In this parable, the servants are given five, two, and one talent(s) respectively. While we no longer use the term “talent” (talantŏn in Greek) to communicate monetary value, these servants were given significant amounts of money to invest. A talent is equal to anywhere from sixty to eighty pounds of precious metal. If it was silver, that would equal sixteen years of wages an average person would earn. If it was gold, it would equal 493 years of wages. We are talking about substantial amounts of
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