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ZACCHAEUS
Jewish tax collector who collected taxes for the Romans at Jericho. He probably secured this position by purchasing the exclusive right to collect revenue in that region or by working as a subcontractor for another affluent official. In either case, Zacchaeus himself accrued great wealth (largely by illegitimate means) from his customs enterprise. Jericho, a significant center of commerce, was situated along a major trade route connecting Jerusalem and its environs with the lands east of the Jordan.
In his Gospel, Luke records Zacchaeus’s encounter with Jesus (Lk 19:2-8). Seeking Jesus, but unable to see him over the crowd because of his small stature, Zacchaeus climbed a sycamore tree to get a better view when Jesus passed by. To his astonishment, Jesus stopped under the tree and after calling him down, invited himself to the publican’s house for the night. Subsequently, Zacchaeus repented and followed Jesus, promising to restore fourfold to those whom he had wrongfully exploited and give to the poor. According to Clement of Alexandria, Zacchaeus later became the bishop of Caesarea (Homily 3.63).