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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.comRobertson Word Pictures - Luke 15:8 - 15:8
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Ten pieces of silver (drachmas deka). The only instance in the N.T. of this old word for a coin of 65.5 grains about the value of the common dēnarius (about eighteen cents), a quarter of a Jewish shekel. The double drachma (didrachmon) occurs in the N.T. only in Mat 17:24. The root is from drassomai, to grasp with the hand (1Co 3:19), and so a handful of coin. Ten drachmas would be equal to nearly two dollars, but in purchasing power much more.
Sweep (saroi). A late colloquial verb saroō for the earlier sairō, to clear by sweeping. Three times in the N.T. (Luk 11:25; Luk 15:8; Mat 12:44). The house was probably with out windows (only the door for light and hence the lamp lit) and probably also a dirt floor. Hence Bengel says: non sine pulvere. This parable is peculiar to Luke.