“Good and Faithful Slave”

What is it about?

This article interprets the parable of the talents using a combination of two theories, namely, social identity theory and virtue ethics theory. It argues that the key insights of these theory exist in an intrinsic relation in the parable of the talents. More specifically, the article argues that in the parable of the talents, social identity (one's view of him or herself in relation to others or the groups he or she belongs to) shifts from the familiar first century categorization along the lines of ethnicity and social class to that of character. It implies that character or virtue becomes an overarching social identity of the group that Matthew wrote to, irrespective of one's ethnicity (Jew or Greek) or social status (e.g. slave or free). _x000D_ In this way, this article advances scholarly discussion by showing that social identity and virtue ethics theories need not be used as separate theories for interpreting either the Matthean social data or ethical data respectively, as has been the typical approach in scholarship. Instead, the two could be employed integrally in examining the intrinsic intersection of social identity and virtue ethics in Matthew's gospel.

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