Talent

Biblical Occurrences

In the Old Testament, the talent is used to measure large quantities of gold, silver, and bronze. Exodus 25:39 records the command to make the lampstand from a talent of pure gold ("Of a talent of pure gold shall he make it"), and Exodus 38:24-29 gives in talents the quantities of metal used for the tabernacle. In 1 Kings 10:10, the Queen of Sheba gave Solomon 120 talents of gold. In 2 Kings 5:5, Naaman set out carrying ten talents of silver, and Gehazi later received two talents of silver from that sum (2 Kings 5:23). Hezekiah paid the king of Assyria 300 talents of silver and 30 talents of gold (2 Kings 18:14). Haman offered to pay 10,000 talents of silver into the king's treasuries in exchange for the destruction of the Jews (Esther 3:9).

In the New Testament, the talent appears in two parables in the Gospel of Matthew. In the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant (Matthew 18:23-35), a servant is forgiven a debt of 10,000 talents, and in the Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25:14-30), a master entrusts five talents, two talents, and one talent to his servants. Revelation 16:21 describes great hailstones, "every stone about the weight of a talent."

Terminology and Unit of Measure

The Hebrew word kikkar originally meant "something round." The Greek word talanton refers to a balance or a weight. According to the calculation in Exodus 38:25-26, one talent equaled 3,000 shekels. Because the standard varied by period and region, its actual weight is estimated at roughly 30 to 40 kilograms (about 66 to 88 pounds), though figures differ among scholars. Originally a unit of weight, the talent came to denote that weight of gold or silver and was thus also used much like a monetary unit.

The Talent in the New Testament

In the Greco-Roman world of the New Testament era, one talent was commonly reckoned at 6,000 drachmas. Since a laborer's daily wage was one denarius (Matthew 20:2), a talent is often explained as the amount a laborer would earn over several decades of work. The contrast in Matthew 18 between 10,000 talents and 100 denarii is understood as a device emphasizing that the debt forgiven by God is too great ever to be repaid. The Parable of the Minas in Luke 19 has a plot similar to that of the Parable of the Talents but uses the mina, a much smaller unit.

Interpretation and Debate

The English word talent is generally held to have acquired the meaning "natural ability" from the Parable of the Talents. Matthew 25:15, however, states that the master gave the talents "to every man according to his several ability"; within the text itself, the talents and the servants' abilities are distinct. Consequently, alongside the interpretation that takes the talents as innate abilities, there is a broader interpretation that takes them as everything God has entrusted to believers to manage as stewards, such as the gospel, grace, offices of ministry, and material possessions. Because the parable is set within the teaching on the Second Coming in Matthew 24-25, many also read it as an eschatological exhortation to remain watchful and faithful until the Lord returns. Some scholars read it in social-historical terms, against the background of the relationship between landowners and servants at the time, though this approach departs from the church's general interpretation.

In the Korean Church

In the Korean church, the word dallanteu (talent) has entered everyday speech and is commonly used to mean an ability or a spiritual gift, as in the expression "serving by putting one's talents to use." Sunday schools frequently have children collect coupons called "talents" for attendance, Scripture memorization, and similar achievements, and often hold a "talent market" where the coupons can be exchanged for goods.