Publican

It were to be wished that the term publican was well understood when reading the New Testament, since to the want of it many errors may occur. In modern times we all perfectly consider by the name of publican, one who keeps a public house or tavern. Very different from this was the character of the publican in Scripture. Among the Romans they had tax - gatherers, who were called publicans; and as the office was odious to all Jews being under the government of the Roman power, and as the office itself was invidious, so was the person collecting. Hence they were considered as the most worthless of men, and always classed with the refuse of the people. It became proverbial to join publicans and sinners together; and especially if a Jew, for the sake of gain, hired himself out to gather the taxes for the Romans, and thereby exacted it from his brethren, his name and character became altogether detestable. And hence when the Lord Jesus was pointing out to his disciples a man of more than ordinary worthlessness, he said, "Let him be unto thee as an heathen man, and a publican." (Matt. 18: 17.)

It is very blessed and encouraging to discover that with all this odiousness of character, we find a Matthew and a Zaccheus eminently distingushed as partakers of the grace in Christ Jesus. Such indeed are the proper grace, Lord seems to delight in giving tokens of its distinguishing power. Publicians and harlots, said Jesus, to the proud self - righteous pharisees, go into the kingdom of God before you." (Matt xxi. 31.) The reader will find a beautiful and interesting portrait of an humble publican contrasted to a proud pharisee, Luke 18: 9. And the reader will find a yet more lovely and interesting portrait of Jesus receiving poor publicans, and being encircled with them, Luke xv. 1, &c.

a collector or receiver of the Roman revenues. Judea being added to the provinces of the Roman empire, and the taxes paid by the Jews directly to the emperor, the publicans were the officers appointed to collect them. The ordinary taxes which the Romans levied in the provinces were of three sorts:

1. Customs upon goods imported and exported; which tribute was therefore called portorium, from portus, “a haven.”

2. A tax upon cattle fed in certain pastures belonging to the Roman state, the number of which being kept in writing, this tribute was called scriptura.

3. A tax upon corn, of which the government demanded a tenth part. This tribute was called decuma. These publicans are distinguished by Sigonius into three sorts or degrees—the farmers of the revenue, their partners, and their securities; in which he follows Polybius. These are called the mancipes, socii, and praedes, who were all under the quaestores aerarii, that presided over the finances at Rome. The mancipes farmed the revenue of large districts or provinces, had the oversight of the inferior publicans, received their accounts and collections, and transmitted them to the quaestores aerarii. They often let out their provinces in smaller parcels to the socii: so called, because they were admitted to a share in the contract perhaps for the sake of more easily raising the purchase money; at least to assist in collecting the tribute. Both the mancipes and socii are therefore properly styled τελωναι, from τελος, tributum, and ωνεομαι, emo. They were obliged to procure praedes, or sureties, who gave security to the government for the fulfilment of the contract. The distribution of Sigonius, therefore, or rather of Polybius, is not quite exact. since there were properly but two sorts of publicans, the mancipes and the socii. The former are, probably, those whom the Greeks call αρχιτελωναι, chiefs of the publicans; of which sort was Zaccheus. As they were superior to the common publicans in dignity, being mostly of the equestrian order, so they were generally in their moral character. But as for the common publicans, the collectors or receivers, as many of the socii were, they are spoken of with great contempt, by Heathens as well as Jews; and particularly by Theocritus, who said, that “among the beasts of the wilderness, bears and lions are the most cruel; among the beasts of the city, the publican and parasite.” The reason of the general hatred to them was, doubtless, their rapine and extortion. For, having a share in the farm of the tribute, at a certain rate, they were apt to oppress the people with illegal exactions, to raise as large a fortune as they could for themselves. Beside, publicans were particularly odious to the Jews, who looked upon them to be the instruments of their subjection to the Roman emperors, to which they generally held it sinful for them to submit. They considered it as incompatible with their liberty to pay tribute to any foreign power, Luk 20:22, &c; and those of their own nation that engaged in this employment they regarded as Heathens, Mat 18:17. It is even said, that they would not allow them to enter into their temple or synagogues, nor to join in prayers, nor even allow their evidence in a court of justice on any trial; nor would they accept of their offerings in the temple.

