The coin that Jesus asked to see! No Denarius was that!

[badger]

I forgot to show the name of Caesar in Greek........ and an abbreviation. Here it is:-

Καίσαρας caesar KP

 

[RJM]

I don't know if that image is of a full weight shekel or the Temple half shekel. But the title above that pic has opened a whole new avenue of interest and search for me because, as you have just written it was used in trade outside of the temple. The title reads :A silver trade coin. I've never seen that title before in my studies and it does open up new areas of interest.

That's what I find....every time I want to write article or post I have to research and check out what is known, and thus every post is a lesson for me.

Interesting. New knowledge for me
I googled around a bit and found this. It might interest you?
http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0259-94222015000200038

My proposal obviously holds that the crowd had always been unaware of such details. But Jesus certainly was not.
How to shut up a smart mouth company of priests in an instant.

Right.
They couldn't exactly answer "It is Baal" lol
Good observation

 

[Cino]

Jesus wasn't debating/arguing with Romans, but with fat, nasty, corrupted quisling priests.

Fascinating interpretation! Of course it hinges on the question whether the discussion was about the Temple tax or the Roman tax. As you say, the Romans cared about silver content for their tax. They only got their hand on the Temple treasure when the Temple was destroyed.

Another question - didn't Jesus have relatives who served as priests in the Temple? He certainly was an enemy of the priestly faction who were collaborateurs with the royal house, as was John the Baptist. But I think there were other priestly factions whom he respected?

 

[badger]

Accepting Jesus's anger about the extortionate trading and commercial activity -- what problem would this particular Tyrean half-shekel cause?

Having the dreaded god Baal on obverse, a graven image on reverse, and the Caesar's initials (Greek) as well was a bit of a smack in the face for Judaism, I think.
Years later the Caesar (can't remember which) had his statue erected in the Great Temple which caused dreadful trouble and scenes.

Imagine that you belong to a church so large that it has it's own currency for offerings etc, and you have to use the church's bureau-de-change to convert your own currency (a rip off) and then find that some really disgusting images are struck on to these coins.

 

[badger]

Interesting. New knowledge for me
I googled around a bit and found this. It might interest you?
http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0259-94222015000200038
Right.
They couldn't exactly answer "It is Baal" lol
Good observation

I read much of that link and agree with it, although I think that it happened for real...... no parable was that event but a real incident, imo.

My own belief is that Jesus and Baptist both were acting against Temple corruption and greed with no interest in the poor or the poor laws. But that's just me.....

 

[badger]

Fascinating interpretation! Of course it hinges on the question whether the discussion was about the Temple tax or the Roman tax. As you say, the Romans cared about silver content for their tax. They only got their hand on the Temple treasure when the Temple was destroyed.

Rome was so interested in minting the Temple coin to exact weight and silver purity that it was very very likely that a % of all temple takings went to Rome, imo.

Another question - didn't Jesus have relatives who served as priests in the Temple? He certainly was an enemy of the priestly faction who were collaborateurs with the royal house, as was John the Baptist. But I think there were other priestly factions whom he respected?

I don't think that Jesus had any Levite relatives at all........ he was a Galilean handworker, spoke a different dialect (Eastern Aramaic) and certainly was no relative of the Baptist's, who even sent disciples to check out if Jesus really was 'the one'.

For me the claims of Luke and Matthew about Jesus's early life are 'fun but fiction', but that's just what I think.

 

[Cino]

Years later the Caesar (can't remember which) had his statue erected in the Great Temple which caused dreadful trouble and scenes.

Either you mean the events of a few centuries earlier, when a Greek king had an image of Zeus installed in the temple, leading up to the events commemorated at Hanukkah, or you are referring to the time after the destruction of the Temple, when Jerusalem had been renamed Aelia Capitolina, and a temple to the Roman imperial cult had bern built on the site of the previous Jewish Temple.

 

[badger]

Either you mean the events of a few centuries earlier, when a Greek king had an image of Zeus installed in the temple, leading up to the events commemorated at Hanukkah, or you are referring to the time after the destruction of the Temple, when Jerusalem had been renamed Aelia Capitolina, and a temple to the Roman imperial cult had bern built on the site of the previous Jewish Temple.

Yes, I'm thinking of Caligula's attempt... I don't think he succeeded, did he?

 

[Cino]

Yes, I'm thinking of Caligula's attempt... I don't think he succeeded, did he?

The royal house interceded, and he changed his mind before any image of his actually got installed in the Temple. The incident did not spark any large scale riots, though it must have added to the anti Roman sentiment.

 

[Cino]

Anyway, nice twist to that Gospel story. Thanks, @badger, hadn't heard that one before!