Luke 19:20

And another came ,.... Who was one of the servants; had a gift, but did not use, and improve it, nor did it turn to any account:

saying, Lord ; owning also the lordship and dominion of Christ, as all will confess at the last day, even those who have no interest in him, and cannot call him their Lord;

behold, here is thy pound ; he owns his gifts were the Lord's, and that he had received them from him, and now returns them:

which I have kept ; he had kept that which was committed to him, and that even till his Lord came; he had not lost it, though it was not increased, or was of any advantage to Christ, or the souls of men, it being neglected by him; for it was

laid up in a napkin : the Greek word, here used for a napkin, is adopted by the Jews into their language, and is used for a veil and for a linen cloth: this puts me in mind of what the Jews call, קנין סודר "possession by a napkin", or linen cloth: their custom is this; when they buy, or sell any thing, to use a piece of cloth they call "sudar", the word in the text, which the contractors lay hold upon, whereby they ratify and confirm the bargain F13 Elias in Tisbbi in voce קנין . : but this man made no use of his "sudar", or napkin, in buying and selling; he traded not at all; he wrapped up his money in it, and both lay useless; his gift lay dormant and unexercised, which was given him to profit withal.