It appears by the Gospel that there were many publicans in Judea at the time of our Saviour. Zaccheus, probably, was one of the principal receivers, since he is called the chief of the publicans, Luk 19:2; but St. Matthew was only an inferior publican. The Jews reproached our Saviour for showing kindness to these persons, Luk 7:34; and he himself ranks them with harlots, Mat 21:31. Some of them, it should seem, had humbling views of themselves, Luk 18:10. Zaccheus assures our Lord, who had honoured him with a visit, that he was ready to give the half of his goods to the poor, Luk 19:8, and to return fourfold of whatever he had unjustly acquired.

Publican, a person who farmed the taxes and public revenues. This office was usually held by Roman knights, an order instituted as early as the time of Romulus, and composed of men of great consideration with the government, ’the principal men of dignity in their several countries,’ who occupied a kind of middle rank between the senators and the people. Although these officers were, according to Cicero, the ornament of the city and the strength of the commonwealth, they did not attain to great offices, nor enter the senate, so long as they continued in the order of knights. They were thus more capable of devoting their attention to the collection of the public revenue.

The publicans were distributed into three classes: the farmers of the revenue, their partners, and their securities, corresponding to the Mancipes, Socii, and Prædes. They were all under the Quaestores Ærarii, who presided over the finances at Rome. Strictly speaking, there were only two sorts of publicans, the Mancipes and the Socii. The former, who were generally of the equestrian order, and much superior to the latter in rank and character, are mentioned by Cicero with great honor and respect; but the common publicans, the collectors or receivers of the tribute, as many of the Socii were, are covered both by heathens and Jews with opprobrium and contempt.

The name and profession of a publican were, indeed, extremely odious among the Jews, who submitted with much reluctance to the taxes levied by the Romans. The Galileans or Herodians, the disciples of Judas the Gaulonite, were the most turbulent and rebellious (Act 5:37). They thought it unlawful to pay tribute, and founded their refusal to do so on their being the people of the Lord, because a true Israelite was not permitted to acknowledge any other sovereign than God (Josephus, Antiq. xv. 5. 3). The publicans were hated as the instruments by which the subjection of the Jews to the Roman emperor was perpetuated; and the paying of tribute was regarded as a virtual acknowledgment of his sovereignty. They were also noted for their imposition, rapine, and extortion, to which they were, perhaps, more especially prompted by having a share in the farm of the tribute, as they were thus tempted to oppress the people with illegal exactions, that they might the more speedily enrich themselves. Those Jews who accepted the office of publican were execrated by their own nation equally with heathens: ’Let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican’ (Mat 18:17). It is said they were not allowed to enter the temple or synagogues, to engage in the public prayers, fill offices of judicature, or even give testimony in courts of justice. According to the Rabbins, it was a maxim that a religious man who became a publican was to be driven out of the religious society. They would not receive their presents at the temple any more than the price of prostitution, of blood, or of anything wicked and offensive.

An officer of the revenue, employed in collecting taxes. Among the Romans there were two sorts of tax-gatherers; some were general receivers, who in each province had deputies; they collected the revenues of the empire, and accounted to the emperor. These were men of great consideration in the government; and Cicero says that among these were the flower of the Roman knights, the ornaments of the city, and the strength of the commonwealth. But the deputies, the under-collectors, the publicans of the lower order, were looked upon as so many thieves and pickpockets. Theocritus being asked which was the cruelest of all beasts, answered, "Among the beasts of the wilderness, the bear and the lion; among the beasts of the city, the publican and the parasite." Among the Jews, the name and profession of a publican were especially odious. They could not, without the utmost reluctance, see publicans exacting tributes and impositions laid on them by foreigners, the Romans. The Galileans, or Herodians, especially, submitted to this with the greatest impatience, and thought it even unlawful, Deu 17:15 . Those of their own nation who undertook this office they looked upon as heathen, Mat 18:17 . It is even said that they would not allow them to enter the temple or the synagogues, to engage in the public prayers or offices of judicature, or to give testimony in a court of justice.\par There were many publicans in Judea in the time of our Savior; Zaccheus, probably, was one of the principal receivers, since he is called "chief among the publicans," Luk 19:2 ; but Matthew was only an inferior publican, Luk 5:27 . The Jews reproached Jesus with being a "friend of publicans and sinners, and eating with them," Luk 7:34 ; but he, knowing the self-righteousness, unbelief and hypocrisy of his accusers, replied, "The publicans and harlots go into the kingdom of God before you," Mat 21:31 . Compare also the beautiful demeanor of the penitent publican in the temple, and the self-justifying spirit of the Pharisee, Luk 18:10-14 .\par

Publican. The class designated by this word, in the New Testament, were employed as collectors of the Roman revenue. The Roman senate farmed the vectigalia. (direct taxes), and the portorin, (customs), to capitalists who undertook to pay a given sum into the treasury (in publicum), and so received the name of publicani. Contracts of this kind fell naturally into the hands of the equites, as the richest class of Romans. They appointed managers, under whom were the portitores, the actual custom-house officers, who examined each bale of goods, exported or imported, assessed its value more or less arbitrarily, wrote out the ticket, and enforced payment.

