Inheritance, Greed, and Living Toward God

Luke 12:13-21 

 

¹³ Εἶπεν δέ τις ἐκ τοῦ ὄχλου αὐτῷ, Διδάσκαλε, εἰπὲ τῷ ἀδελφῷ μου μερίσασθαι μετ' ἐμοῦ τὴν κληρονομίαν. 

Yet a certain one out of the crowd said to him, “Teacher, speak to my brother to divide with me the inheritance.”  

Εἶπεν: AAI 3s, λέγω, 1) to say, to speak

εἰπὲ: AAImpv 2s, λέγω, 1) to say, to speak

μερίσασθαι: AMInf, μερίζω, 1) to divide  1a) to separate into parts, cut into pieces

1. The word “teacher” is in the vocative case, meaning that it is a direct address and not the subject or object of a particular verb, preposition, or participle. The word ‘vocative’ (like ‘vocation’) is rooted in the Latin word vocare, which means ‘call.’ 

2. This is the first of four vocative addresses in this pericope: “Teacher” in v.13; “Man” in v.14; “Soul” in v.19; and “Fool” in v.20. So, a sermon could begin, “A teacher, a man, a soul, and a fool walk into a bar ...” (Thanks for “Father Anonymous” in the comments for pointing out the vocative use of “soul” in v.19)

 

¹⁴ὁ δὲ εἶπεν αὐτῷ, Ἄνθρωπε, τίς με κατέστησεν κριτὴν ἢμεριστὴν ἐφ' ὑμᾶς; 

Yet he said to him, “Man, who set me a judge or a divider over you?”  

εἶπεν: AAI 3s, λέγω, 1) to say, to speak

κατέστησεν: AAI 3s, καθίστημι, 1) to set, place, put  1a) to set one over a thing (in charge of it)  1b) to appoint one to administer an office

1. The word I am translating as “divider” (ἢμεριστὴν) has the same root (μερι) as the verb “divide” (μερίσασθαι) in v.13.

2. Before we get too “Don’t bother Jesus with those kinds of issues” here, we need to remember how much attention the OT law gives to inheritance and how much inheritance matters in Jesus’ parables. Inheritance was a fundamental part of enabling or ensuring livelihood in ancient cultures. I think we need to let what follows indicate why it is that Jesus is not willing to take on the role of the arbiter in this matter, rather than to assume that it is too trivial. 

3. Generational wealth could serve as either a blessing or a snare. With inheritance as a fundamental part of enabling or ensuring livelihood in ancient cultures, I think we need to let what follows indicate why it is that Jesus is not willing to take on the role of the arbiter in this matter. Or, as one comment below points out, maybe Jesus' parable is directed to the brother who refuses to share.  

 

¹⁵ εἶπεν δὲ πρὸς αὐτούς, Ὁρᾶτε καὶ φυλάσσεσθε ἀπὸ πάσης πλεονεξίας, ὅτι οὐκ ἐν τῷ περισσεύειν τινὶ ἡ ζωὴ αὐτοῦ ἐστιν ἐκ τῶν ὑπαρχόντων αὐτῷ. 

Yet he said to them, “Watch and guard for all greediness, because not in the abounding to someone his life is out of his havings.”

εἶπεν: AAI 3s, λέγω, 1) to say, to speak

Ὁρᾶτε: PAImpv 2p, ὁράω, 1) to see with the eyes  2) to see with the mind, to perceive, 

φυλάσσεσθε: PMImpv 2p, φυλάσσω, 1) to guard   1a) to watch, keep watch

περισσεύειν: PAInf, περισσεύω, 1) to exceed a fixed number of measure, to be left over and  above a certain number or measure 

ἐστιν: PAI 3s, εἰμί, 1) to be, to exist, to happen, to be present 

ὑπαρχόντων: PAPart gpn, ὑπάρχω, 1) to begin below, to make a beginning 

1. This is terribly awkward as a rough translation and I would never leave it in this form for public reading. Refined translations have phrases like the “abundance of possessions” (NRSV and NIV), which is readable, but it is surprising to see that “abundance” is a present active infinitive verb and “possessions” is a present active participle – not nouns. To me, this is the kind of verse that calls for long, meditative translation and would be worth every minute of it.

