Topical Encyclopedia In biblical literature, the term "piece" is used in various contexts, often referring to portions of material, currency, or objects. The word appears in both the Old and New Testaments, illustrating different aspects of daily life, religious practices, and teachings.Old Testament Usage 1. Material and Objects: The term "piece" is frequently used to describe portions of fabric or material. In Exodus 26:4, the construction of the Tabernacle involves specific instructions about joining curtains: "Make loops of blue material along the edge of the end curtain in one set, and do the same with the end curtain in the other set." Here, "piece" refers to sections of fabric that are to be joined together. 2. Currency and Trade: In the context of trade and currency, "piece" often refers to money. In Genesis 37:28, Joseph is sold by his brothers for twenty pieces of silver: "So when the Midianite merchants came by, his brothers pulled Joseph up out of the cistern and sold him for twenty pieces of silver to the Ishmaelites, who took him to Egypt." This transaction highlights the use of silver pieces as a form of currency in ancient times. 3. Sacrificial Offerings: The term is also used in the context of offerings and sacrifices. In Leviticus 6:21, instructions are given for the preparation of a grain offering: "It must be prepared with oil on a griddle; bring it well-mixed and present the grain offering broken in pieces as an aroma pleasing to the LORD." New Testament Usage 1. Parables and Teachings of Jesus: Jesus uses the concept of a "piece" in His teachings to convey spiritual truths. In Luke 15:8, the Parable of the Lost Coin illustrates the value of a single piece: "Or what woman who has ten silver coins and loses one of them does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it?" Here, the "piece" of silver represents something of great value, symbolizing the worth of a single soul to God. 2. Miracles and Provision: The multiplication of loaves and fishes is another instance where "pieces" are significant. In Matthew 14:19, during the feeding of the five thousand, Jesus breaks the loaves into pieces: "And He directed the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, He spoke a blessing. Then He broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people." The breaking of bread into pieces signifies God's provision and abundance. 3. Betrayal of Jesus: The term "piece" is also associated with the betrayal of Jesus. In Matthew 26:15, Judas Iscariot agrees to betray Jesus for thirty pieces of silver: "and asked, 'What are you willing to give me if I hand Him over to you?' And they set out for him thirty pieces of silver." This transaction fulfills Old Testament prophecy and underscores the gravity of Judas's betrayal. Symbolic and Theological Implications The use of "piece" in the Bible often carries symbolic and theological implications. It can represent division or unity, as seen in the joining of fabric for the Tabernacle or the breaking of bread during the Last Supper. In financial contexts, pieces of silver highlight themes of value, betrayal, and redemption. Theologically, these instances underscore God's provision, the worth of individuals, and the fulfillment of prophecy. Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary 1. (n.) A fragment or part of anything separated from the whole, in any manner, as by cutting, splitting, breaking, or tearing; a part; a portion; as, a piece of sugar; to break in pieces.2. (n.) A definite portion or quantity, as of goods or work; as, a piece of broadcloth; a piece of wall paper. 3. (n.) Any one thing conceived of as apart from other things of the same kind; an individual article; a distinct single effort of a series; a definite performance 4. (n.) A literary or artistic composition; as, a piece of poetry, music, or statuary. 5. (n.) A musket, gun, or cannon; as, a battery of six pieces; a following piece. 6. (n.) A coin; as, a sixpenny piece; -- formerly applied specifically to an English gold coin worth 22 shillings. 7. (n.) A fact; an item; as, a piece of news; a piece of knowledge. 8. (n.) An individual; -- applied to a person as being of a certain nature or quality; often, but not always, used slightingly or in contempt. 9. (n.) One of the superior men, distinguished from a pawn. 10. (n.) A castle; a fortified building. 11. (v. t.) To make, enlarge, or repair, by the addition of a piece or pieces; to patch; as, to piece a garment; -- often with out. 12. (v. t.) To unite; to join; to combine. 13. (v. i.) To unite by a coalescence of parts; to fit together; to join. International Standard Bible Encyclopedia PIECEpes: In the King James Version the word (singular and plural) represents a large number of different Hebrew words, many of which have more or less the same significance, e.g. piece of meat or flesh (Genesis 15:10 2 Samuel 6:19 Ezekiel 24:4); of bread or cake (1 Samuel 2:36; 1 Samuel 30:12 Jeremiah 37:21); of ground or land (2 Samuel 23:11); of wall (Nehemiah 3:11, 19); of an ear (Amos 3:12); of cloth or garment (1 Kings 11:30); of millstone (Judges 9:53). It is used frequently in paraphrastic renderings of various Hebrew verbs: "break," "tear," "cut," etc., in pieces (Genesis 44:28, etc.). PIECE OF GOLD The word "pieces" is supplied in 2 Kings 5:5 (story of Naaman), "6,000 pieces of gold," where the Revised Version margin more correctly suggests "shekels" (compare 1 Kings 10:16). PIECE