The latter were commonly natives of the province in which they were stationed as being brought daily into contact with all classes of the population. The name pubicani was used popularly, and in the New Testament exclusively, of the portitores. The system was essentially a vicious one. The portitores were encouraged in the most vexatious or fraudulent exactions, and a remedy was all but impossible. They overcharged, whenever they had an opportunity, Luk 3:13, they brought false charges of smuggling, in the hope of extorting hush-money, Luk 19:8, they detained and opened letters on mere suspicion. It was the basest of all livelihoods. All this was enough to bring the class into ill favor everywhere.

In Judea and Galilee, there were special circumstances of aggravation. The employment brought out all the besetting vices of the Jewish character. The strong feeling of many Jews, as to the absolute unlawfulness of paying tribute at all, made matters worse. The scribes who discussed the question, Mat 22:15, for the most part, answered it in the negative. In addition to their other faults, accordingly, the publicans of the New Testament were regarded as traitors and apostates, defiled by their frequent intercourse with the heathen, willing tools of the oppressor. The class, thus practically excommunicated, furnished some of the earliest disciples, both of the Baptist and of our Lord. The position of Zacchaeus as a "chief among the publicans," Luk 19:2, implies a gradation of some kind, among the persons thus employed.

Only mentioned in Matthew, Mark and Luke. Matthew leaves the parable of the publican to Luke (Luk 18:9), because he is the publican from whom it is drawn. In the New Testament are meant not the "publicani" (never mentioned in the New Testament) who were generally wealthy Roman knights, capitalists at Rome, that bought for a fixed sum to be paid into the treasury (in publicum) the taxes and customs of particular provinces. Under them were "chiefs of publicans," having supervision of a district, as Zacchaeus (Luke 19), in the provinces; and under these again the ordinary "publicans" (in the New Testament sense) who, like Levi or Matthew, gathered the customs on exports and imports and taxes (Mat 9:9-11; Mar 2:14, etc.). The office for "receipt of custom" was at city gates, on public roads, or bridges. Levi’s post was on the great road between Damascus and the seaports of Phoenicia. Jericho, Zacchaeus’ head quarters, was center of the balsam trade.

Jesus, preferring a publican’s house to that of any of the priests at Jericho, then said to number 12,000, marks the honour He does to Zacchaeus and drew on Him the indignation of Jewish bigots. Even the chief publican, Zacchaeus implies, often "took from men by false accusation" (esukofanteesa, rather "unfairly exacted," "extorted"); Luk 3:13 also, John the Baptist’s charge "exact no more than that which is appointed you." Still more odious to the Jews was the common publican, with whom most they came in contact. Inquisitorial proceedings and unscrupulous extortion in a conquered country made the office, hateful already as the badge of God’s elect nation’s subjection to pagan, still more so. Most Jews thought it unlawful to pay tribute to pagan.

To crown all, the publicans were often Jews, in the eyes of their countrymen traitors to Israel’s high calling and hopes; to be spoiled by foreigners was bad, but to be plundered by their own countrymen was far worse. Publican became synonymous with "sinner" and "pagan" (Luk 15:1-2; Mat 18:17; Mat 5:46; Mat 21:31; Mar 2:15-16). The hatred and contempt in which they were held hardened them against all better feelings, so that, they defied public opinion.

As the Pharisees were the respectable and outwardly religious class, so the publicans were the vile and degraded. Hence the rabbis declared, as one robber disgraced his whole family, so one publican in a family; promises were not to be kept with murderers, thieves and publicans (Nedar 3:4); the synagogue alms box and the temple corban must not receive their alms (Baba Kama 10:1); it was not lawful to use riches received from them, as gotten by rapine; nor could they judge or give testimony in court (Sauhedr. 25, sec. 2). Hence we see what a breach of Jewish notions was the Lord’s eating with them (Mat 9:11), and His choice of Matthew as an apostle, and His parable in which He justified the penitent self condemned publican and condemned the self satisfied Pharisee. They were at least no hypocrites. Abhorred by all others, it was a new thing to them to find a Holy One "a friend of publicans" (Mat 11:19).