2. So, let’s give is a whirl: In verses 6 and 7 preceding this text, Jesus has compared human value to the value of sparrows, only after speaking about the different ways that humans and God values sparrows. For humans, the value of sparrows is reflected in the cost for buying them - they sell for a pittance. God values them differently. For God, not a single sparrow is forgotten. And yet, Jesus avers, humans are more valued by God than sparrows. 

Verses 6 and 7 seem to offer an implicit criticism of one of the fundamental assumptions of capitalism – the value of things is what people are willing to pay for them. There is no fixed value, only “market value.” First century economics was not deliberate, full-blown, Adam Smith-informed capitalism, but the value and costs of goods and service has always been subject to supply and demand (think of OT stories where costs rise during a drought, falling during abundant times.) 

3. The value of human life also cannot be measured in the way that we assign market value. It is not in the abounding; not in the having/generating/possessing, or however ὑπάρχω is translated best. That would question one of the assumptions behind inheritance disputes as well. 

One value of repeating this translation cycle after cycle of the lectionary is that the comments accumulate wisdom. Rev. Michael Weber adds these helpful observations about this verse: 

A. οὐκ ἐν τῷ περισσεύειν is in an emphatic position in the sentence. Thus Jesus is giving a certain prominence to the "abundance" that the man has.
B. Even though they are separated from each other ἐκ τῶν ὑπαρχόντων αὐτῷ is an ablative of source which modifies ἐν τῷ περισσεύειν--ie., the source of the man's wealth is his posessions.
Taken together the half verse could be paraphrased "The life of anyone is NOT--I repeat, NOT--in the ABUNDANCE that flows from his possessions." The emphasis falls on the "not" and the abundance.

 

¹⁶ Εἶπεν δὲ παραβολὴν πρὸς αὐτοὺς λέγων, Ἀνθρώπου τινὸς πλουσίου εὐφόρησεν ἡ χώρα. 

Then he said a parable to them saying, “The region of a certain man rich man produced well.”  

εἶπεν: AAI 3s, λέγω, 1) to say, to speak                          

λέγων: PAPart nsm, λέγω, 1) to say, to speak  

εὐφόρησεν: AAI 3s, εὐφορέω, 1) to be fertile, bring forth plentifully

1. Like v.15 above, Jesus has shifted his audience from the man who asked the initial question to “them,” presumably the crowd itself. If the comment regarding “greed” in v.15 and this parable are directly related to the request that Jesus arbitrate an inheritance dispute, the use of “them” may indicate that the problem is not limited to the man and his brother, but is more systemic and general. 

2. Many translations say, “the ground,” but χώρα is consistently translated as “country” or “land” or “region” throughout the gospels. (It is the word in the parable of the younger son – also an inheritance story – when he goes to a ‘far away country.’) 

3. If Isaiah’s words still have any effect, this “successful” man seems immediately guilty of “joining field to field” (Is. 5:8) in accumulating so much land. With his land producing well, the rich are getting richer. Such a situation could be advantageous to many, if it were a generous fiefdom. My sense is that under the Roman Empire, such fiefdoms were rarely generous and usually oppressive to the landless workers. 

4. Jesus attributes the abundance to the fertility of the region, not to the man's industry. Like many parables and other references to agriculture, the agency of productivity is always, at least in part if not fully, due to things beyond the sower's control. What I want to suggest is that this sequence of conversation/parable/teaching makes the most sense if we have an active God-created view of the world, rather than seeing the world as a "natural resource" for which human "value-added" ingenuity and labor are what makes it productive. 

 

¹⁷καὶ διελογίζετο ἐν ἑαυτῷ λέγων, Τί ποιήσω, ὅτι οὐκ ἔχω ποῦ συνάξω τοὺς καρπούς μου; 

And he was reasoning in himself saying, “What shall I do, because I do not have where I shall gather together my fruit?” 

