Herzog

-The master in the parables is described as wealthy and prestigious.

-The landlord is shown to have large portions of land including orchards which he puts all down on his contracts. The total amount equals the yield of one hundred acres of land.

-The master is afraid that his reputation will be ruined in the community if his steward continues to not protect his money so he fires him.
-The scene presented in the parable is Jewish and not Roman. A steward on Roman estate would most likely be a slave, whose mismanagement would have been punished by "death".

-The steward is a slave but in a Jewish household where slaves were treated like a part of the family. For a Jewish slave to leave his master's house would be like leaving home.

-The fact that the steward is dismissed indicates that he is a retainer, not a salve, although a retainer in the household of an elite was nearly as dependent as a slave but without security associated with slavery.

-Retainers are lower than slaves and that is why they are dismissed so easily.

-If the steward loses his position he loses his stewardship and access to the household bureaucracy.

-The steward could not be prosecuted for wrongdoings but could be dismissed or shamed.

-The master wouldn't care about stewards profits as long as he kept the master's goods and resources in steady flow.

-The steward does not want to become a digger or a beggar because losing his stewardship and joining the work force would mean dropping out of the class of retainers into the class of expendables.

-The steward is not trying to save his master but he is just trying to save himself.

-It was the steward's idea to reduce the costs of the debt but not to better his master, just to save himself.

-The steward was an estate manager and represented his master and acted on his behalf and entered contracts.

-The master was a local aristocrat who belonged to the community.

-The steward is afraid of all things that come with being an expendable; scarce food, and back-breaking labor.