Luke 3:12

10, 12, 14. ποιήσωμεν is better supported than ποιήσομεν. Gr[70] La[71] Ti[72]

[70] Gr. Griesbach.
[71] La. Lachmann.
[72] Ti. Tischendorf.

12. τελῶναι, ‘tax-gatherers’ (without the article). The English word ‘publican’ is a corruption of the Latin publicani ‘farmers of the taxes.’ The Roman government did not collect its own taxes, but leased them out to speculators of the equestrian order, who were called publicani, and who made their own profit out of the transaction. These knights appointed subordinates, who from the unpleasant character of the task could only be secured from the lowest of the people. These officials were not only detested as the agents of an odious system, but also for their notorious malpractices. It is true that by an edict of Gaius (Caligula) the Jews were allowed, as perhaps they were allowed even at this earlier date, to pay a regular tribute which was not farmed out to the equestrian publicani (Jos. Antt. XIV. 10, § 5). But even then the actual collection of the tax had to be entrusted to underlings (see Wieseler, Beiträge, p. 78). A strict Jew could hardly force himself even to pay taxes, and therefore naturally looked with scorn and hatred on any Jew who could sink so low as to collect them. Hence in our Lord’s time the word “publican” had become proverbial, as expressive of the worst opprobrium (Matthew 18:17). The Jews were not however peculiar in their dislike of publicans. The Greeks too regarded the word as a synonym of ‘plunderer,’ and an ‘innocent publican’ was looked upon as a marvellous phenomenon (Suet. Vesp. I.). Suidas defines the life of a publican as “unrestrained plunder, unblushing greed, unreasonable pettifogging, shameless business.” The relation of the publicans to John is referred to in Matthew 21:32. See Luke 7:29.

διδάσκαλε, teacher. In Luke 8:24 we have Ἐπιστάτα, Master.

τί ποιήσωμεν; See Luke 3:10. We have the same question, but with the answer which was only possible after the Resurrection, in Acts 2:37; Acts 16:30; Acts 22:10.