Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible (1898)
PURSE, a sort of girdle, such as is often found at the present day in Eastern countries. One part of the girdle, sufficient to encompass the body, was sewed double and fastened with a buckle. The other was wound around above or below the first fold, and tucked under. The first fold had an opening, closed with a leathern cover and strap, through which the contents of the purse were passed. Matt 10:9; Mark 6:8.