Bill
Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament [1]
BILL. — 1. Bill of divorcement: Mark 10:4, Matthew 19:7 ( Revised Version NT 1881, OT 1885): Gr. βιβλίον (a scroll or letter) ἀποστασίου; shorter equivalent, ἀποστάσιον Matthew 5:31. In all three passages the expression is used of the ספֵרכְּרֵיחת demanded in Deuteronomy 24:1-4 of the husband who divorces his wife. In contrast with the older usage—still prevalent in the East—of divorce by a merely verbal process, the need of preparing a written document was calculated to be a bar against hasty or frivolous action, while the bill itself served the divorced wife as a certificate of her right to marry again. The Rabbis, who dwelt with special gusto (‘non sine complacentia quadam’—Lightfoot) on the subject of divorce, had drawn up regulations as to the proper wording of the bill of divorcement, its sealing and witnessing, and the number of lines—neither less nor more than twelve—the writing must occupy. In the eyes of Jesus, no document, however formal, could prevent divorce from being a violation of God’s purpose in instituting marriage. See Lightfoot, Hor. Heb. in Matthew 5:31.
2. A bond (so Revised Version NT 1881, OT 1885) or written acknowledgment of debt, Luke 16:5; Luke 16:7 : Gr. (Ti., Tr., WH [Note: H Westcott and Hort’s text.] ) τὸ γράμματα, (TR [Note: R Textus Receptus.] ) γράμμα. The word itself is indefinite (literally = ‘the letters’), and throws no light upon a question much discussed by commentators on the parable of the Unjust Steward, viz. Was the bond merely an acknowledgment of a debt, or was it an undertaking to pay a fixed annual rental from the produce of a farm? Edersheim decides, though without giving his reasons, for the former alternative; Lightfoot inclines to the latter. Against the theory of a simple debt is the fact that the amount of the obligation is stated in kind—wheat and oil—and not in money; and the probability of the story is heightened if we are to understand that the remissions authorized by the steward—amounting in money value, according to Edersheim, to the not very considerable sums of £5 and £25 respectively—affected not a single but an annual payment. But, on the other hand, as van Koetsfeld, who argues strongly for the view that the document was of the nature of a lease, admits, there is no precedent for the word (χρεοφιλέται) rendered ‘debtors’ being used for tenants. Jülicher dismisses the whole controversy as irrelevant. Another point in dispute is whether the old bond was altered, or a new one substituted for it. Lightfoot and Edersheim again take different sides. The alteration of the old bond is suggested, though not absolutely demanded, by the language of the passage, and would be, according to Edersheim, in accordance with the probabilities of the case. Acknowledgments of debt were usually written on wax-covered tablets, and could easily be altered, the stylus in use being provided, not only with a sharp-pointed kôthçbh or writer, but with a flat thick môhçk or eraser. In any case it is clear that the ‘bill’ was written by the person undertaking the obligation; that it was the only formal evidence of the obligation; and that its supervision belonged to the functions of the steward. Hence, should the steward conspire with the debtors against his master’s interests, the latter had no check upon the fraud.
Literature.—Edersheim, Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah , ii. 268–273; Lightfoot, Hor. Heb., in loc. ; see also the various commentators on the Parables.
Norman Fraser.
Webster's Dictionary [2]
(1): (n.) Any paper, containing a statement of particulars; as, a bill of charges or expenditures; a weekly bill of mortality; a bill of fare, etc.
(2): (n.) An account of goods sold, services rendered, or work done, with the price or charge; a statement of a creditor's claim, in gross or by items; as, a grocer's bill.
(3): (v. t.) To charge or enter in a bill; as, to bill goods.
(4): (n.) A declaration made in writing, stating some wrong the complainant has suffered from the defendant, or a fault committed by some person against a law.
(5): (v. t.) To work upon ( as to dig, hoe, hack, or chop anything) with a bill.
(6): (n.) A paper, written or printed, and posted up or given away, to advertise something, as a lecture, a play, or the sale of goods; a placard; a poster; a handbill.
(7): (v. t.) To advertise by a bill or public notice.
(8): (n.) The extremity of the arm of an anchor; the point of or beyond the fluke.
(9): (n.) One who wields a bill; a billman.
