Luke 16:3

εἶπε ἐν ἑ.: a Hebraism, as in Matthew 3:9; Matthew 9:3. The steward deliberates on the situation. He sees that his master has decided against him, and considers what he is to do next, running rapidly over all possible schemes. σκάπτειν, ἐπαιτεῖν : these two represent the alternatives for the dismissed: manual labour and begging; digging naturally chosen to represent the former as typical of agricultural labour, with which the steward's position brought him much into contact (Lightfoot). But why these two only mentioned? Why not try to get another situation of the same kind? Because he feels that dismissal in the circumstances means degradation. Who now would trust him? ἐπαιτεῖν = προσαιτεῖν (Mark 10:46; John 9:8).