| Luke 16 | |
|---|---|
 TheLatin text of Luke 14:30–19:7 inCodex Gigas (13th century) | |
| Book | Gospel of Luke |
| Category | Gospel |
| Christian Bible part | New Testament |
| Order in the Christian part | 3 |
Luke 16 is the sixteenth chapter of theGospel of Luke in theNew Testament of theChristianBible. It records the teachings andparables ofJesusChrist, including the account of the "rich man and Lazarus".[1] There is an "overriding concern with riches" in this chapter, although other topics are also covered.[2] The book containing this chapter isanonymous, but early Christian tradition uniformly affirmed thatLuke the Evangelist composed thisGospel as well as theActs of the Apostles.[3]
The original text was written inKoine Greek. Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter are:
This chapter is divided into 31 verses.
Thisparable of Jesus appears in Luke, but not in the othercanonical gospels of theNew Testament. Verse 1 affirms that the parable is for Jesus' disciples,[4] and as far as verse 8a contains a story about asteward who is about to be dismissed, but who "curries favor" with his master's debtors by remitting some of theirdebts. TheNew International Version (NIV) calls this story "the parable of the shrewd manager",[5] reflecting the wording of verse 8a where "the master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly".[6] According to Eric Franklin, this parable is "noteworthy for its obscurity".[2] Harold Buls argues that, while this parable "has been called the most difficult of Jesus' parables, it is not so difficult if a person carefully studies the words".[4]
The "certain rich man" who was about to dismiss his steward, is not identified.Friedrich Schleiermacher linked him with theRomans, andChristian Grossmann refers to a Roman emperor who dismissed a provincial governor.Heinrich Meyer also refers to a "usual explanation" that the rich man is God, but he is critical of all three of these interpretations.[7]
This part-verse and the succeeding verses may be treated as part of the parable or as separate additions: translators and commentators vary in their assessment of where the parable ends,[2] for example theNew American Bible Revised Edition clearly begins its "application of the parable" at this point.[8]
"Unrighteousmammon" (Greek:του μαμωνα της αδικιας,tou mamōna tēs adikias) refers to wealth, or "money" inparaphrases such as that ofJ. B. Phillips,[10] although the debts which had been written down in verses 6 and 7 had been expressed as debts payable in measures of oil and wheat.[11]
The parable and the subsequent guidance were both directed to the disciples (see verse 1) but were also heard by thePharisees, who were φιλάργυροι (philarguroi, either "lovers of money" or "covetous").[13]
Johann Bengel suggests that along with their "covetous" nature, "they fancied themselves to be accomplished in (furnished with) suchprudence as to be able admirably to combine the service of God and that of mammon", whereas the teaching of Jesus required "singleness of heart", a quality they also despised.[14]
Anglican bishopHarvey Goodwin comments that thederision shown by the Pharisees confirms that they had been "touched by our Lord's teaching; they adopted the fool's course of mocking at that which they could not deny to be true, but whose truth they did not like to follow into its consequences".[15]
There is no verb in the original Greek: the wordwere is generally added to make sense of the sentence.[17] TheISV says theywere fulfilled with John.[18] The NIV says they wereproclaimed until John.[19]Matthew's text says:
The account of therich man and Lazarus (also called theDives and Lazarus orLazarus and Dives) is a well-known teachings along with theparables of Jesus appearing in theGospel of Luke. It tells of the relationship, in life and in death, between an unnamed rich man and a poor beggar named Lazarus. The traditional name,Dives, is not actually a name, but instead a word for "rich man",[21]dives, in the text of theLatin Bible, theVulgate.[22] The rich man was also given the namesNeuēs (i.e.Nineveh)[23] andFineas (i.e.Phineas)[24] in the 3rd and 4th centuries.[21]
Along with the parables of theTen Virgins,Prodigal Son, andGood Samaritan, it was one of the most frequently illustrated teachings inmedieval art,[25] perhaps because of its vivid account of anafterlife. Despite being labeled as a parable by some, there is no introduction in Luke's account to certify that it was just a parable.
The name Lazarus, from theHebrew: אלעזר, Elʿāzār,Eleazar—"God is my help",[26] also belongs to the more famous biblical characterLazarus of Bethany, known as "Lazarus of the Four Days",[27] who is the subject of a prominent miracle attributed to Jesus in theGospel of John, in which Jesusresurrects him four days after his death.[28]
homo quidam erat dives et induebatur purpura et bysso et epulabatur cotidie splendide
{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)| Preceded by Luke 15 | Chapters of the Bible Gospel of Luke | Succeeded by Luke 17 |