διελογίζετο: IMI 3s, διαλογίζομαι, 1) to bring together different reasons, to reckon up the  reasons, to reason, revolve in one's mind, deliberate 

λέγων: PAPart nsm, λέγω, 1) to say, to speak  

ποιήσω: FAI 1s, ποιέω, 1) to make, to do  

ἔχω: PAI 1s, ἔχω, 1) to have, i.e. to hold

συνάξω: FAI 1s, συνάγω, 1) to gather together, to gather 

1. This reminds me of the description of Hezekiah in II Chronicles 32:23-33. To wit: “Hezekiah had very great riches and honor, and he made for himself treasuries for silver, for gold, for precious stones, for spices, for shields, and for all kinds of costly objects; storehouses also for the yield of grain, wine, and oil; and stalls for all kinds of cattle and sheepfolds.” (vv.27-28).

2. My fruit. My crops. The work of my hands/servants/etc., with no acknowledgment of the fertility that is in the land and responsible for the abundance. In Leviticus 23:15-22, the law demands that landowners do not reap to the edges of their fields (along with stripping grape vines and beating olive trees), because the gleaners of the landless have a right to God's abundance as well. Even inscribed in the law is the sense that when God's land is productive, humans honor/believe in God by imitating God's abundance via generosity. I believe this is what Amos is decrying when he speaks of God's people "selling the sweepings of the wheat." (Amos 8:6)

 

¹⁸καὶ εἶπεν, Τοῦτο ποιήσω: καθελῶ μου τὰς ἀποθήκας καὶ μείζονας οἰκοδομήσω, καὶ συνάξω ἐκεῖ πάντα τὸν σῖτον καὶ τὰ ἀγαθά μου, 

And he said, “This I will do; I will demolish my silos and I will build larger ones, and I will gather together there all my grain and my goods,  

εἶπεν: AAI 3s, λέγω, 1) to say, to speak

ποιήσω: FAI is, ποιέω, 1) to make 

καθελῶ: FAI 1s, καθαιρέω, 1) to take down  ... 2) to pull down, demolish

οἰκοδομήσω: FAI 1s, οἰκοδομέω, 1) to build a house, erect a building

συνάξω: FAI 1s, συνάγω, 1) to gather together, to gather 

1. I want to use “silo” to translate ἀποθήκας, although the Greek root for “silo” is actually σιρός, because when I hear ‘barn’ I think cattle and equipment, rather than grain storage. I would use ‘storehouse,’ but both ἀποθήκας (barn) and ταμεῖον (storehouse) are used in v.24. 

2. It’s too bad that the lectionary pericope ends before v.24, which circles back to the comment we saw earlier regarding sparrows: “Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds!”(NIV) 

3. My grain. My goods. 

 

¹⁹καὶ ἐρῶ τῇ ψυχῇ μου, Ψυχή,ἔχεις πολλὰ ἀγαθὰ κείμενα εἰς ἔτη πολλά: ἀναπαύου, φάγε, πίε, εὐφραίνου. 

and I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up into many years; rest yourself, eat, drink, be glad.” 

ἐρῶ: FAI 1s, λέγω, 1) to say, to speak 

ἔχεις: PAI 2s, ἔχω, 1) to have, i.e. to hold

κείμενα: PMPart apn, κεῖμαι, 1) to lie  1a) of an infant  1b) of one buried  1c) of things that quietly cover some spot  1c1) of a city situated on a hill  1d) of things put or set in any place, in ref. to which we often  use "to stand"

ἀναπαύου: PMImpv 2s, ἀναπαύω, 1) to cause or permit one to cease from any movement or labor  in order to recover and collect his strength  2) to give rest, refresh, to give one's self rest, take rest

φάγε: AAImpv 2s, ἐσθίω, 1) to eat  2) to eat (consume) a thing 

πίε: AAImpv 2s, πίνω, 1) to drink

εὐφραίνου: PPImpv 2s, εὐφραίνω, 1) to gladden, make joyful  1a) to be glad, to be merry, to rejoice  1b) to rejoice in, be delighted with a thing

1. After dialoging with himself in v.18, the man now speaks about what he will say to his soul.  

2. I have “rest yourself” because ἀναπαύου is in the middle voice and “be glad” because εὐφραίνου is in the passive voice. All four of the verbs in the last clause are imperatives. 

3. This sounds uncomfortably close to the aspirations of every retirement plan ever. I wonder if any of these Greek terms could be translated into “golf.”  

 

²⁰ εἶπεν δὲ αὐτῷ ὁ θεός, Ἄφρων, ταύτῃ τῇ νυκτὶ τὴν ψυχήν σου ἀπαιτοῦσιν ἀπὸ σοῦ: ἃ δὲ ἡτοίμασας, τίνι ἔσται;

But God said to him, “Fool, in this night they are demanding your soul from you; yet the things which you prepared will be whose?”

