Is it lawful to give tribute unto Cesar, or not? The injunction, "thou mayest not set a stranger over thee" (Deuteronomy 17:15), was interpreted to mean that the Jews should pay tribute to no foreign power. But their history exhibits them as tributary in turn to Assyria, Babylon, Egypt and Persia.

The question was an attempt to see whether Jesus would adopt the watchword of the Zealots. This special tribute, the poll-tax levied on each individual, was particularly offensive to the patriotic party among the Jews.

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