Tool Beta
The Ancient World Behind the Text
Pick a passage anywhere in the New Testament. See the customs and ideas a first reader knew without being told.
Matthew 17:24-27, The coin in the fish's mouth
Collectors of the two-drachma temple tax ask Peter whether his teacher pays. Jesus says the king's sons are free, then sends Peter to find a coin in a fish to pay for them both.
Matthew 17:24-27, in every translation this tool compares.
In Capernaum the men collecting the temple tax ask Peter if his teacher pays it, and Peter says yes. Jesus asks him whether earthly kings take tolls and taxes from their own sons or from others; from others, says Peter, and Jesus answers that the sons are free. So as not to give offense, he tells Peter to catch a fish and pay for both of them with the coin in its mouth.
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- {"u":"https:\/\/jayms.com\/bible-study-tools-2\/ancient-world-ideas\/temple-and-courts\/","n":"The temple and its courts","s":"Herod's huge rebuilt temple in Jerusalem, believed to be God's dwelling, laid out in courts that kept Gentiles, women and Jewish men at set distances.","r":""}
- {"u":"https:\/\/jayms.com\/bible-study-tools-2\/ancient-world-ideas\/rome-in-charge\/","n":"Rome in charge","s":"Rome ruled through client princes, local elites and governors. It kept the power to execute, and its soldiers, coins and taxes were everywhere.","r":""}
Collectors did not make those who lived on charity or beggars pay, and may have wondered where a traveling teacher stood (Keener). The coin was a stater, worth four drachmas, enough for two men (Keener). Jewish teachers told stories of God rewarding faithful Jews with gems found in fish, though their date is uncertain, and some fish in the lake had mouths large enough to hold such a coin (Keener; the CSB Study Bible). The CSB Study Bible notes that only Matthew records the story and takes it as a sign that the Gospel was written before AD 70. Carson, Moo and Morris press the same point: before 70 the story read as solidarity with Israel, but after 70, when Jews paid the tax toward the temple of Jupiter in Rome, it might suggest solidarity with idolatry, and they doubt Matthew would have let that stand without comment. Wilkins adds that the tax may have been a live question, since some at Qumran held it was owed only once in a lifetime, and that Peter's fish was more likely a barbel, which takes bait, than the plankton-eating musht now sold as Saint Peter's fish.
- Craig S. Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament, on Matthew 17:24 and 17:27
- CSB Study Bible, notes on Matthew 17:24 and 17:27
- NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible, note on Matthew 17:25-26
- D. A. Carson, Douglas J. Moo and Leon Morris, An Introduction to the New Testament, ch. 2, Matthew, section Date
- Michael J. Wilkins, Matthew, in Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary, ed. Clinton E. Arnold, on Matthew 17:24 and 17:27
