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Tyndale Open Bible Dictionary

TAX, TAXATION

Amount of money or goods that was extracted by the powerful nations from those whom they subjected. It commonly consisted of gold, silver, animals, produce, or forced labor. Taxes were also levied on the people both by their ruler and by the priesthood to pay for the maintenance of the temple. The term “tribute” is first used in the KJB in Genesis 49:15 (NLT “forced labor”). In Numbers 31:28 the spoils of battle were divided up to include a tribute or levy for the priesthood. For the Hebrews the temple tribute was originally a voluntary offering to the Lord (Dt 16:10) but later became a prescribed tax (Mt 17:24).

Even in 2500 BC in the city of Lagash, taxes were imposed on most facets of life, from the means of earning a livelihood, to marriage, divorce, and death. Like many ancient peoples, the Sumerians believed that the land belonged to the god and his representative the king, and that therefore a rent or levy was payable to the owner.

In Egypt, Joseph exacted a burdensome 20-percent tax in grain during the seven years of plenty, which alleviated the food shortages during the subsequent seven years of famine (Gn 41:25–42:5). The tax on the crops was facilitated because in Egypt the ownership of the land was vested in the ruler.

Warrior kings, such as David, were able to maintain a healthy treasury without taxing their own people. The Canaanites and neighboring conquered peoples contributed great wealth to the treasury (2 Sm 8:6-14; 1 Chr 27:25-31), one list of which included silver, gold, bronze, 1,700 horsemen, and 20,000 foot soldiers. Forced labor was often required by David and his successors of aliens who remained within the boundaries of the Israelite kingdom (Jos 16:10; 17:13; Jgs 1:28).

Israel was probably first taxed during Solomon’s reign. In this more stable period, income came from tribute but not from booty. To maintain the grandeur of the court and the extensive building program, Solomon divided Israel into 12 areas, each under an officer, each of whom provided food and support for the king and his household for one month per year (1 Kgs 4:7). Solomon also derived considerable income from levying custom duties on trading caravans that passed regularly through his kingdom. In addition to all of this, both foreigners and native Israelites were subject to forced labor for major building projects, especially for the temple (1 Kgs 5:13; 9:20-21; 2 Chr 8:7-8). Handles from ten-gallon (37.9-liter) jars have been excavated, bearing a Hebrew stamp “to the king,” indicating that they formed part of a levy (2 Chr 2:10).

Jehoshaphat was equally successful in taxing the people at home (2 Chr 17:5) and maintaining the tribute from abroad, including silver and gold from the Philistines and 7,700 rams and 7,700 he-goats from the Arabs (2 Chr 17:11-12). As the power of the surrounding empires increased, Judah found itself forced to pay tribute. Sennacherib, king of Assyria, required 300 talents of silver and 30 talents of gold, which necessitated the removal of the gold from the temple doors (2 Kgs 18:14-16). Approximately a century later, Pharaoh Neco required 100 talents of silver and a talent of gold from Judah (23:33), and shortly thereafter Nebuchadnezzar removed all the treasure from the temple and the royal palace, together with 10,000 captives, all the craftsmen, and 1,000 smiths, leaving few in Jerusalem except the poor (24:13-16).

A definite, regular, organized tax system was instituted by the Persians, whose satraps, ruling each province, were required to make payment of fixed sums into the royal treasury (Est 10:1). Tax exemption was introduced by Artaxerxes I, who stated that levies should not be collected from priests, Levites, or any others occupied in any way with the service of the temple (Ezr 7:24). An additional tax was required for the maintenance of the governor’s household; it consisted of food, wine, and 40 shekels of silver (Neh 5:14-15). As governor, Nehemiah did not claim this allowance of food because he considered the taxes already burdensome, causing the mortgaging of fields, vineyards, and houses “for the king’s tax.” Simultaneously, a levy was imposed upon the Jews for the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem (4:6). Darius was politically astute enough to encourage the rebuilding of the temple and to allow the Jews to use some of the royal tax money for this purpose (Ezr 6:7-10).

Under the Seleucids, the Ptolemies, and subsequently the Romans, there was a change in the collection of taxes, whereby the office of tax collector was sold to the highest bidder, who in turn extracted the maximum payment from the people and built up his own wealth from the surplus generated. At times, the Jews were paying tithes for the maintenance of the temple, in addition to taxes of as much as one-third of the grain and half of the fruit grown. Excise, sales, and poll taxes were also collected.

After the extortionate level of tax imposed by Pompey, Julius Caesar reduced the amount paid by the Jews and exempted them from all payment in the sabbatical year. The provinces were considered booty by the Romans and were plundered physically by the army and financially by the tax collectors. In imperial times there was greater regulation of the tax system. An income tax was imposed on produce from the field and from artisans and tradesmen, as well as a poll tax, port duties, sales taxes, an auction tax, and an estate duty.

In addition to the taxes paid to foreign powers, all Jews worldwide who were 20 years of age and older (Ex 30:11-16) were assessed a half-shekel per person annually as a tax to support the temple in Jerusalem (Mt 17:24), a tax that continued to be levied even after the destruction of the temple in AD 70. Jesus was questioned on the validity of this tax (v 25) as well as the lawfulness of payment of taxes to Rome (Mt 22:17; Mk 12:14-15; Lk 20:22). Despite Jesus’ famous reply—“render to Caesar that which is Caesar’s and to God that which is God’s” (Mt 22:21; Mk 12:17; Lk 20:25)—he was still accused before Pilate of forbidding the Jews to give taxes to Caesar (Lk 23:2). The early church also reinforced the legality of taxation as a legitimate responsibility required of all people (Rom 13:5-7).