Measures & money
Talent
A large unit of metal weight, also used in parables for debts or entrusted wealth.
Also called · talanton
What it means
Exodus 38 records gold, silver, and bronze for the sanctuary in talents and shekels. Here a talent measures an amount of metal; it is not the name of a small coin.
In Matthew 25, a master gives his servants five, two, and one talents according to their abilities. The first two gain the same amounts again, while the third hides the money in the ground. The talents here are entrusted property, distinct from the servants’ abilities.
How it appears in the Bible
When the master returns, the first two servants are praised; the third loses the money and is cast into outer darkness. In Matthew 18, a servant whose debt of ten thousand talents is forgiven imprisons a fellow servant owing one hundred denarii. His master rebukes him and hands him over until he pays. The two parables address distinct situations of entrusted wealth and forgiveness.
Translation note
Ancient weight standards differed by region and system. A universal kilogram or modern currency equivalent should not be imposed on every talent.