12:2a
At harvest time: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as At harvest time is literally “in the season of harvest.” In this context it refers to the time when the grapes were ripe and the farmers picked them. (According to France (page 459), it took four years from the time when a new vineyard was planted to the time of the first harvest.)
he sent a servant: The owner of the grape farm chose one of his servants to go to the farmers who were leasing his farm. In this context the servant was probably a man.
servant: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as servant means “slave,” as in the Revised Standard Version. This word refers to someone who was owned by another person. He worked for his owner/master without receiving pay. He had no rights of his own (or very few rights).
In some cultures, slaves may not be known. In other cultures, the word for slave may imply different customs than in biblical culture.
If that is true in your language, here are some other ways to translate this:
person who belonged to someone else
-or-
owned person
-or-
person who serves someone
-or-
worker/servant
See how you translated this word in 9:35b–d.
to the tenants: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as tenants here is the same word that was translated as “tenants” in 12:1.
12:2b
to collect his share of the fruit of the vineyard: The owner and the farmers had already agreed that the farmers would give the owner part of the grape harvest.
his share of the fruit of the vineyard: The phrase his share of the fruit of the vineyard refers to the owner’s share of the grape harvest. It could have been money or it could have been some of the juice or wine that was made from the grapes.
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All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
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