TheTemple tax (מחצית השקל,lit. 'halfshekel') was a tax paid byIsraelites andLevites which went towards the upkeep of theJewish Temple, as reported in theNew Testament.[1] Traditionally,Kohanim (Jewish priests) were exempt from the tax.
In later centuries, the half-shekel was adopted as the amount of the Temple tax, although inNehemiah 10:32–34 the tax is given as a third of a shekel.[2]
This is what each one who is registered shall give: half a shekel according to the shekel of the sanctuary (the shekel is twentygerahs), half a shekel as an offering to the Lord.
ATyrian shekel contained 13.1g of pure silver; at a spot valuation ofUS$28/ozt in 2021, worth about $12.
After the return fromBabylonian captivity, Jews in thediaspora continued to pay the Temple tax.Josephus reports that at the end of the 30s CE "many tens of thousands" of Babylonian Jews guarded the convoy taking the tax to Jerusalem (Ant. 18.313).[3]
The tax is mentioned in theGospel of Matthew in theNew Testament, whenJesus and his disciples are inCapernaum. The collectors of the temple tax (Greek:δίδραχμα,didrachma) come toPeter and say "Does your teacher not pay the temple tax?"[4] The narrative, which does not appear in the othergospels, leads to a discussion between Jesus and Peter about payment of the taxes levied by the "kings of the earth", and themiracle according to which Peter finds astater (Greek:στατήρα), in themouth of a fish, which is used to pay the tax due for both of them.[5] Thestater "was reckoned as equal to fourdrachmæ, and would therefore pay the didrachma both for Peter and his Master".[6]
Although the word "temple" does not appear in this text, theKing James Version translates it to "tribute", but it is certainly "the tax inaugurated by God in the wilderness"[7] in Exodus 30:11–16.[8] In theNew English Translation the same Greek word (Greek:δίδραχμα,didrachma) is translated first as "temple tax" and second as "double-drachma"[9] to strongly infer its meaning.
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The firstRoman attempt to halt payments of the tax was made long beforeThe Jewish War on account of customs controls. The Senate had forbidden the export of gold and silver, but the Jews of Italy continued to pay the Temple tax. In 62 BCE L. Valerius Flaccus, governor of theprovince of Asia, issued an edict forbidding the Jews of his province from sending the tax to Jerusalem. After thedestruction of the Temple in Jerusalem in 70, a new Roman tax wasimposed on the Jews, theFiscus Judaicus, which was diverted into imperial coffers.
