And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come. No doubt when our Lord spoke these parables he considerably enlarged the details, made many parts of the framework clearer than the short reports which we possess can possibly do.
The meaning of the great noble's action here is that he wished to test his servants—to try their various capabilities and dispositions, intending, when he should return from his long journey, having received his kingdom, to appoint them to high offices in the administration, to such positions, in fact, as their action in regard to the small deposit now entrusted to them should show themselves capable of filling.
The Greek verb rendered "occupy" ( πραγματεύσασθε) occurs here only in the New Testament: a compound form of it is rendered (Luke 19:15) by "gained by trading."