Discovery BoxLuke 15:12-16 
Context15:12 The 1 younger of them said to his 2 father, ‘Father, give me the share of the estate 3 that will belong 4 to me.’ So 5 he divided his 6 assets between them. 7 15:13 After 8 a few days, 9 the younger son gathered together all he had and left on a journey to a distant country, and there he squandered 10 his wealth 11 with a wild lifestyle. 15:14 Then 12 after he had spent everything, a severe famine took place in that country, and he began to be in need. 15:15 So he went and worked for 13 one of the citizens of that country, who 14 sent him to his fields to feed pigs. 15 15:16 He 16 was longing to eat 17 the carob pods 18 the pigs were eating, but 19 no one gave him anything.
Luke 15:30
Context15:30 But when this son of yours 20 came back, who has devoured 21 your assets with prostitutes, 22 you killed the fattened calf 23 for him!’
1 tn Grk “And the.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
2 tn Grk “the”; in context the article is used as a possessive pronoun (ExSyn 215).
3 tn L&N 57.19 notes that in nonbiblical contexts in which the word οὐσία (ousia) occurs, it refers to considerable possessions or wealth, thus “estate.”
4 tn L&N 57.3, “to belong to or come to belong to, with the possible implication of by right or by inheritance.”
5 tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate the father’s response to the younger son’s request.
6 tn Grk “the”; in context the article is used as a possessive pronoun (ExSyn 215).
7 sn He divided his assets between them. There was advice against doing this in the OT Apocrypha (Sir 33:20). The younger son would get half of what the older son received (Deut 21:17).
8 tn Grk “And after.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
9 tn Grk “after not many days.”
10 tn Or “wasted.” This verb is graphic; it means to scatter (L&N 57.151).
11 tn Or “estate” (the same word has been translated “estate” in v. 12).
12 tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the sequence of events in the parable. Greek style often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” but English style generally does not.
13 tn Grk “joined himself to” (in this case an idiom for beginning to work for someone).
14 tn Grk “and he.” Here the conjunction καί (kai) and the personal pronoun have been translated by a relative pronoun to improve the English style.
15 sn To a Jew, being sent to the field to feed pigs would be an insult, since pigs were considered unclean animals (Lev 11:7).
16 tn Grk “And he.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
17 tn Or “would gladly have eaten”; Grk “was longing to be filled with.”
18 tn This term refers to the edible pods from a carob tree (BDAG 540 s.v. κεράτιον). They were bean-like in nature and were commonly used for fattening pigs, although they were also used for food by poor people (L&N 3.46).
19 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.
20 sn Note the younger son is not “my brother” but this son of yours (an expression with a distinctly pejorative nuance).
21 sn This is another graphic description. The younger son’s consumption had been like a glutton. He had both figuratively and literally devoured the assets which were given to him.
22 sn The charge concerning the prostitutes is unproven, but essentially the older brother accuses the father of committing an injustice by rewarding his younger son’s unrighteous behavior.
