Commentaries:
Barnes' Notes
When even was come - That is, when the twelfth hour had come; the day was ended, and the time of payment was come.
The steward - A steward is one who transacts business in the place of another. He was one who had the administration of affairs in the absence of the householder, who provided for the family, and who was entrusted with the payment of laborers and servants. He was commonly the most trusty and faithful of the servants, raised to that station as a reward for his fidelity.
Beginning from the last unto the first - It was immaterial where he began to pay, provided he dealt justly by them. In the parable this order is mentioned to give opportunity for the remarks which follow. Had those first hired been first paid, they would have departed satisfied, and the point of the parable would have been lost.
Other Barnes' Notes entries containing Matthew 20:8:
Matthew 20:17-19
Romans 4:4
Galatians 4:2
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