ἄραγε on the force of this particle vide at Matthew 7:20. The γε lends emphasis to the exemption of the υἱοί. It virtually replies to Peter's ναί = then you must admit, what your answer to the collectors seemed to deny, that the children are free. The reply is a jeu d'esprit. Christ's purpose is not seriously to argue for exemption, but to prepare the way for a moral lesson.

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Old Testament