Temple Tax

Biblical Text and Content

The basis for the temple tax is Exodus 30:11-16. When Moses took a census, each person twenty years old and above was to give the LORD "a ransom for his soul" amounting to "half a shekel after the shekel of the sanctuary." A ransom is a price paid in place of a life. The law stipulated that "the rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less" (Exodus 30:15), and the money collected was used for the service of the tabernacle of the congregation. Exodus 38:25-26 records that the silver gathered at this time was used to build the tabernacle.

From the period of the monarchy, 2 Chronicles 24:6-9 tells how King Joash ordered that "the collection, according to the commandment of Moses" be brought in to repair the temple. After the return from exile, the people in Nehemiah 10:32 pledged to give "the third part of a shekel" each year for the shewbread and the costs of the offerings.

In the New Testament, the tax appears in Matthew 17:24-27. In Capernaum, "they that received tribute money" asked Peter whether his master paid the tax. Jesus answered with an analogy: the kings of the earth collect taxes not from their own children but from strangers, and so "then are the children free." Nevertheless, "lest we should offend them," he told Peter to take from the mouth of the first fish he caught in the sea "a piece of money" (a coin worth one shekel) and pay it for both Jesus and Peter.

Background

The shekel was originally a unit of weight. In New Testament times, a half shekel was equivalent to two Greek silver drachmas, and the original-language term in Matthew 17:24 likewise means "two drachmas." The "piece of money" Peter was to find was a four-drachma silver coin, the amount needed to pay for two people.

During the Second Temple period, the temple tax became established as an annual tax. The temple required silver coins of a consistent purity, and scholars generally hold that shekels minted in Tyre were used. For this reason, money changers in the temple courts exchanged pilgrims' money. The "tables of the moneychangers" that Jesus overturned in the cleansing of the temple (Matthew 21:12; John 2:14-15) are also commonly explained in connection with the temple tax. According to Josephus, after the Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed in A.D. 70, Rome continued to collect the tax from the Jews but redirected it to the temple of Jupiter in Rome.

Significance in the Whole of Scripture

Exodus presents the temple tax not merely as an operating expense but as a ransom for life. By requiring the same amount regardless of wealth or poverty, it also shows that every person's portion is equal before God. In Matthew 17, Jesus places himself in the position of the "son" of the temple's owner. Accordingly, this passage is read as revealing Jesus' identity as the Son of God and the atonement accomplished through him.

Interpretation and Issues

• Exemption and payment: Many interpreters read the passage as showing that Jesus was in principle under no obligation to pay the tax but laid aside his right so as not to cause others to stumble. The passage is sometimes discussed alongside Paul's teaching on Christian freedom and consideration for others (1 Corinthians 8-10).
• Distinction from Roman taxes: The passage is often conflated with the question of paying taxes to the Roman emperor (Mark 12:13-17). The half shekel, however, was a religious tax paid by Jews to the temple, and some urge caution against using Matthew 17 directly as a basis for the duty to pay taxes to the state.
• The miracle of the fish: The passage ends with Jesus' instruction and does not narrate Peter actually catching the fish and taking out the coin. It has traditionally been read as a miracle that took place as instructed, but the scene itself does not appear in the text.
• Relationship to present-day giving: Denominations and interpreters differ on whether the temple tax should be regarded as equivalent to present-day offerings or the tithe.