Bible Lexicons

(1) ";burden,"; ";load"; : P Oxy VII. 1049.3 (account of transportlate ii/A.D.) ὄνο (ι)`q φο (ρτία) η ̄, ";9 donkeys, 8 loads"; (see the editor’s note). (2) ";freight,"; ";cargo,"; as in Act. 27:10 (TR φόρτος) : P Oxy VIII. 1153.9 (i/A.D.) payment by Heraclas the boatman (ὁ ναυτικός) of 600 drachmae (ὑπὲρ) τῶν φορτίων αὐτοῦ, ";for his freights,"; P Lond 948.7 (A.D. 236) (= III. p. 220), the shipmaster is to receive 100 drachmae for freightage, 40 paid in advance and the remaining 60 on the safe delivery of the cargo—ἅπερ φορτία παραδώσει σῷα καὶ ἀκακούργητα. The hitherto rare form φόρετρον is found =";freight"; in P Petr II. 30 (a).13 (Ptol.), P Ryl II. 209.5, .24, (early iii/A.D.), P Oxy XII. 1589.18 (early iv/A.D.), and numerous exx. in Preisigke III. Index p. 341, and the new verb φορετρίζω in P Oxy VII. 1069.16 (iii/A.D.), and ib. XII. 1589.16 (early iv/A.D.). (3) ";wares,"; ";merchandise"; : BGU IV. 1118.19 (B.C. 22) τὰ δὲ ἐκ τῆς μισθώσεως φορτία πάντα, ib, 1079.17 (A.D. 41) (=Selections, p. 40) παρὰ τάλαντόν σοι πέπρακα τὰ φο [ρτ ]ία μου, ";I have sold you my wares, for a talent,"; a letter to a man in money-difficulties. (4) ";fixture"; : P Oxy II. 243.27 (A.D. 79) house and land property σὺν τ [ο ]ῖς ἐμπεσουμένοις εἰς τούτοις [φ ]ο ̣ρ ̣τίοις πᾶσι, ";with all fixtures which may be included in them."; For this use of φορτία the editors compare ib. 242.16 (A.D. 77), and CPR I. 206.8. (5) The word is used metaph., as in Mat. 11:30, al, in P Oxy XVI. 1874.7 (vi/A.D.), a Christian letter of condolence, in which reference is made to to, τὰ τριάντα πέντε φορτία, ";the thirty-five burdens,"; apparently a proverbial expression (see the editors’ note). For the metaph. use of the adj. φορτικός, see P Amh II. 145.7 (iv/v A.D.), a Christian letter in which the writer expresses the hope that he will not be ";wearisome"; (φορτικός) to his correspondent, P Oxy VI. 904.9 (v/A.D.) a petition to be released from an office which had proved ";so severe and onerous";—τ ]ὴ ̣ ν τοιαύτην ἀπαρέτητον καὶ φορτικωτάτην λειτουργίαν. In the letter ascribed to the Emperor Hadrian, P Fay 19.8, the phrase φ [ο ]ρτικὸν λόγο [ν is used with reference to the conventional reasons of philosophy, as contrasted with a simple statement of facts.