Development of taxation in the Bible: Improvements in counting, measurement, and computation in the ancient Middle East

Accounting Historians Journal Accounting Historians Journal

Volume 25

Issue 2

December 1998

Article 5

1998

Development of taxation in the Bible: Improvements in counting, Development of taxation in the Bible: Improvements in counting,

measurement, and computation in the ancient Middle East measurement, and computation in the ancient Middle East

Manuel L. Jose

Charles K. Moore

Follow this and additional works at: https://egrove.olemiss.edu/aah_journal

Part of the Accounting Commons, and the Taxation Commons

Recommended Citation Recommended Citation

Jose, Manuel L. and Moore, Charles K. (1998) "Development of taxation in the Bible: Improvements in

counting, measurement, and computation in the ancient Middle East,"

Accounting Historians Journal

: Vol.

25 : Iss. 2 , Article 5.

Available at: https://egrove.olemiss.edu/aah_journal/vol25/iss2/5

This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Archival Digital Accounting Collection at eGrove. It

has been accepted for inclusion in Accounting Historians Journal by an authorized editor of eGrove. For more

information, please contact [email protected].

Accounting Historians Journal

Vol. 25, No. 2

December 1998

Manuel L. Jose

LAHN & ASSOCIATES

and

Charles K. Moore

THE UNIVERSITY OF AKRON

THE DEVELOPMENT OF TAXATION IN

THE BIBLE: IMPROVEMENTS IN

COUNTING, MEASUREMENT, AND

COMPUTATION IN THE ANCIENT

MIDDLE EAST

Abstract: This paper traces the development of five taxation types in

the Bible — income taxes, property taxes, special assessment taxes,

poll taxes (all direct taxes), and indirect taxes. The development of

these taxes is discussed within the context of Israel's historical de-

velopment. The impact of counting, measurement, and computation

on the development of taxation is also considered.

Accounting historians have studied and narrated several ac-

counting concepts mentioned in the Bible. Hagerman [1980,

pp.

71-76] observed that many of today's accounting concepts

were already in use during Biblical times. Davis

[1981,

pp. 71-

72] subsequently detailed the first recorded audit in the Bible.

In this paper, an effort is made to analyze the development of

taxation in the Bible over the many centuries of ancient Israel's

existence in light of improvements in counting, measurement,

and computation in the Middle East.

The Bible contains numerous references to taxation. This

paper examines and analyzes the various types and instances of

taxes in the Bible in light of political and economic develop-

ments. Sources outside the Bible are also referenced, such as

Flavius Josephus [Whiston, 1960], a Jewish historian of the 1st

century of the present era, and Schmandt-Besserat [1988].

The term "tax" is characterized more by its involuntary na-

ture than its precise terminology; precise tax terminologies did

Submitted August 1995

Revised June 1996

May 1997

October 1997

Accepted November 1997

Jose and Moore: Development of taxation in the Bible: Improvements in counting, measurement, and computation in the ancient Middle East

Published by eGrove, 1998

Accounting Historians Journal, December 1998

not exist in Biblical days. A tax is not a voluntary payment like

a charitable contribution. The eminent jurist Learned Hand

stated, "... taxes are enforced exactions, not voluntary contri-

butions" [Commr. v. Newman, p. 851]. Webster's New World

Dictionary [Guralnik, 1976, p. 1458] lists the following defini-

tions of the noun "tax:" 1. a) a compulsory payment, usually a

percentage, levied on income, property value, sales price, etc.

for the support of a government; b) a special assessment, as in a

society, labor union, etc.; 2. a heavy demand; burden; strain."

This distinction between taxes and contributions is clearly

indicated in the Bible. Four types of direct taxes or involuntary

payments (income taxes, property taxes, special assessment

taxes,

and poll or capitation taxes) to the governing authorities

are mentioned. The Bible also references indirect taxes, such as

custom duties or sales taxes. In contrast, contributions which

provided for assembly of the tabernacle are discussed as

nontax, free-will offerings.

