Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible (1898)
BAG, the English translation of several quite different words. When used in connection with money, it means the long cone-like receptacles in which coin was packed. 2 Kgs 12:10. These were made of various sizes, each to contain a precise amount of money. We read that the workmen on the temple were paid in bags, which were probably delivered to them sealed. At this day in Eastern nations money passes in bags from hand to hand under the seal of a banker or other public officer, and without counting, as it is paid by one Egyptian Money-bags. ) to another.
If the seal is genuine and unbroken, the exact value of each bag is known at sight. The shepherd's "bag" which David had was probably one in which the young lambs unable to walk were carried. The "bag" of Judas was probably a little box, John 12:6; John 13:29.