Portion (biblical term)

Biblical texts

In the New Korean Revised Version, the word bungit ("portion") refers to a share that is divided and received. Representative passages include the following:

• Numbers 18:20: God tells Aaron that he will have no portion among the children of Israel, saying, "I am thy part and thine inheritance among the children of Israel." Deuteronomy 10:9 and Joshua 18:7 likewise state that the Levites have no portion of land.
• Psalms: Psalm 73:26 calls God "my portion for ever." Psalms 16:5, 119:57, and 142:5 also confess God as the portion of the one who prays.
• Luke 15:12: In the parable of the prodigal son, the younger son asks his father, "give me the portion of goods that falleth to me."

The word and its background

The Korean word bungit is said to combine bun (分, "to divide") with the archaic word git, meaning "share." The word is rarely used today, and the New Korean Standard Version generally renders the term as mot ("share"). The Hebrew word behind it in the Old Testament is usually heleq, which shares a root with the verb "to divide." In Luke 15:12 the Greek word is meros ("part, share").

In ancient Israel, shares were divided in two ways:

• Distribution of land: Each tribe received its share of the land of Canaan by lot.
• Distribution of inheritance: Deuteronomy 21:17 prescribes that the firstborn son be given "a double portion." This provision is related to the birthright.

Meaning across Scripture

For the tribe of Levi, which had no portion of land, God himself was its portion. The Psalms extend this expression into a personal confession of faith, using it to mean that the believer regards God, rather than property or land, as the most precious portion (Psalm 73:25–26).

Words from the same family also appear in the New Testament:

• In Luke 10:42, Jesus says that Mary "hath chosen that good part." The original word for "part" here is meris ("share") (Martha and Mary).
• In Acts 8:21, Peter tells Simon the sorcerer that he has no part in this matter.
• Colossians 1:12 speaks of the share in the inheritance that the saints will receive.

Interpretation and points of discussion

Two explanations are commonly attached to the portion in the parable of the prodigal son. One is the inference, based on Deuteronomy 21:17, that the younger son's share would have been one-third of the estate. The other is the interpretation that demanding an inheritance while the father was still alive was an insult tantamount to wishing him dead. Both explanations are interpretations drawn from the customs of the time and are not stated directly in the text. The apocryphal book of Sirach contains an admonition not to distribute one's property during one's lifetime, and this is sometimes cited in support of the latter interpretation.

The text records that the father "divided unto them his living" (Luke 15:12). Some interpreters therefore hold that the elder son also received his share at that time. In preaching, the portion is sometimes treated as a figure for the talents and time entrusted by God; this is better understood as an application than as the direct meaning of the text.

In the Korean church

In the Korean church, where Bibles in the Korean Revised Version tradition have long been used, the expression "God is my portion" is frequently heard in sermons and prayers. Sermons on the parable of the prodigal son often describe the younger son's demand for his portion as a picture of humanity's desire to leave God.