βάτος (batos)
batos
bath
Quick Reference
- Language
- Koine Greek
- Testament
- New Testament
- Occurrences
- 1 verses
- Root
- —
Word Overview
The noun batos refers to a bath, a standard Jewish unit for measuring liquids. In the New Testament, it appears only once, in Luke 16:6, where it quantifies the oil owed by the steward’s debtor. The sources identify this measure as roughly equivalent to eight or nine gallons, providing a concrete sense of volume that modern readers can visualize.
Its origin is Hebrew, reflecting the continuity of Jewish commercial practices into the first century. By using this specific term rather than a generic Greek word for container, the text grounds the parable in the familiar economic reality of its original audience. The steward’s attempt to reduce the debt by altering the measure highlights the tension between legal obligation and personal gain.
This single occurrence serves as a tangible detail in Jesus’ teaching on worldly shrewdness. It reminds readers that the parable operates within a real-world context of trade and measurement, where precision mattered. The word itself does not carry theological weight beyond its function as a unit of account, yet it anchors the story in the everyday life of ancient Israel.
Based on public-domain lexicons (Strong's, Thayer, Gesenius, Brown-Driver-Briggs and others).
What This Word Means for Your Faith
The word batos appears just once in the New Testament, found in Luke 16:6. It refers to a standard Jewish unit for measuring liquids, roughly equal to eight or nine gallons. In this passage, a steward’s debtor is holding a bill for one hundred batos of oil. This specific detail grounds Jesus’ parable in the real economic life of first-century Israel, where trade relied on precise measurements and clear contracts.
Seeing this word reminds us that faith does not exist in a vacuum. The spiritual lessons Jesus teaches are often wrapped in everyday situations like business deals and debt collection. When we read about these tangible details, we see that God cares about the practical aspects of our lives. It encourages us to bring honesty and integrity into our daily work, knowing that even small financial decisions matter to Him.
This single occurrence helps us visualize the story more clearly. The sheer volume of oil involved shows a significant debt, making the steward’s drastic reduction of it by half all the more striking. We can trust that God understands the pressures of modern life because He used familiar commercial terms to reveal deeper truths about grace and shrewdness.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 1 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- baths1×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- βάτους1×
Key Verses
-
Luke 16:6
He said, ‘A hundred batos of oil.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’
This is the only New Testament occurrence, where the term quantifies a large debt of oil that the steward then reduces by half.