Matius 17:24-27

The Temple Tax

17:24 After ¹  they arrived in Capernaum, ²  the collectors of the temple tax ³  came to Peter and said, “Your teacher pays the double drachma tax, doesn’t he?” 17:25 He said, “Yes.” When Peter came into the house, Jesus spoke to him first, ⁴  “What do you think, Simon? From whom do earthly kings collect tolls or taxes – from their sons ⁵  or from foreigners?” 17:26 After he said, “From foreigners,” Jesus said to him, “Then the sons ⁶  are free. 17:27 But so that we don’t offend them, go to the lake and throw out a hook. Take the first fish that comes up, and when you open its mouth, you will find a four drachma coin. ⁷  Take that and give it to them for me and you.”

Matius 22:17-21

22:17 Tell us then, what do you think? Is it right ⁸  to pay taxes ⁹  to Caesar ¹⁰  or not?”

22:18 But Jesus realized their evil intentions and said, “Hypocrites! Why are you testing me? 22:19 Show me the coin used for the tax.” So ¹¹  they brought him a denarius. ¹²  22:20 Jesus ¹³  said to them, “Whose image ¹⁴  is this, and whose inscription?” 22:21 They replied, ¹⁵  “Caesar’s.” He said to them, ¹⁶  “Then give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” ¹⁷ 

[17:24]  ¹ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[17:24]  ² map For location see Map1 D2; Map2 C3; Map3 B2.

[17:24]  ³ tn Grk “Collectors of the double drachma.” This is a case of metonymy, where the coin formerly used to pay the tax (the double drachma coin, or δίδραχμον [didracmon]) was put for the tax itself (cf. BDAG 241 s.v.). Even though this coin was no longer in circulation in NT times and other coins were used to pay the tax, the name for the coin was still used to refer to the tax itself.

[17:24]  sn The temple tax refers to the half-shekel tax paid annually by male Jews to support the temple (Exod 30:13-16).

[17:25]  ⁴ tn Grk “spoke first to him, saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant in English and has not been translated.

[17:25]  ⁵ sn The phrase their sons may mean “their citizens,” but the term “sons” has been retained here in order to preserve the implicit comparison between the Father and his Son, Jesus.

[17:26]  ⁶ sn See the note on the phrase their sons in the previous verse.

[17:27]  ⁷ sn The four drachma coin was a stater (στατήρ, stathr), a silver coin worth four drachmas. One drachma was equivalent to one denarius, the standard pay for a day’s labor (L&N 6.80).

[22:17]  ⁸ tn Or “lawful,” that is, in accordance with God’s divine law. On the syntax of ἔξεστιν (exestin) with an infinitive and accusative, see BDF §409.3.

[22:17]  ⁹ tn According to L&N 57.180 the term κῆνσος (khnso") was borrowed from Latin and referred to a poll tax, a tax paid by each adult male to the Roman government.

[22:17]  sn This question concerning taxes was specifically designed to trap Jesus. If he answered yes, then his opponents could publicly discredit him as a sympathizer with Rome. If he answered no, then they could go to the Roman governor and accuse Jesus of rebellion.

[22:17]  ¹⁰ tn Or “to the emperor” (“Caesar” is a title for the Roman emperor).

[22:19]  ¹¹ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate their response to Jesus’ request for a coin.

[22:19]  ¹² tn Here the specific name of the coin was retained in the translation, because not all coins in circulation in Palestine at the time carried the image of Caesar. In other places δηνάριον (dhnarion) has been translated simply as “silver coin” with an explanatory note.

[22:19]  sn A denarius was a silver coin worth approximately one day’s wage for a laborer. The fact that they had such a coin showed that they already operated in the economic world of Rome. The denarius would have had a picture of Tiberius Caesar stamped on it.

[22:20]  ¹³ tn Grk “And he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

[22:20]  ¹⁴ tn Or “whose likeness.”

[22:20]  sn In this passage Jesus points to the image (Grk εἰκών, eikwn) of Caesar on the coin. This same Greek word is used in Gen 1:26 (LXX) to state that humanity is made in the “image” of God. Jesus is making a subtle yet powerful contrast: Caesar’s image is on the denarius, so he can lay claim to money through taxation, but God’s image is on humanity, so he can lay claim to each individual life.

[22:21]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “they said to him.”

[22:21]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “then he said to them.” τότε (tote) has not been translated to avoid redundancy.

[22:21]  ¹⁷ sn Jesus’ answer to give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s was a both/and, not the questioners’ either/or. So he slipped out of their trap.