Money was kept in the royal treasuries in bags, the value of the contents being first ascertained and marked upon each bag, which was then sealed.
Thenceforth, as long as the seal remained unbroken, the bag was estimated at its marked value, without re-counting. This was customary in ancient Egypt, and is still the usage in Persia and in other parts of the East. It is not confined to royal treasuries; but private bankers pursue a similar plan, so that in some parts of the Levant a “purse” is the word used for a particular sum of money. These bags are made of cotton-cloth, and are of different sizes, as they are used for carrying gold, silver, or copper pieces. A similar custom seems to be referred to in 2 Kings 12:1010And it was so, when they saw that there was much money in the chest, that the king's scribe and the high priest came up, and they put up in bags, and told the money that was found in the house of the Lord. (2 Kings 12:10).
Money-bags are alluded to in 2 Kings 5:2323And Naaman said, Be content, take two talents. And he urged him, and bound two talents of silver in two bags, with two changes of garments, and laid them upon two of his servants; and they bare them before him. (2 Kings 5:23) and Job 14:1717My transgression is sealed up in a bag, and thou sewest up mine iniquity. (Job 14:17). The “bag” which Judas carried (John 12:6; 13:296This he said, not that he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief, and had the bag, and bare what was put therein. (John 12:6)
29For some of them thought, because Judas had the bag, that Jesus had said unto him, Buy those things that we have need of against the feast; or, that he should give something to the poor. (John 13:29)) was probably a small box or chest. A different word is used in the original, in John, from the one rendered “bag” in the text in Luke. It originally signified a box carried by musicians for the purpose of holding the mouth-pieces of their instruments.