Temple tax

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The annual tax that every male Israelite (also in the Diaspora ) had to pay from the age of 20 is called the temple tax. This officially confirmed that they belonged to the Jewish faith. For Jews in the Diaspora, the temple tax was the primary way of expressing their identity and affiliation with Judaism and their support for Judaism.

The temple tax served to maintain the public cult at the Jerusalem temple . It was collected in the Diaspora at different times and then i. d. Usually sent once a year to the temple in Jerusalem. Originally, one third of the shekel ( Neh 10.33  EU ) had to be paid, in New Testament times the tax was half a Tyrian shekel or one double drachm ( Ex 38.26  EU ).

Until the temple was destroyed

The temple tax was levied at least since the late Hellenistic period and there is evidence that the Jews paid the temple tax in both Palestine and the Diaspora. The earliest evidence that the temple tax was also collected in the diaspora is the pillage of 800 talents by Mithridates in 88 BC. This sum had been collected by the Jews in Asia Minor and was to be shipped to Jerusalem.

Although the Roman Senate had expressly forbidden the export of gold and silver from the Roman Empire, the Jews were exempt. In 62 BC Chr. But z. B. The governor of the province of Asia , Lucius Valerius Flaccus , issued an edict that forbade the Jews to send the temple tax collected in his province to Jerusalem. He also confiscated the temple tax that had been collected in four cities. He seems to have been an exception among the Romans, however, because otherwise the Romans granted the Jews far-reaching tolerance with regard to their religion. Caesar and Augustus affirmed Roman tolerance by recognizing the Jewish religion as religio licita , as an officially permitted religion.

In addition, Caesar and Augustus granted the Jews further privileges and this, together with the privilege of collecting the temple tax, probably led to anger and hostility among the Greeks. Local Greek authorities in the east of the Roman Empire banned Jews from being transported to Jerusalem at various times and the temple tax appears to have been one of the main points of contention between Greeks and Jews. Gaius Norbanus Flaccus , Proconsul of the Province of Asia sent z. B. a letter to the magistrate of Ephesus informing them of Octavian's order that the Jews should not be prevented from paying the temple tax to Jerusalem.

Currency Exchange

Only Tyrian shekels were accepted when paying temple tax , as described in the Sheqalim tract of the Mishnah . This made money changers at (or in) the temple necessary, who carried out the exchange of foreign currencies or the change of large denominations.

If a man wanted his temple tax z. If , for example , you pay with a whole shekel , the exchange fee was 2 calves , of which the money changer received 1 calbon and the temple the other. 2 Kalbonot corresponded to 11 prutot , and 256 prutot corresponded to 1 shekel. The believer had to pay a fee of 4.3% for the currency exchange. The fee was also due if two men wanted to pay the temple tax for themselves together with a whole shekel. However, it is controversial whether they had to pay the full or only half the fee in this case.

New Testament

The New Testament tells in Mt 17.24-27  EU that Jesus also paid the temple tax for himself and Peter in the amount of a tetradrachm, according to the report so as not to cause offense. The dialogue between Jesus and Peter reproduced in Matthew is e.g. In part interpreted as meaning that Jesus gave his followers the option to pay the temple tax, the evangelist in any case did not see them bound to the duty to pay the tax ( so the sons are free , Mt 17.26  EU ). This episode is usually placed in the context of the separation of the early Christian community from the Jewish community, but sometimes also interpreted as an act of solidarity by Christian groups with Judaism after the temple tax was converted into a Roman tax.

After the destruction of the temple

After the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem in AD 70, Jews in the Roman Empire from the age of three had to pay the Fiscus Judaicus in the amount of two denarii to the Roman treasury instead of the temple tax.

Web links

  • Armin Sacher: The fall of the second temple. The Effects of the Temple Destruction on Palestinian Judaism. aventinus varia No. 14 (summer 2008) [1]

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c http://universal_lexikon.deacademic.com/308805/Tempelsteuer
  2. ↑ Walter Schmithals : Problems of the 'Apostle Council' (Gal 2,1-10). In: Cilliers Breytenbach (ed.): Paulus, the Gospels and the early Christianity. Contributions by and to Walter Schmithals (= work on the history of ancient Judaism and early Christianity , volume 54). Brill, Leiden 2004, ISBN 978-90-04-12983-2 , pp. 5-38; here: p. 29; First publication: Hamburger Theologische Studien 53 (1997), pp. 6-35.
  3. ↑ Mikael Tellbe: The Temple Tax as a pre-70 CE identity markers. In: Jostein Ådna (Ed.): The Formation of the Early Church (= WUNT 183). Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen 2005, ISBN 978-3-16-148561-9 , pp. 19-44; here: p. 23.
  4. ↑ a b c d Mikael Tellbe: The Temple Tax as a Pre-70 CE Identity Marker. In: Jostein Ådna (Ed.): The Formation of the Early Church (= WUNT 183). Tübingen 2005, pp. 19-44; here: p. 21f.
  5. ^ E. Mary Smallwood: The Jews Under Roman Rule: From Pompey to Diocletian: a Study in Political Relations, BRILL, 2001, p. 125
  6. Jump up ↑ a b c d The Cambridge History of Judaism 2 Part Set: Volume 3, The Early Roman Period, William Horbury, Cambridge University Press, 1999, p. 169
  7. ^ E. Mary Smallwood: The Jews Under Roman Rule: From Pompey to Diocletian: a Study in Political Relations, BRILL, 2001, p. 126
  8. ↑ The Cambridge History of Judaism 2 Part Set: Volume 3, The Early Roman Period, William Horbury, Cambridge University Press, 1999, pp. 169–171: This includes exemption from military service if a Jew was a Roman citizen and exemption, to have to sacrifice to the emperor.
  9. ↑ Philon of Alexandria , Legatio ad Gaium 40, 314ff http://www.earlyjewishwritings.com/text/philo/book40.html
  10. ↑ http://begedivri.com/shekel/teachings/meshorer.htm "The Mishna's demand for Tyrian shekels made all other currencies unacceptable. [Talmud Yerushalmi, Sheq. 2.4; Mishnah, Sheq. 2.4]."
  11. ↑ a b c David Hendin: The money changer's fee. In: Münzwoche , May 18, 2011, accessed on January 2, 2020 (first published in English in 2002).
  12. ↑ David Hendin: The money changer's fee. In: Münzwoche , May 18, 2011: “The man had to give the temple not only the Tyrian silver shekel, but also an additional fee of 'two calbons' (in Hebrew, kalbonot is the plural of kalbon ). His debt was then recognized as settled and he received half a shekel back. "[...]" The money changer's fee for changing one shekel was one calf. "
  13. ↑ David Hendin: The money changer's fee. In: Münzwoche , May 18, 2011: "The Talmud goes one step further: If two men went to the temple together and wanted to pay their half shekels together with a single shekel, they still had to pay the calf fee."
  14. ↑ Mikael Tellbe: The Temple Tax as a pre-70 CE identity markers. In: Jostein Ådna (Ed.): The Formation of the Early Church (= WUNT 183). Tübingen 2005, pp. 19-44; here: pp. 28–29 in the Google book search.
  15. ↑ a b Ilse Müllner , Carsten Jochum-Bortfeld: Taxes. In: Frank Crüsemann , Kristian Hunger, Claudia Janssen , Rainer Kessler , Luise Schottroff (eds.): Social history dictionary for the Bible. Gütersloher Verlagshaus, Gütersloh 2009, ISBN 978-3-579-08021-5 , pp. 561-564; here: p. 564.