Luke 19:13

His ten servants. Or, “ten servants of his.” The “servants” here represent the disciples and all Christians, to whom Christ has entrusted His interests here on earth during His absence in the “far country” (see on Matt. 16:19). There is no particular significance in the number “ten,” which Jesus commonly used as a round number (see on Luke 15:8).

Pounds. Gr. mnai, a word derived from the Heb. maneh, “mina” (see Vol. I, pp- 163, 167). In the time of Christ the mna, “pound,” was 11.46 oz. troy, or 356.4 g., 1/60 of a silver talent, worth 100 drachmas (p. 49; see on ch. 15:8). The purchasing value of that amount of silver would, of course, be far greater than today, for one mina was the equivalent of 100 days’ wages (see on Matt. 20:2). Each servant received one “pound.” Compare the talents in the parable of the Talents (see on Matt. 25:15).

Occupy till I come. The word “occupy” here means to carry on trade (see Luke 19:15; cf. Eze. 27:9, 16, 19, 21, 22). The amount of $10.37 seems very small for a “nobleman” to assign to one of his “servants” as capital. Even the “lord” refers to it, upon his return, as “a very little” (Luke 19:17). However, this was a means of testing the ability of each servant, with the objective of assigning him more important responsibilities later on. The words “till I come” indicate that the nobleman anticipated being away for an indefinite period of time. By these words Jesus implies that He, too, will remain away for a consideration period of time before He returns to reward His faithful ones.