Section 17:24–27
Jesus taught about the temple tax
In this section, Jesus taught Peter an important lesson about his relationship to his heavenly father. He used a question about paying the temple tax to show Peter that both he and Jesus were sons of the Father. That meant that they really did not need to pay this tax. But Jesus did not want to offend people over this issue. So he did a miracle to provide the money to pay the tax.
Here are some other possible headings for this section:
Jesus Talks About Paying Taxes (New Century Version)
-or
Payment of the Temple Tax (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
The Temple Tax (NET Bible)
Paragraph 17:24–27
17:24
After they had arrived in Capernaum: The pronoun they refers to Jesus and his disciples. The word Capernaum is the name of a town in the region of Galilee. In 17:22–23 Jesus and his disciples were somewhere in the region of Galilee. In this verse they arrived in the town of Capernaum.
Here are some other ways to translate this clause:
When Jesus and his followers came to Capernaum (New Century Version)
-or-
Then Jesus and his disciples arrived in the town of Capernaum.
17:24b
the collectors: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as the collectors refers to some officials in Capernaum. These particular officials were responsible for collecting the temple tax and sending it to Jerusalem.
Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:
the tax collectors (New Living Translation (1996))
-or-
the men who collected (New Century Version)
-or-
certain men who receive/gather money
the two-drachma tax: This phrase refers to a tax that all adult Jewish men were required to pay. They paid this tax once a year. It was used to pay for the services and maintenance of the temple in Jerusalem.
A “drachma” was a Greek coin. It was made of silver. It had about the same value as a Roman denarius. It was worth the same as the wages for a farm worker for one day of work. This was likely an average wage at that time in Israel.
In this verse, the important idea is that this was a tax for the temple. The amount of the tax can be explained in a footnote. (See a sample footnote below.)
Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:
the temple tax (NET Bible)
-or-
the money for the temple
-or-
the money that each Jewish man paid each year for the temple
Here is a sample footnote:
In Greek, this “tax” refers to a sum of money equivalent to two day’s work. All adult Jewish men paid this tax once a year. The money was used to maintain the temple in Jerusalem.
came to Peter: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible here translates as came to also occurs in 17:7a. There the Berean Standard Bible translated this verb as “came over.” The translation of this verb depends on the storyteller’s point of view.
Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:
went up to Peter (English Standard Version)
-or-
approached Peter
17:24c
Does your Teacher pay the two drachmas?: This is a real question. In Greek, this question is stated in a way that expects a positive answer. In other words, the collectors seemed to believe that Jesus did indeed pay the temple tax, and they wanted to confirm that with Peter.
Here is another way to translate this question:
Your teacher pays the tax, does he not?
You should translate in such a way that the reader will know the collectors expected “Yes” for an answer.
your Teacher: This phrase refers to Jesus. Here, the word Teacher refers to a religious teacher. It was a polite way to refer to a Jewish man who had authority to teach the things about God. Use a title that is an appropriate way to address a religious teacher in your culture. It should not refer only to a school teacher.
Here is another way to translate this phrase:
your master
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