Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Matthew 22:19
Show me the tribute money. And they brought unto him a penny.
19. they brought unto him a penny ] A Denarius, bearing probably the image of Tiberius. The Jewish coins were not impressed with the effigy of their kings. Herod Philip, alone of his family, out of flattery to the Emperor, had caused his coins to be stamped with the likeness of Csar.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 19. They brought unto him a penny.] A denarius: probably the ordinary capitation tax, though the poll tax in the law, Ex 30:13-14, was half a shekel, about twice as much as the denarius. The Roman denarius had the emperor’s image with a proper legend stamped on one side of it. It was not therefore the sacred shekel which was to be paid for the repairs of the temple which was now demanded, but the regular tribute required by the Roman government.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Shew me the tribute money,…. Not any money, or any sort of coin that was current among them; but that in which the tribute was usually paid, which was Roman money: and they brought unto him a penny; not as, being what was the usual sum that was paid for tribute at one time, but as a sample of what sort of money it was paid in, in Roman pence; one of which was seven pence halfpenny of our money.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Tribute money ( ). , Latin census, was a capitation tax or head-money, tributum capitis, for which silver denaria were struck, with the figure of Caesar and a superscription, e.g. “Tiberiou Kaisaros” (McNeile). is the Latin numisma and occurs here only in the N.T., is common in the old Greek, from sanctioned by law or custom.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
Tribute – money [ ] . Lit., the current coin of tribute, which was paid not in Jewish but in Roman money. See on ch. Mt 17:25, tribute.
A penny. See on Mt 20:2.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
19. Show me the tribute-money. When Christ orders them to bring forward a coin, though at first sight it appears to be of no great importance, yet it is sufficient for breaking their snares. In this way they had already made an acknowledgment of subjection, so that Christ did not find it necessary to enjoin upon them any thing new. The coin was stamped with Caesar’s likeness; and thus the authority of the Roman government had been approved and admitted by the general practice. Hence it was evident that the Jews themselves had voluntarily come under obligation to pay tribute for they had given up to the Romans the power of the sword; (62) and there was no propriety in making a separate dispute about the tribute-money, for that question depended on the general arrangements of the government.
(62) “ Pource qu’ils avoyent laissé usurper aux Romains la souveraine puissance;” — “because they had allowed the Romans to usurp the supreme power.”
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(19) Shew me the tribute money.The parable of the Labourers in the Vineyard (Mat. 20:2) indicates that the denarius was in common circulation. It was probably part of the fiscal regulation of the Roman government that the poll-tax should be paid in that coin only. In any case, wherever it passed current, it was a witness that the independence of the country had passed away, and that Csar was in temporal things its real ruler.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
19. Show me the tribute money The rule of dominion among the Jews themselves was, “He is sovereign who stamps the coin.” By the very fact then that they had at hand as current coin the Roman penny, they acknowledged that the emperor was the established and settled governor of the country.
Brought unto him a penny The Roman denarius was first coined B. C. 269, four years after the close of the first Punic war. It became current coin in Judea after its subjection. It was the pay of a day’s labour in Palestine; a soldier’s pay was less. Like our word dime, it signifies ten, that is, ten ases, but it was nearer the value of our shilling, being about fifteen cents.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
“Show me the tribute money.” And they brought to him a denarius.’
Then He bade them to show Him the tribute money, that is the coin in which they would pay the tribute. And as He anticipated they brought Him a denarius. Most religiously minded Jews sought to avoid carrying a denarius, firstly because it bore the graven image of the emperor, something forbidden by the ten commandments, and secondly because it had written on it certain superscriptions. On one side was engraved, ‘Tiberius Caesar, son of the divine Augustus’ and on the other side ‘Pontifex Maximus’ (high priest – of Roma and the Roman gods). Both would be seen as blasphemous. Thus they would grudgingly use it to pay their taxes, but would seek to avoid it on other occasions whenever they could.
‘They brought Him –.’ This may suggest that the particular questioners did not have one themselves but had to obtain one, probably from one of the Herodians, or from someone in the listening crowd. By this time the crowd would have recognised the importance of the question and would be paying great attention. They probably did not recognise that it was a trap and would therefore expect the prophet to violently denounce the paying of tribute.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Mat 22:19 . . .] “nummum aliquem ejus monetae, in qua tributum exigi solet,” Grotius. The tribute was paid in Roman, not in Jewish money. “Ubicunque numisma regis alicujus obtinet, illic incolae regem istum pro domino agnoscunt,” Maimonides in Gezelah v. 18.
. .] they had such current coin upon them.
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
19 Shew me the tribute money. And they brought unto him a penny.
Ver. 19. They brought unto him a penny ] Monachi pecunias attingere pro piaculo ducunt. No Capuchin among the Papists may take or touch silver. This metal is as very anathema to these, as the wedge of gold to Achan; at the offer whereof he starts back, as Moses from the serpent. Yet he carries a boy with him that takes and carries it, and never complains of either metal or measure.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Mat 22:19 . (Latin numisma , here only in N. T.) , the current coin of the tribute, i.e. , in which the tribute was paid, a roundabout name for a denarius (Mark). , a Roman coin, silver, in which metal tribute was paid (Pliny, N. H., 33, 3, 15; Marquardt, Rm. Alt., 3, 2, 147).
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
money = coin. Greek. nomisma. Occurs only here.
penny = a denarius. See note on Mat 20:2 and App-51.:4.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
a penny: “In value sevenpence halfpenny.” Mat 18:28, Mat 20:2, Rev 6:6
Reciprocal: Mar 12:16 – image
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
2:19
Jesus met the situation in a manner that was doubtless unexpected. Instead of answering their question with a direct yes or no, he asked for a piece of the very kind of money that was being used in paying for the government’s finances.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Mat 22:19. The tribute money. The Roman coin in which the poll-tax was paid. Mark and Luke intimate that He called for a penny, i.e., a Roman denarius. See chap. Mat 20:2.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
22:19 Shew me the tribute money. And they brought unto him a {l} penny.
(l) Before Mat 17:24 there is mention made of a didrachma, and here of a penny, whereas a didrachma is more by the seventh part then a penny: so that there seems to be an inconsistency in these two places: but they may easily be reconciled in this way: The penny was paid to the Romans for tribute, according to the proportion they were rated at, and the drachma was payed by everyone to the Temple, which also the Romans took to themselves when they had subdued India.