Saturday 10 March 2012

Luke 16:1-9 Parable of the steward

16 And he said also unto his disciples, There was a certain rich man, which had a steward; and the same was accused unto him that he had wasted his goods.
And he called him, and said unto him, How is it that I hear this of thee? give an account of thy stewardship; for thou mayest be no longer steward.
Then the steward said within himself, What shall I do? for my lord taketh away from me the stewardship: I cannot dig; to beg I am ashamed.
I am resolved what to do, that, when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses.
So he called every one of his lord's debtors unto him, and said unto the first, How much owest thou unto my lord?
And he said, An hundred measures of oil. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and sit down quickly, and write fifty.
Then said he to another, And how much owest thou? And he said, An hundred measures of wheat. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and write fourscore.
And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely: for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light. 
And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations. -Luke 16:1-9 King James Version (KJV)

Arcana Coelestia, by Emanuel Swedenborg, [1749-56], tr. by John F. Potts [1905-10], at sacred-texts.com

2636  
...the signification of a "hundred," ...being what is full... [4] That the number a "hundred" signifies what is full, is evident from other passages in the Word, as in Isaiah: There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled His days; for the child shall die a son of a hundred years, and the sinner a son of a hundred years shall be accursed (Isa. 65:20); where a "hundred" manifestly denotes what is full; for it is said, there shall be no more an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days, and a child and a sinner of a hundred years; that is, when his state is full. [5] In Matthew: Everyone that hath left houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for My name's sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and shall inherit eternal life (Matt. 19:29; Mark 10:29-30); where a "hundredfold" denotes what is full; or "good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over" (Luke 6:38). [6] And in Luke: And other seed fell upon the good earth and having sprung up it brought forth fruit a hundredfold (Luke 8:8; Matt. 13:8, 23; Mark 4:20); where also a "hundred" denotes what is full, which number would not have been mentioned unless it had signified that. The same is true where the Lord speaks by parable concerning the debtors, that one owed "a hundred baths of oil," and the other "a hundred cors of wheat" (Luke 16:5-7). So also in other places where a "hundred" is mentioned. The case is similar with a "thousand," respecting which number, see above (n. 2575)... 
2252 
...the signification of "fifty," ...being what is full; from the signification of "righteous" as being good (see n. 612, 2235) ...That there is this meaning in these words cannot be seen from the letter, for the historicals of the literal sense lead the mind in quite a different direction, that is, to different thoughts; and yet that these words are so perceived by those who are in the internal sense, I know of a certainty. The numbers themselves also, as here "fifty," and in what follows "forty-five," "forty," "thirty," "twenty," and "ten," are by no means perceived as numbers by those who are in the internal sense, but as real things or states (as is shown, n. 482, 487, 575, 647, 648, 755, 813, 1963, 2075)... [5] And in the same way, as "fifty" signifies what is full, and as this number was also representative-already said-the same thing is signified by it in the Lord's parable of the steward, who said to him that owed the oil: How much owest thou unto my lord? And he said, a hundred baths of oil. And he said unto him, take thy bond, and sit down quickly, and write fifty (Luke 16:6); "fifty" denoting full payment. As fifty is a number, it indeed appears to involve nothing beyond the number; whereas in the internal sense what is full is everywhere meant by it...


 

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