The y\. Avas the receptacle for the money of Jesus and the disciples ; it contained, no doubt, the proceeds of the sale of their goods, and gave the idea later of the common fund (Ac 4^"'-); it was replenished by the gifts of friends (Lk 8"); and from it the poor were helped (Jn 13="). Judas may have been entrusted with it as being the best fitted for such work ; but what might have proved a blessing, as giving useful employment for his talents, became the means of his ruin. Other sug- gested explanations are : that Christ thought lit to call forth a manifestation of his sin as the only means of cure (Hengstenberg) ; or that it was simply a private arrangement between the disciples (Godet). The 'bag' could not have been taken from him, as Edersheim {Life and Times, ii. 472) remarks, without exposing him to the others, and precipitating his moral destruction. See JUDAS LSCARIOT. W. H. DUNDAS.
BAND.— A Roman legion, the full strength of which was about 6000 men, was divided into ten cohorts (600), and each cohort into three maniples (200). Greek writers use the word aweipa, rendered ' band' in our versions, sometimes for maniple but usually for cohort ; hence HVni has regularly 'cohort.' The troops in Judaa, liowever, as jn
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BANK
BAPTISM
otlier provinces governed by a procurator, con- sisted simply of auxiliaries, not Roman citizens, but provincials; these were not formed into legions, but merely into cohorts, of strength vary- ing from 500 to 1000, sometimes consisting purely of infantry, sometimes including cavalry also. The farces in Palestine seem to have been originally Herod's troops, taken over by the Romans ; they were recruited in the Greek cities in or around the country, such as Cresarea, Ascalon, Sebaste. One such cohort formed the garrison of Jerusalem, stationed in the fortress of Antonia, adjoiiiin<j the Temple, under a chiliarch or tribune ( ' the chief captain of the band,' Ac 2P'). From the account of the force at the disposal of Lysias (Ac 23^), his cohort must have been a cohors miliarin cquestris, consisting of 760 infantry and 240 cavalry ; but this may not have been the case in our Lord's time, some 30 years earlier. This Roman force was probably granted by Pilate to eftect our Lord's arre.st (Jn 18''- '-, where ' the band ' under its ' chief captain ' [RV] seems dis- tinguished from ' the officers of the Jews,' i.e. the Temple police ; see Westcott, ad loc. ). Of course, only a portion of the whole coliort would be needed. In Mt 27^ 11 Mk 15'«, the soldiers gather together ' the whole band ' to mock our Lord ; obviously all who were at hand and not on duty.
Literature.— Griitmi-Thayer, s.v. /rrupic; Schiirer, BJP i. ii. 49-56: Marqiiardt, Jiomische Staatsvei-waltung (1SS4), ii. 46Sff., 534ff. HAEOLD SMITH.
BANK 1. In the parable of the Pounds, Christ
upbraids the slothful servant because he had not given Ilia pound to the bank {iwi Tpawe^av), i.e. the office of the money-changers (Lk 19-'^), who would have kept it safe, and also paid interest for it. 'Bankers' (TpaTrefiToi) is used in RV of :Mt 25^ for ' money-changers ' of the AV. In Greek cities the bankers .sat at their tables (rpaTrffa) in the market-place. They changed coins, but also took money on deiKisit, giving wliat would now seem very high interest (see articles ' Money- Changers' and 'Usuiy' in vols. iii. and iv. of Hastings' DB).
In this parable some suppose that Christ meant by ' the bank ' to indicate the Synagogue, or the Christian Church as an organized body, which might use the gifts or powers of a disciple, when he could not, through timidity or lack of energy, exercise them himself. Othera have supposed that He pointed to prayer as a substitute for good works, when the disciple was unable to do such. But all this is very precarious. (Cf. Bruce, Peine- boHc TcnrJiinrj rf Christ, p. 209 f.).
to be a Toae
boldly with that which has been lui. : 1 : him.
2. In Lk 19« 'bank,' AV 'trench' (Gr. x^^a^), l)robably stands for a i)alisa(le (so RVm) of stakes, strengthened with brandies and earth, Avitli a ditch behind, used by besiegers as a protection against arrows or attacking uarties (Lat. vallum). Such a palisatle was actually employed by the soldiers of Titus in the siege of Jerusalem, a.d. 70 (Jos. BJ V. vi. 2). David M. W. Laird.
BANQUET.— The people of Palestine in Christ's day— as, indeed, throughout the East generally —
were fond of social feasting. The word 5ox^, ren- dered 'feast,' from S^xoM"", 'to receive' (cf. Eng. reception'), is used with ttoi^w, 'to make' (cf.
Heb. njifi? 'i?? Job l-"). This is the social banquet, as distinguished from the religious feast (fopT7i). Lrvi made a great feast in his house ( Lk ~t .iilvised His followers, when they
invite the poor and afflicted rather than the rich and influential (W). Such banquets were usually given in the house of the host to invited guests (Lk 14'^ Jn 22), but there was more freedom accorded the uninvited than is common in Western social life (Lk 73«-38). Guests reclined on couches, leaning upon the left arm, and eating with the aid of the right hand, as in ordinary meals. Eating, and especially drinking of wine (cf. Heb. nriiyg 'drink,' and ]-.: 'wine,' used for 'ban- quet,' and Gr. in>iiir6<riof, ' drinking together '), nuisie, dancing, joyous conversation, merriment, usually characterized such a festivity. Such a banquet was a part of wedding occasions. Jesus accepted an invitation to one of these at Cana in Galilee ( Jn S^"- ). Levi gave a banquet in His honour (Lk S'^). There were often large numbers present (o-""), and gradations in the places (Mt 23"^, Lk 14' 20*, Mk 1239). One of the guests was usually appointed ' ruler of the feast,' or apxi-Tpiii\ivos (Jn 2"- "), who superintended the drinking, etc. (cf. Lk 22=«). E. B. Pollard.