OF MONEY Two words are thus rendered in the King James Version (qesiTah; stater). the Revised Version (British and American) gives only the first this rendering (Job 42:11). It is supposed to be from Arabic qassaT, "to divide equally by weight," and hence, something weighed; a piece of silver weighed for money, and perhaps stamped with its weight. The stater is the well-known Greek weight and coin (Matthew 17:27 the King James Version, margin, "stater," the Revised Version (British and American) "shekel"). In gold it was equal to about a guinea or five dollars, but in silver only to about 66 cents (in 1915). PIECE OF SILVER Two words are thus rendered in the Old Testament (ratstse-khaceph, and qesiTah) and two in the New Testament argurion, and drachme). The first expression means pieces of silver broken off from bars or larger pieces (Psalm 68:30). The second is used for money in Joshua 24:32, and is so rendered in the Revised Version (British and American). The pieces were not coins, but perhaps bore a stamp. See MONEY. In other passages of the Old Testament where pieces of silver are mentioned, the Hebrew has simply a numeral joined with keTeph, "silver," as in the account of the selling of Joseph (Genesis 37:28). In Isaiah 7:23 the word silverlings means small pieces of silver, and they were no doubt shekels. In the New Testament the Greek arguria (Matthew 26:15; Matthew 27:3-9), is translated as pieces of silver, but probably means shekels. In Acts 19:19 the same word occurs, but in this case the reference is probably to the denarius or drachma (compare Luke 15:8). Thus, the 30 pieces of Matthew would be equal to about 4 British pounds or USD20 (in 1915), and the 50,000 of Acts to about 2,000 British pounds or USD10,000 (in 1915). Greek 694. argurion -- silvery, by ext. a piece of silver ... a piece of silver. Part of Speech: Noun, Neuter Transliteration: argurion Phonetic Spelling: (ar-goo'-ree-on) Short Definition: silver, a shekel, money in ... //strongsnumbers.com/greek2/694.htm - 6k 2801. klasma -- a broken piece 729. arraphos -- without seam, of a single piece 5553. chrusion -- a piece of gold, gold 3608. othonion -- a piece of fine linen 1915. epiblema -- that which is put on, ie a patch 68. agros -- a field, the country 5564. chorion -- a place, property 4470. rhakos -- a rag 3016. leptos -- peeled, fine, thin, small, light Strong's Hebrew 915. badal -- a piece, severed piece... 914, 915. badal. 916 . a piece, severed piece. Transliteration: badal Phonetic Spelling: (baw-dawl') Short Definition: piece. Word ... /hebrew/915.htm - 6k 5409. nethach -- a piece (of a divided carcass) 7192. qesitah -- (unit of value), perhaps piece 1335. bether -- a part, piece 7168. qera -- torn piece (of garment), a rag 7518. rats -- perhaps piece, bar 7170. qerats -- a piece 4924b. mashman -- a fat piece, tidbit 6595. path -- fragment, bit, morsel 95. agorah -- payment Library The Lost Piece of Money. The Lost Silver Piece How Jesus Made a Short Piece of Wood of the Same Length as a ... For I was an Hungered, and Ye Gave Me no Meat... But As, in Accordance with the Train of Our Discussion... For at that Time the Trumpet Shall Sound, and Awake those that ... And what am I to Say with Respect to Men... You See in what Manner of Fasting and Prayer the Saints Will ... And the Apostles, who Speak of God, in Establishing the Truth of ... Next He Tells us of the "Fourth Beast, Dreadful and Terrible... Thesaurus Piece (93 Occurrences)... A fragment or part of anything separated from the whole, in any manner, as by cutting, splitting, breaking, or tearing; a part; a portion; as, a piece of sugar ... /p/piece.htm - 40k Shoulder-piece Patch (5 Occurrences) Extending (15 Occurrences) Pair (18 Occurrences) Bulb (4 Occurrences) Bud (23 Occurrences) Capital (29 Occurrences) Nehushtan (1 Occurrence) Rent (76 Occurrences) Resources Was Adam and Eve's sin really about eating a piece of forbidden fruit? | GotQuestions.orgWhat is the belt of truth (Ephesians 6:14)? | GotQuestions.org Do eucharistic miracles really happen? | GotQuestions.org Piece: Dictionary and Thesaurus | Clyx.com Bible Concordance • Bible Dictionary • Bible Encyclopedia • Topical Bible • Bible Thesuarus Concordance Piece (93 Occurrences)Matthew 9:16 Matthew 13:44 Matthew 17:27 Matthew 27:8 Mark 2:21 Luke 5:36 Luke 14:18 Luke 15:8 Luke 15:9 Luke 19:20 Luke 24:42 John 4:5 John 13:26 John 13:27 John 13:30 John 19:23 Acts 1:18 Acts 5:1 Acts 18:14 Romans 11:16 Genesis 15:10 Genesis 18:5 Genesis 23:15 Genesis 33:19 Exodus 15:25 Exodus 25:19 Exodus 25:31 Exodus 25:35 Exodus 25:36 Exodus 27:2 Exodus 28:8 Exodus 30:2 Exodus 37:7 Exodus 37:8 Exodus 37:17 Exodus 37:21 Exodus 37:22 Exodus 37:25 Exodus 38:2 Exodus 39:5 Leviticus 9:13 Leviticus 25:24 Numbers 10:2 Joshua 24:32 Judges 9:53 Judges 16:9 Judges 19:5 Judges 20:6 Ruth 2:14 Ruth 4:3 1 Samuel 2:36 1 Samuel 9:23 1 Samuel 28:22 1 Samuel 30:12 2 Samuel 6:19 2 Samuel 11:21 2 Samuel 17:13 2 Samuel 23:11 1 Kings 7:24 1 Kings 7:32 1 Kings 7:34 1 Kings 7:35 1 Kings 17:11 2 Kings 3:19 2 Kings 3:25 2 Kings 18:4 1 Chronicles 16:3 2 Chronicles 4:3 Nehemiah 3:11 Nehemiah 3:19 Nehemiah 3:20 Nehemiah 3:21 Nehemiah 3:24 Nehemiah 3:27 Nehemiah 3:30 Job 2:8 Job 33:6 Job 41:24 Job 41:29 Job 42:11 Proverbs 6:26 Proverbs 28:21 Song of Songs 4:3 Song of Songs 6:7 Isaiah 30:14 Isaiah 65:4 Jeremiah 37:21 Ezekiel 24:4 Ezekiel 24:6 Amos 3:12 Amos 4:7 Habakkuk 2:19 Zechariah 5:7 Subtopics Related Terms |