εἶπεν: AAI 3s, λέγω, 1) to say, to speak

ἀπαιτοῦσιν: PAI 3p, ἀπαιτέω, 1) to ask back, demand back, exact something due

ἡτοίμασας: AAI 2s, ἑτοιμάζω, 1) to make ready, prepare

ἔσται: FMI 3s, εἰμί, 1) to be, to exist, to happen, to be present 

1. Generally, I try to leave δὲ as neutral as possible (with ‘yet’), until the context determines whether it should be ‘then,’ or ‘and,’ or ‘but.’ In this case, it indicates a contrary thought, so I am using ‘but.’ 

2. TheBible.org identifies “Fool” (Ἄφρων) as nominative, but greekbible.org identifies it as vocative, corresponding with “Man” (Ἄνθρωπε) in v. 14. I think the vocative is correct. The word is a-phron. “Phron” is the root of the word “phronesis,” which is often used for ‘wisdom,’ or ‘practical reason,’ in philosophy, so a-phron would indicate a lack of wisdom. As a noun, ‘fool’ works, but the other word for fool is moros, from which we get the English moron. Young’s Literal Translation has this “Unthinking one” which is probably closer to the word but much less effective as a vocative address. 

3. The point of Ἄφρων seems to be the contrast between the man’s internal dialogue (διελογίζετο ἐν ἑαυτῷ, v.17) and God’s appraisal of his conclusions. I cannot help but to think about the economist Gary Becker's Nobel Prize-winning work on "economic ways of looking at human behavior." This parable would suggest that God looks at our exalted wisdom and calls it foolishness. 

4. And Ἄφρων is the LXX term for the fool who says in his heart there is no God. That declaration has never struck me as being about those who have legitimate reasons to wonder about theistic descriptions of God, as much as practicing atheism by pretending that the fertility of the soil is one's own doing, living as if abundance is for hoarding not for generosity, and acting as if there is no moral law to guide one's actions. The simple question, "What is good to do?" could radically change this man's actions.  

5. “They are demanding”: Many translations make this verb passive with “your soul” as the subject. The verb is active, and it is plural, hence the implied subject “they.” In addition, “your soul” is accusative, so it is the object of the verb, not its subject. The question then is, “They who?” What is the antecedent of the pronoun “They”? 

6. The effect of this retort is something like the adage, “You can’t take it with you,” but the timing of it – this night – adds an element of immediacy and personalism that the adage does not. It is similar to the difference between “everyone dies” and “I am dying.” 

 

²¹οὕτως ὁ θησαυρίζων ἑαυτῷ καὶ μὴ εἰς θεὸν πλουτῶν. 

So the one who gathers to himself and is not rich unto God.  

θησαυρίζων: PAPart nsm, θησαυρίζω, 1) to gather and lay up, to heap up, store up

πλουτῶν: PAPart nsm, πλουτέω, 1) to be rich, to have abundance

1. This sounds like an aphorism because it has 2 participles but lacks a main verb.

2. Is the alternative to ‘gathering to oneself’ to give to God or to share with others? 

3. One question I hear is: Is all that money that I put into retirement – required by my denomination’s pension plan – an example of wise investment or an example of greedy hoarding that lacks faith in God’s continued provision? 

4. Or, is this text about someone who is obscenely wealthy, perhaps even oppressively so, ergo one whose storage is at the expense of others’ present needs? First century economics seem to operate on a zero-sum balance, where one’s wealth is at the expense of another’s oppression. Has late capitalism overcome that dilemma, or might this parable and concluding aphorism still apply? The number of the world’s billionaires and the astounding gap between the “top 1%” and “bottom 50%” would suggest that this may be the most important parable of all for today’s questions of economic justice, however uncomfortable and challenging it may be.  

5. This story begins with a man asking Jesus to arbitrate an inheritance dispute with his brother – a fairly common dispute among agrarian peoples even today. Jesus hears it as a question of greed (v.15). In fact, Luke often adds a commentary of what a parable by Jesus means and in this case he frames the parable with two summaries, v.15 and 21.