Publican (Easton)

DIC dictionary-entry · status:draft · license:PD

One who farmed the taxes (e.g., Zacchaeus, Luke 19:2 ) to be levied from a town or district, and thus undertook to pay to the supreme government a certain amount. In order to collect the taxes, the publicans employed subordinates (5:27; 15:1; 18:10), who, for their own ends, were often guilty of extortion and peculation. In New Testament times these taxes were paid to the Romans, and hence were regarded by the Jews as a very heavy burden, and hence also the collectors of taxes, who were frequently Jews, were hated, and were usually spoken of in very opprobrious terms. Jesus was accused of being a "friend of publicans and sinners" ( Luke 7:34 ).

Source

• part_of source-manifest/easton — Easton's Bible Dictionary (PD)