On the occasion of his return and entrance into Peter’s house, a new
instance occurred both of his wisdom and his special regard for this
apostle. Some of those who went about legally authorized to collect
the tax due from all conforming Jews, to defray the expenses of the
temple-worship at Jerusalem, appear to have been waiting for Christ’s
return from this journey, to call on him for his share, if he were
willing to pay it as a good Jew. They seem to have had some doubts,
however, as to the manner in which so eminent a teacher would receive
a call to pay those taxes, from which he might perhaps deem himself
exempted by his religious rank, more especially as he had frequently
denounced, in the most unmeasured terms, all those concerned in the
administration of the religious affairs of the Jewish nation. As soon
as he had returned, therefore, they took the precaution to make the
inquiry of Peter, as the well-known intimate of Jesus, “Doth not your
Master pay tribute?” Peter, knowing well the steady, open reverence
which Jesus always manifested for all the established usages of his
country, readily and unhesitatingly answered “Yes.” And when he was
come into the house, and was upon the point of proposing the matter to
him, Jesus anticipated him, saying, “How thinkest thou, Simon? of whom
do the kings of the earth take custom or tribute? of their own children,
or of the children of others?” Peter says, “From others’ children.”
Jesus says again to him, “Then are the children free.” That is: “If,
when the kings and rulers of the nations gather their taxes, for the
support of their royal state and authority, they pass over their own
children untaxed, as a thing of course, then I, the son of that God
who is the eternal king of Israel, am fairly exempt from the payment of
the sum due from other Jews, for the support of the ceremonials of my
Father’s temple in Jerusalem.” Still he did not choose to avail himself
of this honorable pretext, but went on to tell Simon, “Nevertheless,
lest we should give needless occasion for offense, we will pay what
they exact; and for this purpose, go thou to the sea, and take up the
fish that comes up first; and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou
shalt find a piece of money; take that and give it them for me and
thee.”
_Anticipated him._――This word I substitute in the place of
“_prevented_” which is the expression used in our common English
Bible, and which in the changes of modern usage has entirely
lost the signification which it had when the translators
applied it to this passage. The Greek word here is προεφθασεν,
(_proephthasen_,) and literally means “forespake” or “spake
before” him. This was the idea which the English translators
wished to express by the word “_prevented_,” whose true original
meaning is “anticipated,” or “was beforehand with him,” being
in Latin compounded of the words _prae_, “before,” and _venio_,
“come.” Among the numerous conveniences of Webster’s improved
edition of the Bible, for popular use, is the fact that in this
and similar passages he has altered the obsolete expression, and
changed it for a modern one, which is just and faithful to the
original idea. In this passage I find he has very properly given
the word above suggested, without my knowledge of the
coincidence.
_Of the children of others._――This expression too is a variation
from the common English translation, which here expresses itself
so vaguely, that a common reader can get no just idea whatever
of the passage, and is utterly unable to find the point of the
allusion. The Greek word is αλλοτριων, (_allotrion_,) which is
simply the genitive plural of an adjective, which means “of,
or belonging to others,” and is secondarily applied also to
“strangers, foreigners,” &c., as persons “belonging to other
lands;” but the primary meaning is absolutely necessary to be
given here, in order to do justice to the sense, since the idea
is not that they take tribute money of foreigners rather than of
their own subjects; but of their subjects rather than of their
own children, who are to enjoy the benefit of the taxation.
_A piece of money._――The term thus vaguely rendered, is in
Greek στατηρ, (_stater_,) which was a coin of definite value,
being worth among the Jews about four attic drachms, and exactly
equivalent to their shekel, a little more than half a dollar of
federal money. The tax here paid was the half-shekel tax, due
from every Jew for the service of the temple, so that the “piece
of money,” being one shekel, was just sufficient to pay for
both Jesus and Peter. The word translated “the tribute money”
(in verse 24) is equally definite in the Greek,――διδραχμον,
(_didrachmon_,) equivalent to the Jewish _half_-shekel, and
being itself worth half a _stater_. The stater, however, as a
name for Attic and Byzantine _gold_ coins, was equivalent to
twenty or thirty times the value of the shekel. (See Stephens’s
Thesaurus, Donnegan’s, Jones’s and Pickering’s Lexicons.) On
this passage see Hammond’s Annotations, which are here quite
full on values. See too, Lightfoot’s Horae Hebraica on Matthew
xvii. 25. Macknight’s Paraphrase, Poole and Kuinoel, for a very
full account of the matter. Also my note on page 32.
There have been two different accounts of this little
circumstance among commentators, some considering the tribute
money to have been a Roman tax, and others taking the ground
which I do, that it was the Jewish tax for the expenses of the
temple-worship. The reasons may be found at great length, in
some of the authorities just quoted; and it may be remarked
that the point of the allusion in Jesus’s question to Peter,
is all lost on the supposition of a Roman tax; for how could
Jesus claim exemption as a son of the Roman emperor, as he
justly could from the Jewish tax for the service of the heavenly
king, his Father? The correspondence of values too, with the
half-shekel tax, is another reason for adopting that view; nor
is there any objection to it, except the circumstance, that the
time at which this tax is supposed to have been demanded, does
not agree with that to which the collection of the temple-tax
was limited. (Exodus xxx. 13, and Lightfoot on Matthew xvii. 24.)