Purse

Purse in the New Testament translates two distinct Greek words. (1.) Balantion — a bag or pouch — appearing in Jesus' instructions to the seventy not to carry a purse on their mission (Luke 10:4; 22:35–36). (2.) Zone — literally a girdle or belt — in Matthew 10:9, where the disciples were told not to acquire money in their belts for the journey, the belt serving as a money pouch. The disciples' common treasury (John 12:6; 13:29) was kept by Judas Iscariot, who also pilfered from it. Jesus' varied instructions about purses (sometimes prohibiting, sometimes permitting) reflect different mission contexts rather than a contradiction.