Exegesis:
eipen de ‘and he said,’ introducing a parable in the proper sense. The situation is the same as before.
(V. 12) kai eipen ho neōteros autōn tō patri ‘and the younger one of them said to his father.’ kai marks here the transition from description (v. 11) to action.
dos moi to epiballon meros tēs ousias ‘give me the part of the property that falls to me.’ epiballō means here ‘to fall to,’ or ‘to belong to’; hence to epiballon meros is ‘the part, or, share that is due’ (cf. Translator’s New Testament, “my due share”). For meros cf. on 12.46.
ousia (also v. 13) ‘property,’ equivalent to bios (below). For the much debated question whether a son could claim his part of an estate when his father was still alive, cf. commentaries. For translational purposes it is best to take the present tense of epiballon at face value and to understand the share as due at the time of claiming.
ho de dieilen autois ton bion ‘and he divided the property among them.’ For bios cf. on 8.43.
diaireō ‘to divide,’ ‘to distribute.’
Translation:
And he said, or ‘again he/Jesus said.’
(V. 12) The younger of them, or, ‘the/his younger son,’ ‘the younger-brother’ (e.g. in Batak Toba), ‘the second one’ (Northern Grebo).
Give me the share of property that falls to me presupposes that their property is to be divided, which may have to be made explicit, e.g. ‘divide the property and give me the part that I am entitled to,’ ‘gather up my birth portion and give me’ (Mossi). Give. A polite form is sometimes required, cf. e.g. ‘please-hand-out-now’ (West Nyanja). The share of property that falls to me, or, ‘my share of the/our (inclus.) property,’ ‘as many things as will become mine by you’ (Tzeltal), ‘the part of the good I must receive’ (Sranan Tongo), ‘our things that will be mine’ (Medumba), ‘the things (in contrast with somebody else’s things in the context) I am to have’ (Ekari); or making explicit the reference to inheritance, ‘my share of the things that I shall inherit’ (Shona 1966), ‘my part of what I inherited from my grandfather/ancestors’ (cf. Tae’ 1933). In some cultures, e.g. Lomwe, Yao, a father can only make a gift, but never can assign such a right; a slightly more generic rendering will be preferable then, e.g. ‘a part of the/your property.’ Elsewhere a man can leave his property only to his eldest son not to the younger ones, or to his sister’s not his own sons. I such cases a note may be advisable to explain that according to Jewish custom sons normally inherited their father’s property, the eldest obtaining double the portion assigned to his younger brothers, cf. Deut. 21.17.
He, i.e. the father, which usually has to be specified.
Divided his living between them, or, ‘between the two of them,’ ‘gave to each of them (or, of his sons) a part of his property/possessions.’
Quoted with permission from Reiling, J. and Swellengrebel, J.L. A Handbook on the Gospel of Luke. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1971. For this and other handbooks for translators see here . Make sure to also consult the Handbook on the Gospel of Mark for parallel or similar verses.