(10): (n.) A weapon of infantry, in the 14th and 15th centuries. A common form of bill consisted of a broad, heavy, double-edged, hook-shaped blade, having a short pike at the back and another at the top, and attached to the end of a long staff.
(11): (n.) A cutting instrument, with hook-shaped point, and fitted with a handle; - used in pruning, etc.; a billhook. When short, called a hand bill, when long, a hedge bill.
(12): (n.) The bell, or boom, of the bittern
(13): (v. i.) To join bills, as doves; to caress in fondness.
(14): (v. i.) To strike; to peck.
(15): (n.) A beak, as of a bird, or sometimes of a turtle or other animal.
(16): (n.) A writing binding the signer or signers to pay a certain sum at a future day or on demand, with or without interest, as may be stated in the document.
(17): (n.) A pickax, or mattock.
(18): (n.) A form or draft of a law, presented to a legislature for enactment; a proposed or projected law.
Vine's Expository Dictionary of NT Words [3]
primarily "a small book, a scroll, or any sheet on which something has been written;" hence, in connection with apostasion, "divorce," signifies "a bill of divorcement," Matthew 19:7 (AV, "writing"); Mark 10:4 . See Book , Scroll , Writing.
from grapho "to write" (Eng., "graph, graphic," etc.), in Luke 16:6 , AV, is translated "bill." It lit. signifies that which is drawn, a picture; hence, a written document; hence, a "bill," or bond, or note of hand, showing the amount of indebtedness. In the passage referred to the word is in the plural, indicating perhaps, but not necessarily, various "bills." The bonds mentioned in rabbinical writings, were formal, signed by witnesses and the Sanhedrin of three, or informal, when only the debtor signed. The latter were usually written on wax, and easily altered. See Learning Letter , Scripture , Writing.
Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible [4]
BILL . 1 . In the parable of the Unjust Steward ( Luke 16:6 f.) ‘bill,’ RV [Note: Revised Version.] better bond , renders the Gr. grammata , the equivalent of the contemporary Heb. legal term shetâr (lit. ‘writing’), an acknowledgment of goods or money received written and signed by the debtor himself ( Baba bathra X. 8). Edersheim’s statement ( Life and Times of Jesus , ii. 272) that the Gr. word was adopted into Hebrew is based on a false reading. See, further, Debt. 2 . Bill of divorce; see Marriage.
A. R. S. Kennedy.
King James Dictionary [5]
BILL, n.
1. The beak of a fowl. 2. An instrument used by plumbers, basket makers and gardeners, made in the form of a crescent, and fitted with a handle. When short, it is called a hand-bill when long, a hedge-bill. It is used for pruning trees, &c.
Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature [6]
( סֵפֶר , Se'Pher, Βιβλίον ) , any thing written, and usually rendered Book. The passage in Job 31:35, " Oh! that one would hear me! .... that mine adversary had written a book," would be more properly rendered, " that mine adversary had given me a written accusation," or, in modern phraseology, "a bill of indictment." In other places we have the word "bill," as "bill of divorcement" ( Deuteronomy 24:1; Deuteronomy 24:3; Isaiah 50:1; Jeremiah 3:8; Matthew 19:7; Mark 10:4) (See Divorce), and in Jeremiah 32:10-16; Jeremiah 32:44, " the evidence," or, as in the margin, " the book," which there implies a legal conveyance of landed property.
In the New Testament, the word Γράμμα (properly a written mark) is translated " bill" in the parable of the unjust steward ( Luke 16:6-7). Here, too, a legal instrument is meant, as the lord's " debtors" are presumed to have been tenants who paid their rents in kind. The steward, it would appear, sought their good-will, not merely by lowering the existing claim for the year, but by granting a new contract, under which the tenants were permanently to pay less than they had previously done. He directed the tenants to write out the contracts, but doubtless gave them validity by signing them himself. This, like the Hebrew term, signifies a "letter" or written communication ( 1 Kings 21:8; 2 Kings 5:5; 2 Kings 10:1; 2 Kings 19:14; 2 Kings 20:12; 2 Chronicles 32:17; Esther 1:22; Esther 3:13; Esther 8:5, etc. Acts 28:21; Galatians 6:11).
