New Evidence for Ancient Temple Tax

Unlike the 16,000+ page, 20 volume U.S. Federal Tax Code, the ancient Israelites instituted a simple, easy to understand and unimposing “fair tax” to support the Temple ministry more than 3000 years ago. Exodus 30:13-15 indicates that the Israelites were required to bring a half-shekel to the sanctuary as an offering of atonement. By the time of Christ, this had developed into an annual offering, payable only in silver shekels minted at Tyre – hence the money changers in Mt 21:12. Archaeological evidence of the “Temple Tax” was recently discovered in Jerusalem in the form of two silver coins. One of the coins was discovered in a drainage channel near the Siloam Pool, south of the Temple Mount, and is a genuine Tyrian shekel like the one Jesus used to pay this tax for himself and Peter (cf. Mt 17:24-27). The other coin, recovered during the Temple Mount Sifting Project, is a rare example of the Jewish-minted half-shekel coins in circulation during the First Revolt against Rome, ca. AD 66/67. This latter coin is unique in that it originated on the Temple Mount and it bears evidence of fire-damage, possibly from the Roman destruction of the Temple in AD 70, an event predicted by Jesus some 40 years earlier (cf. Mt 24:1-2 ff.).

For more on Tyrian shekels and half-shekels used in the Temple Tax see:
Gordon Franz, “The Tyrian Shekel and the Temple of Jerusalem”
Marcia Ciccone, “The Shekel of Israel: A Commemoration in Silver”

Earliest Reference to Jesus... as Magician?

Franck Goddio and team recently announced the discovery of an inscribed bowl that may be the earliest known reference to Christ. Found during their underwater exploration of the Eastern Harbor of Alexandria, the inscription on the bowl reads “by Christ the magician” or something like that (Gk. Transliterated CHRSTOU O GOISTAIS), according to Goddio and Egyptologist David Fabre. They have dated the bowl between the late 2nd century BC and the early 1st century AD. The report suggested that this discovery could “provide evidence that Christianity and paganism at times intertwined in the ancient world.” Gushed Goddio, “It could very well be a reference to Jesus Christ… the primary exponent of white magic.”

Sorry to rain on the parade guys, but Franck and crew have got this one all wrong. First off, there is plenty of evidence without this inscription to show that Christianity and paganism were sometimes mingled together… it’s called Gnosticism (post-Christian varieties vs. pre-Christian). Look it up, y’all might learn something. Second, there is a slight problem here with the REAL STORY… if this is indeed the earliest reference to Jesus Christ, dating to more than a century before he was born (late 2nd century BC), then this is direct proof of prophecy man! LOL Finally, Goddio’s statement about Jesus the “white magician” is laughable, to say the least. ALL of the New Testament references to sorcerers, sorcery and sorceries (Gk. magos, mageuo and mageia) are negative in connotation, associated with false-prophecy, deceit, fraud and unbelief! Cf. Acts 8:9 ff and 13:6 ff. Indeed, neither the word magos nor any of its derivatives is EVER applied to Jesus and/or his miracles, signs and wonders. And these are the earliest established textual sources that historians have available to them! It is only in secondary, hostile literature that Jesus is ever referred to as a sorcerer, perhaps, for example, in the Babylonian Talmud (Sanhedrin 43a).

Simply put, the suggestion that this inscription refers to Jesus of Nazareth is absurd, better suited for pseudo-scholarly documentaries than for real scholarship. This inscription does not refer to Jesus of Nazareth at all, as hinted at by the Greek scholars quoted later in the article, but rather to some other unidentified individual from antiquity.