talent

A large unit of money equal to 6,000 drachmae or denarii. Thus, 1 talent was roughly equal to what a typical worker would make over a sixteen-year period. Jesus tells a parable in (Matt 25:14-30) in which a wealthy man gives his servants different amounts of talents (1, 2, and 5—in the latter case, the amount was more than the servant could hope to earn in a lifetime). In another parable (Matt 18:23-35) Jesus uses creative exaggeration to stress the incalculable difference between divine and human mercy: a servant owes his king (God) 10,000 talents (equal to millions of dollars), but is upset with a fellow servant who owes him 100 denarii.