Publican, a collector of Roman tribute. Mat 18:17. The principal fanners of this revenue were men of great credit and influence, but the under-farmers, or common publicans’, were remarkable, for their rapacity and extortion, and were accounted as oppressive thieves and pickpockets. Hence the Jews classed them with sinners, and would not allow them to enter the temple or the synagogues, to partake of the public prayers or offices of judicature, or to give testimony in a court of justice.

PUBLICAN (Gr. τελώνης).—The Roman practice of selling to the highest bidder the task of collecting the taxes and dues of a province or district for a definite period is well known. The persons thus engaged were called publicani, and usually belonged to the wealthy equestrian order. They, in their turn, employed local agents to get in the revenues, who were also called publicani. This lower class are probably the men referred to in the Gospels, wherever they belong to Judaea (or Samaria), except possibly in the case of Zacchaeus, who was ἀρχιτελώνης of Jericho (Luk 19:2), and may have farmed the revenues of that important commercial centre on his own account (but see Ramsay as cited below).

In Galilee the publicans had to collect, not for the Imperial treasury (as in Judaea), but for Herod Antipas the tetrarch. Such an official was St. Matthew (Levi), who was called to be an Apostle from the place of toll (τελώνιον) on the shores of the Lake of Galilee at Capernaum (Mat 9:9, Mar 2:14, Luk 5:27). And in his house afterwards our Lord met many other publicans of the tetrarchy at a great entertainment.

Whether in the service of the hated Roman Emperor or of Herod Antipas, who was in complete subservience to him, the tax-gatherer was most unpopular with the Jews; for, apart from the obvious liability of the method to abuse, the mere fact of the money being thus raised for an alien power was detestable in their eyes. And no doubt the publicans were often drawn from the lowest ranks in consequence. Hence common talk associated them not only with the Gentiles (Mat 18:17), but with harlots (Mat 21:31; Mat 21:22) and sinners in general (Mat 9:10-11; Mat 11:19, Mar 2:15-16, Luk 5:30; Luk 7:34; Luk 15:1).

John the Baptist’s preaching attracted many publicans to him, and when they inquired in what they must mend their ways after being baptized by him, his answer indicated that extortion was their besetting danger, as we should expect (Luk 3:12-13).

The remarkable effect that our Lord’s ministry also had upon these men, as in the case of St. Matthew and Zacchaeus (cf. Luk 15:1), is not to be held as implying that He laid Himself out more for them than for other sinners who realized their need of Him; nor are we to infer that, in contrasting them with the Pharisees and scribes, as in the well-known parable (Luk 18:10 ff.), He intended to clear their character altogether from current prejudices and aspersions. Extortion and oppression were as abhorrent to Him in the one class as formalism and hypocrisy were in the other. Both stood equally in need of His salvation (Luk 19:10), but without a consciousness of the need on their part His salvation could not take effect.

Literature.—Schürer, GJV [Note: JV Geschichte des Jüdischen Volkes.] ^{3 [Note: designates the particular edition of the work referred]} i. 474 ff.; Edersheim, LT [Note: T Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah [Edersheim].] i. 514 ff.; Ramsay, ‘The telonai in the Gospels’ in Hasting’s Dictionary of the Bible , Ext. Vol. p. 394^bff.; art. ‘Publican’ in DB [Note: Dictionary of the Bible.] and in the JE [Note: E Jewish Encyclopedia.] .

C. L. Feltoe.

By: Crawford Howell Toy, Joseph Jacobs

Local tax-farmer; the office existed among the Jews under the Roman dominion. The Romans were accustomed to farm out, generally for five years, the customs dues on exports. These taxes were mainly ad valorem, and therefore, as the value placed upon goods varied, lent themselves to extortion; hence the unpopularity of the publicans, especially when, as under the Romans, they were Jews exploiting their fellow Jews. Echoes of this ill repute are found in the New Testament, where publicans are coupled with sinners (Matt. ix. 10; Luke v. 30, vii. 34), and even with the most degraded persons (Matt. xxi. 31). Taxes were levied on pearls (Kelim xvii. 15), slaves (B. B. 127b), and boats ('Ab. Zarah 10b). Tax-farmers were not eligible as judges or even as witnesses (Sanh. 25b), and it was even regarded as undesirable to exchange moneywith them, as they might be in possession of stolen coin. If one member of a family was a publican, all its members were liable to be considered as such for purposes of testimony (Sheb. 39a).

