gospels of the New Testament:

Although the basic theme of each of these parables is essentially the same, the differences between the parables in the Gospel of Matthew and in the Gospel of Luke are sufficient to indicate that the parables are not derived from the same source. In Matthew, the opening words link the parable to the preceding Parable of the Ten Virgins, which refers to the Kingdom of Heaven. The version in Luke is also called the Parable of the Pounds.

In both Matthew and Luke, a master puts his slaves in charge of his goods while he is away on a trip. Upon his return, the master assesses the stewardship of his slaves. He evaluates them according to how faithful each was in making wise investments of his goods to obtain a profit. It is clear that the master sought some profit from the slaves' oversight. A gain indicated faithfulness on the part of the slaves. The master rewards his slaves according to how each has handled his stewardship. He judges two slaves as having been "faithful" and gives them a positive reward. To the single "unfaithful" slave, who avoided even the safe profit of bank interest, a negative compensation is given.

A thematically variant parable may have appeared in the non-canonical Jewish–Christian Gospels, wherein one slave squanders the money on prostitutes and flute-girls, the second multiplies its value, and the third hides it.

While the basic story in each of these parables is essentially the same, the settings are quite different.

A talent (Ancient Greek τάλαντον, talanton 'scale' and 'balance') was a unit of weight of approximately 80 pounds (36 kg), and when used as a unit of money, was valued for that weight of silver. As a unit of currency, a talent was worth about 6,000 denarii. A denarius was the usual payment for a day's labour. At one denarius per day, a single talent was therefore worth 20 years of labor (assuming a 6-day work week, because nobody would work on the weekly Sabbath).

The "Parable of the Talents", in Matthew 25:14–30 tells of a master who was leaving his house to travel, and, before leaving, entrusted his property to his slaves. According to the abilities of each man, one slave received five talents, the second had received two, and the third received only one. The property entrusted to the three slaves was worth eight talents, where a talent was a significant amount of money. Upon returning home, after a long absence, the master asks his three slaves for an account of the talents he entrusted to them. The first and the second slaves explain that they each put their talents to work, and have doubled the value of the property with which they were entrusted; each slave was rewarded:

His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’