Gift
(1.) An gratuity (Prov 19:6) to secure favour (Prov 18:16; Prov 21:14), a thank-offering (Num 18:11), or a dowry (Gen 34:12).
(2.) An oblation or proppitatory gift (2 Sam 8:2, 2 Sam 8:6; 1 Chr 18:2, 1 Chr 18:6; 2 Chr 26:8; Ps 45:12; Ps 72:10).
(3.) A bribe to a judge to obtain a favourable verdict (Ex 23:8; Deut 16:19).
(4.) Simply a thing given (Matt 7:11; Luke 11:13; Eph 4:8); sacrifical (Matt 5:23, Matt 5:24; Matt 8:4); eleemosynary (Luke 21:1); a gratuity (John 4:10; Acts 8:20). In Acts 2:38 the generic word dorea is rendered “gift.” It differs from the charisma (1 Cor 12:4) as denoting not miraculous powers but the working of a new spirit in men, and that spirit from God.
The giving of presents entered largely into the affairs of common life in the East. The nature of the presents was as various as were the occasions: food (1 Sam 9:7; 1 Sam 16:20), sheep and cattle (Gen 32:13–15), gold (2 Sam 18:11), jewels (Gen 24:53), furniture, and vessels for eating and drinking (2 Sam 17:28); delicacies, as spices, honey, etc. (1 Kgs 10:25; 2 Kgs 5:1–27: 22). The mode of presentation was with as much parade as possible: the presents were conveyed by the hands of servants (Judg 3:18), or still better, on the backs of beasts of burden (2 Kgs 8:9). The refusal of a present was regarded as a high indignity; and this constituted the aggravated insult noticed in Matt 22:11, the marriage robe having been offered and refused.
From Easton’s Bible Dictionary (1897), by Matthew George Easton.
