Reference: Gift
Easton
(1.) An gratuity (Pr 19:6) to secure favour (Pr 18:16; 21:14), a thank-offering (Nu 18:11), or a dowry (Ge 34:12).
(2.) An oblation or proppitatory gift (2Sa 8:2,6; 1Ch 18:2,6; 2Ch 26:8; Ps 45:12; 72:10).
(3.) A bribe to a judge to obtain a favourable verdict (Ex 23:8; De 16:19).
(4.) Simply a thing given (Mt 7:11; Lu 11:13; Eph 4:8); sacrifical (Mt 5:23-24; 8:4); eleemosynary (Lu 21:1); a gratuity (Joh 4:10; Ac 8:20). In Ac 2:38 the generic word dorea is rendered "gift." It differs from the charisma (1Co 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 (1Sa 9:7; 16:20), sheep and cattle (Ge 32:13-15), gold (2Sa 18:11), jewels (Ge 24:53), furniture, and vessels for eating and drinking (2Sa 17:28); delicacies, as spices, honey, etc. (1Ki 10:25; 2Ki 5:1; 22). The mode of presentation was with as much parade as possible: the presents were conveyed by the hands of servants (Jg 3:18), or still better, on the backs of beasts of burden (2Ki 8:9). The refusal of a present was regarded as a high indignity; and this constituted the aggravated insult noticed in Mt 22:11, the marriage robe having been offered and refused.
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And the servant brought out jewels of silver, jewels of gold, and garments and gave them to Rebekah; he also gave precious things to her brother and her mother.
And Jacob lodged there that night and took from what he had with him as a present for his brother Esau: Two hundred she-goats, 20 he-goats, 200 ewes, 20 rams, read more. Thirty milk camels with their colts, 40 cows, 10 bulls, 20 she-donkeys, and 10 [donkey] colts.
Ask me ever so much dowry and [marriage] gift, and I will give according to what you tell me; only give me the girl to be my wife.
You shall take no bribe, for the bribe blinds those who have sight and perverts the testimony and the cause of the righteous.
And this also is yours: the heave offering of their gift, with all the wave offerings of the Israelites. I have given them to you and to your sons and to your daughters with you as a continual allowance forever; everyone in your house who is [ceremonially] clean may eat of it.
You shall not misinterpret or misapply judgment; you shall not be partial, or take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and perverts the words of the righteous.
And when Ehud had finished presenting the tribute, he sent away the people who had carried it.
Then Saul said to his servant, But if we go, what shall we bring the man? The bread in our sacks is gone, and there is no gift for the man of God. What have we?
And Jesse took a donkey loaded with bread, a skin of wine, and a kid and sent them by David his son to Saul.
He defeated Moab, and measured them with a line, making them lie down on the ground; two lines he measured to be put to death, and one full line to keep alive. And the Moabites became servants to David, bringing tribute.
David put garrisons in Syrian Damascus, and the Syrians became [his] servants and brought tribute. The Lord preserved and gave victory to David wherever he went.
Brought beds, basins, earthen vessels, wheat, barley, meal, parched grain, beans, lentils, parched [pulse -- "seeds of peas and beans],
Joab said to the man, You saw him! Why did you not strike him down to the ground? I would have given you ten shekels of silver and a girdle.
Every man brought tribute: vessels of silver and gold, garments, equipment, spices, horses, and mules, so much year by year.
So Hazael went to meet Elisha and took a present with him of every good thing of Damascus, forty camel loads, and came and stood before him and said, Your son Ben-hadad king of Syria has sent me to you, asking, Shall I recover from this disease?
And, O daughter of Tyre, the richest of the people shall entreat your favor with a gift.
The kings of Tarshish and of the coasts shall bring offerings; the kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts.
A man's gift makes room for him and brings him before great men.
Many will entreat the favor of a liberal man, and every man is a friend to him who gives gifts.
A gift in secret pacifies and turns away anger, and a bribe in the lap, strong wrath.
So if when you are offering your gift at the altar you there remember that your brother has any [grievance] against you, Leave your gift at the altar and go. First make peace with your brother, and then come back and present your gift.
If you then, evil as you are, know how to give good and advantageous gifts to your children, how much more will your Father Who is in heaven [perfect as He is] give good and advantageous things to those who keep on asking Him!
And Jesus said to him, See that you tell nothing about this to anyone; but go, show yourself to the priest and present the offering that Moses commanded, for a testimony [to your healing] and as an evidence to the people.
But when the king came in to view the guests, he looked intently at a man there who had on no wedding garment.
If you then, evil as you are, know how to give good gifts [gifts that are to their advantage] to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask and continue to ask Him!
Looking up, [Jesus] saw the rich people putting their gifts into the treasury.
Jesus answered her, If you had only known and had recognized God's gift and Who this is that is saying to you, Give Me a drink, you would have asked Him [instead] and He would have given you living water.
And Peter answered them, Repent (change your views and purpose to accept the will of God in your inner selves instead of rejecting it) and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of and release from your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
But Peter said to him, Destruction overtake your money and you, because you imagined you could obtain the [free] gift of God with money!
Now there are distinctive varieties and distributions of endowments (gifts, extraordinary powers distinguishing certain Christians, due to the power of divine grace operating in their souls by the Holy Spirit) and they vary, but the [Holy] Spirit remains the same.
Therefore it is said, When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive [He led a train of vanquished foes] and He bestowed gifts on men.
Smith
Gift.
The giving and receiving of presents has in all ages been not only a more frequent but also a more formal and significant proceeding in the East than among ourselves. We cannot adduce a more remarkable proof of the important part which presents play in the social life of the East than the fact that the Hebrew language possesses no less than fifteen different expressions for the one idea. The mode of presentation was with as much parade as possible. The refusal of a present was regarded us a high indignity. No less an insult was it not to bring a present when the position of the parties demanded it.
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But some worthless fellows said, How can this man save us? And they despised him and brought him no gift. But he held his peace and was as if deaf.