Εἶπεν δέ τις ἐκ τοῦ ὄχλου αὐτῷ, Διδάσκαλε, εἰπὲ τῷ ἀδελφῷ μου μερίσασθαι μετ᾽ ἐμοῦ τὴν κληρονομίαν.
The Parable of the Rich Fool
13Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.”
The Greek that is translated as “brother” in English is translated as “older brother” in most languages that have to make a distinction between older and younger brother.
In translation in some parts of Bali it might also be “youngest brother,” “since there the youngest brother usually stays to live with the father after his brothers have gone off to live on their own.”
The Greek that is translated as “teacher” (also: “master”) in English is translated in the 1941 Yiddish by Einspruch as rebe (רֶבּי) or “Rabbi” in an effort to identify Jesus as a teacher of the Jews. (Source: Naomi Seidmann in Elliott / Boer 2012, p. 151ff.)
Likewise, a number of Hebrew translations, including the 2018 and 2020 editions by the The Bible Society in Israel also use “Rabbi” (רַבִּי).
See also rabbi.
The following is a stained glass window depicting The Parable of the Rich Fool by Arthur J. Dix, 1898. From St John’s church, Bowness-on-Windermere, England:
Hosted by Wikimedia Commons under a Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication
Stained glass is not just highly decorative, it’s a medium which has been used to express important religious messages for centuries. Literacy was not widespread in the medieval and Renaissance periods and the Church used stained glass and other artworks to teach the central beliefs of Christianity. In Gothic churches, the windows were filled with extensive narrative scenes in stained glass — like huge and colorful picture storybooks — in which worshipers could ‘read’ the stories of Christ and the saints and learn what was required for their religious salvation. (Source: Victoria and Albert Museum )
Following are a number of back-translations of Luke 12:13:
Like a number of other East Asian languages, Japanese uses a complex system of honorifics, i.e. a system where a number of different levels of politeness are expressed in language via words, word forms or grammatical constructs. These can range from addressing someone or referring to someone with contempt (very informal) to expressing the highest level of reference (as used in addressing or referring to God) or any number of levels in-between.
One way Japanese shows different degree of politeness is through the choice of a benefactive construction as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. Here, itte (言って) or “say” is used in combination with kudasaru (くださる), a respectful form of the benefactive kureru (くれる). A benefactive reflects the good will of the giver or the gratitude of a recipient of the favor. To convey this connotation, English translation needs to employ a phrase such as “for me (my sake)” or “for you (your sake).”
(Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )
Exegesis:
tis ek tou ochlou ‘somebody in the crowd,’ cf. on 11.27.
didaskale ‘master,’ cf. on 3.12.
merisasthai met’ emou tēn klēronomian ‘to share the inheritance with me,’ dependent upon eipe ‘tell.’ The infinitive merisasthai has obligatory force, i.e. ‘that he must share.’
merizomai ‘to share with,’ followed by meta with genitive.
klēronomia (also 20.14) ‘inheritance,’ ‘estate,’ i.e. what is left after the father’s death.
Translation:
Bid, or, ‘please, tell/say-to/order.’
Brother, see 6.14. If one has to choose between terms for different kinds of brothers, the decision must be made on the basis of the situation most likely to occur in the receptor culture; hence ‘son of my father,’ ‘elder-brother’ (many cultures), ‘youngest brother’ (as might be preferable in some parts of Bali, since there the youngest brother usually stays to live with the father after his brothers have gone off to live on their own), ‘brother-of-the-same-mother’ (in some matrilineal societies), and so on.
Divide … with me, or, ‘give me my part of’ (Tae’ 1933).
The inheritance may be described here, if necessary, ‘the property our (exclusive) father left (us) at his death.’
Quoted with permission from Reiling, J. and Swellengrebel, J.L. A Handbook on the Gospel of Luke. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1971. For this and other handbooks for translators see here . Make sure to also consult the Handbook on the Gospel of Mark for parallel or similar verses.
Section 12:13–21
Jesus warned the people not to be greedy
In the previous section Jesus was speaking to his disciples. In this section a man in the crowd interrupted and asked Jesus to settle a quarrel between him and his brother about an inheritance. Jesus used this situation as an opportunity to warn the crowd about being greedy and selfish. He told them a parable about a rich man who kept all his riches for himself. God called him a fool and judged him for it.
Some other possible headings for this section are:
The Parable About The Rich Fool
-or-
A Rich Fool (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
Jesus Warns Against Selfishness (New Century Version)
This parable is only in the Gospel of Luke.
Paragraph 12:13–21
12:13a
This verse introduces an interruption to what Jesus was saying. In some languages it may be necessary to provide a connection to the preceding context. For example:
Just then…
Someone in the crowd: The context makes it clear that this Someone was a man, and if it is natural in your language you may make that explicit at this point. For example:
A man in the crowd (New Jerusalem Bible)
12:13b
Teacher: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Teacher was a polite title for a Jewish religious leader. It was a title of respect for a Jewish man who had authority to teach the things about God. In some languages the appropriate way to address a religious teacher may be:
Sir Teacher
-or-
Sir
-or-
Master
Be careful not to use a term that can refer only to a school teacher. Be sure also to translate the man’s request in a polite way.
The word Teacher last occurred in 11:45b.
tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me: This man had apparently been arguing with his older brother. Their father must have died and the older brother had not given the younger brother his share of the land, money, and other possessions that their father had left. The younger brother who was speaking wanted Jesus to use his authority to help him get what he considered his fair share of this inheritance.
my brother: This was probably the man’s older brother and his only brother. If you need to make explicit whether or not he was older, you should say:
my ⌊older⌋ brother
inheritance: An inheritance is the money, land, and other possessions a man leaves when he dies. In Jewish culture, this inheritance normally went to his sons. The oldest son would receive twice as much as each of the other sons would receive.
Other ways to translate the request in 12:13b are:
⌊Please⌋ order my ⌊older⌋ brother to share/divide our family property with me.
-or-
⌊Please⌋ tell my brother to give me my ⌊proper⌋ share of the inheritance ⌊from our father⌋.
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