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Bible Dictionaries
Bill
Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament
or 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 ספֵר כְּרֵיחת 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.
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Hastings, James. Entry for 'Bill'. Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/hdn/b/bill.html. 1906-1918.
