John Gill Commentary Luke 16:6

"And he said, A hundred measures of oil. And he said unto him, Take thy bond, and sit down quickly and write fifty." — Luke 16:6 (ASV)

And he said an hundred measures of oil
Or "baths of oil", the same quantity as in (Ezra 7:22) where Aben Ezra ^F9 calls them, (twdm) , "measures", as we do here; and Jarchi ^F11 observes, that they were, (twxnm lwlbl) , "to mingle with the meal, or flour offerings"; which illustrates the above observation, that they were for the temple service; and the bath was the measure of oil, as the ephah was of wheat ^F12 ; and they were both of the same quantity, (Ezekiel 45:11) .

According to Godwin ^F13 it held four gallons and a half; so that a hundred of them contained four hundred and fifty gallons; though some make the measure much larger. Some say the "bath" held six gallons, one pottle, and half a pint; and others, seven gallons, two quarts, and half a pint; and others, nine gallons, and three quarts.

Take your bill ,
or "writing"; which showed the bargain made for so many measures; and which acknowledged the receipt of them, and promised payment:

and sit down quickly ;
for his case required haste;

and write fifty ;
just half; that it might appear he had bought but fifty, and was accountable for no more.

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FOOTNOTES:

• F9: In Ezr. vii. 22.
• F11: In ib.
• F12: Kimchi in Ezek. xlv. 14.
• F13: Moses & Aaron, l. 6. c. 9.