Bibliography:

Levy, Neuhebr. Wörtreb, s.v.:

Jastrow, Dict. s.v. ;

Herzfeld, Handelsgesch, der Juden des Alterthums, pp. 160-163.

PUBLICAN.—This term is a transliteration of a Latin word, which strictly meant a member of one of the great Roman financial companies, which farmed the taxes of the provinces of the Roman Empire. The Roman State during the Republic relieved itself of the trouble and expense of collecting the taxes of the provinces by putting up the taxes of each in a lump to auction. The auctioneer was the censor, and the buyer was one of the above companies, composed mainly of members of the equestrian order, who made the best they could out of the bargain. The abuses to which this system gave rise were terrible, especially as the governors could sometimes be bribed to wink at extortion; and in one particular year the provincials of Asia had to pay the taxes three times over. These companies required officials of their own to do the business of collection. The publicans of the Gospels appear to have been agents of the Imperial procurator of Judæa, with similar duties (during the Empire there was State machinery for collecting the taxes, and the Emperor had a procurator in each province whose business it was to supervise the collection of revenue). They were employed in collecting the customs dues on exports. Some Jews found it profitable to serve the Roman State in this way, and became objects of detestation to such of their fellow-countrymen as showed an impotent hatred of the Roman supremacy. The Gospels show clearly that they were coupled habitually with ‘sinners,’ a word of the deepest contempt.

A. Souter.

Among the Romans usually a man of equestrian rank. In the Gospels the word means a "tax-gatherer" employed by these wealthy Roman knights. They were universally detested by the Jews because they enriched themselves at the expense of their brethren, and hence in the New Testament they were regarded as traitors and classed with sinners (Matthew 9), harlots (Matthew 21), and the heathen (Matthew 18). No publican was admitted as a witness in court. A true Jew could not ask nor accept an alms from them. Some of this despised class were among the earliest disciples of John the Baptist and of Christ. The most illustrious of all the publicans was Matthew, or Levi, called by Christ to be an Apostle (Matthew 9).

Publican, in the Gospels, is derived from the publicanus of the Vulgate, and signifies a member or employee of the Roman financial companies who farmed the taxes. From the time of the Republic the Roman State relieved itself of the trouble of collecting the taxes in the provinces by putting up the taxes of each in a lump sum to auction. The highest bidder received the authorization to extort the sum from the province in question. Such a system afforded ample opportunity for rapacious exactions on the part of the company and its officials, and the abuses were often intolerable. On account of these, and more, perhaps, because of the natural though impotent Jewish hatred of the Roman supremacy, those of the Jews who found it profitable thus to serve the foreign rulers were objects of execration to their countrymen. In the Gospel narrative we find them as a class habitually coupled with "sinners" and the "heathen". The attitude of Christ towards this, as well as other despised classes, was that of an uplifting sympathy. One great reproach cast upon Him by His enemies, the self-righteous Scribes and Pharisees, was His friendship for, and association with publicans and sinners; and consistently with this conduct it pleased Him to choose as one of the twelve Apostles Levi or Matthew the Publican (Matthew 9:9).-----------------------------------MAAS, Comment. of Gospel of St. Matthew (New York, 1898); DIETRICH, Die rechtliche Natur der Societas publicanorum (Meissen, 1889); THIBAULT, Les douanes chez les Romains (Paris, 1888).JAMES F. DRISCOLL. Transcribed by WGKofron With thanks to St. Mary’s Church, Akron, Ohio The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume XIICopyright © 1911 by Robert Appleton CompanyOnline Edition Copyright © 2003 by K. KnightNihil Obstat, June 1, 1911. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., CensorImprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York

pub´li-kan. See TAX, TAXING.

Mat 11:19 (b) This name is applied to any evil person as an epithet of contempt. The Pharisees used this name for anyone who failed to agree with their doctrines and their manner of life. (See Luk 7:34).

Luk 18:10 (b) The word here is used to represent any evil person who comes to CHRIST in repentance and accepts the Saviour to be his Lord and Master.