The parable of the talents can be found in Matthew alone. It is so popular that even the word for "talent" derives from this parable. It is a symbolic story of what would happen in the last day to those who refuse to heed the Lord's call to be prepared. The story can be easily divided into three parts: the introduction (vv. 14-15) which shows the Master of the house entrusting talents to his servants before he leaves, (vv. 16-18) which shows the attitudes of the the three servants towards the talents given to them. In this part, the third servant stands out because his actions are markedly different from the other two. Finally in the third part, (vv.19-30) the Master returns after a long delay and asks for an accounting of the talents he has given. The focus of the whole story is on the third part (the lengthiest part) and on the third slave (his actions and even his lot are markedly different from the other two; he is the only one who speaks in the story apart from the Master).
Talent - in English, it connotes a positive quality that a person has -- whether intellectual or physical -- that allows him or her to perform certain deeds. This English word is derived from the GK talanton which refers to a unit of coinage used at the time of Jesus whose value depended on its metal (gold, silver, copper, etc.) and its place of origin (whether from Syria, or elsewhere). The "talents" distributed by the master of the house to his slaves must have amounted much because he expected them to be invested.
Servant - or a slave. It is a person who lives by the command of his Lord. We are not dealing here with ordinary household employees. A slave did what the owner of the house commanded. He (or she) literally lived from the words of his/her owner.
"
