Was the Denarius a Daily Wage? A Note on the Parable of the Two Debtors in Luke 7:4043

by Taylor Halverson

Overview

Abstract: This note provides a brief overview of Roman economic history and currency in order to throw light on the value and significance of the two debts illustratively used by Jesus in his parable to Simon the Pharisee. Though we cannot with accuracy make the claim that a Roman denarius was always the daily wage, we can determine that the debtors of Jesus's parable owed something on the order of a year's worth of wages and ten years' worth of wages.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940162975953
Publisher:	Interpreter Foundation
Publication date:	03/10/2020
Series:	Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship , #36
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	346 KB

About the Author

Taylor Halverson is a BYU Teaching and Learning Consultant; a member of the Book of Mormon Central executive committee; founder and co-director of the BYU Virtual Scriptures Group; a columnist for the Deseret News; founder and co-director of the BYU Creativity, Innovation, and Design group; a travel leader to Mesoamerica and the Holy Land; and the Chief Innovation Officer at Vereo Training. At BYU, Taylor has taught Book of Mormon, Old Testament, History of Creativity, Innovation Boot Camp, Basic Entrepreneurship Skills, and an interdisciplinary design course called “Illuminating the Scriptures: Designing Innovative Study Tools.” His education includes a BA in Ancient Near Eastern Studies (BYU), MA in Biblical Studies (Yale University), MS in Instructional Systems Technology (Indiana University), PhD in Instructional Systems Technology (Indiana University), and PhD in Judaism and Christianity in Antiquity (Indiana University). Taylor has published and presented widely on scripture, innovation, entrepreneurship, technology, teaching, and learning (more at taylorhalverson.com).