Boyd’s Bible Dictionary:
(swelling). The bag of 2 Kings 5:23; 12:10, was for holding money; that of Deuteronomy 25:13-15 for carrying weights. Sack was the Hebrew grain-bag (Gen. 42:25). The shepherd’s bag was for carrying feeble lambs (Zech. 11:15-17). The bag of Judas was probably a small chest (John 12:6; 13:29).
From Manners and Customs of the Bible:
Luke 12:33. Provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not.
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 12:10.
Money-bags are alluded to in 2 Kings 5:23 and Job 14:17. The “bag” which Judas carried (John 12:6; 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.
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