This paper is not concerned with modern technical mat-

ters,

such as the incidence of taxation on economic layers of

society or the justiciability of a tax from the standpoint of hori-

zontal or vertical equity. No discussion is made of exemptions

or special stipulations since these do not appear in the Biblical

record. For instance, the Bible refers to a 10% tithe, implicitly

assuming that it applies to all owners of farmland and livestock.

In the theocracy of ancient Israel, tithing in a religious

context was the same as taxation in a governmental context. It

is impossible to distinguish religious and governmental taxa-

tion since religion and government were one and the same in

ancient Israel. Hartman

[1963,

p. 2395] wrote, "In a strictly

theocratic state there is no real distinction between the treasury

of the sanctuary and the treasury of the government."

The various types of taxation mentioned in the Bible are

discussed in the following section. Each of these five types is

illustrated by Biblical passages. Subsequently, taxation is exam-

ined chronologically over six consecutive periods of Israel's his-

tory. The reader is referred to Appendix A, where types of taxes

and chronological periods are cross-referenced.

Primary focus will be on Biblical accounts that illustrate

the development of these five types of taxation in ancient Israel.

The reason for discussion of sources apart from the Biblical

record, such as Flavius Josephus and others, is to introduce the

cultures surrounding ancient Israel in terms of their taxation

methods, as well as their political and economic development.

The processes of counting, measurement, and computation in

Accounting Historians Journal, Vol. 25 [1998], Iss. 2, Art. 5

https://egrove.olemiss.edu/aah_journal/vol25/iss2/5

Jose and Moore: Taxation in the Bible

the Middle East (Iraq, Egypt, and Israel) contribute to the cul-

tural milieu.

TAXATION TYPES

Income taxes, property taxes, special assessment taxes, and

poll taxes are all mentioned in the Bible. Though tax terms,

such as rate and base, are not technically discussed in the Bible,

the tax attributes indicated by these terms are sufficiently im-

plicit to distinguish these four types of direct taxation. Indirect

taxes,

such as custom duties or sales taxes, are also mentioned

in the Bible.

Income Tax: An income tax is a levy based on the income of a

person or the yield of property, such as farmland or herds of

livestock. Genesis 47:26 mentions such a tax:

So Joseph established it as law concerning land in

Egypt — still in force today — that a fifth of the pro-

duce belongs to Pharaoh . . .

This was a 20% tax on the yield of property, a precursor to

a government-imposed income tax. Other parties have also typi-

fied a levy based on property yield as an income tax. One au-

thor referred to this Egyptian practice as follows, "Agricultural

production was taxed at a hefty 20%. This was . . . exactly like

our income tax" [Adams, 1993, p. 3].

After the Hebrews left Egypt, the rate was dropped to 10%,

the tithe rate [Leviticus 27:32]:

The entire tithe of the herd and flock — every tenth

animal that passes under the shepherd's rod — will be

holy to the Lord.

However, the reduction was actually less since the Hebrews

were commanded to present their "firstfruits" to the priests, as

mentioned in Deuteronomy 18:3-5:

This is the share due the priests from the people who

sacrifice a bull or a sheep: the shoulder, the jowls and

the inner parts. You are to give them the firstfruits of

your grain, new wine and oil, and the first wool from

the shearing of your sheep, for the Lord your God has

chosen them and their descendants out of all your

tribes to stand and minister in the Lord's name always.

Unless otherwise stated, all Biblical references are from the New Interna-

tional Version of The Holy Bible. KJV denotes The Holy Bible, King James Ver-

sion.

Jose and Moore: Development of taxation in the Bible: Improvements in counting, measurement, and computation in the ancient Middle East

Published by eGrove, 1998

Accounting Historians Journal, December 1998

One observer classified these obligatory payments as taxes

even though a percentage is not stated [Oden, 1984, p. 169]. For

purposes of this paper, "firstfruits" are grouped with tithes as

income taxes in that their amount would presumably have been

a function of the total amount of agricultural production.

Property Tax: Valuation of personal or real property is the basis

for an assessment of a property tax. II Kings 23:35 discusses the

property tax:

Jehoiakim paid Pharaoh Neco the silver and gold he

demanded. In order to do so, he taxed the land and

exacted the silver and gold from the people of the land

according to their assessments.

The phrase, "he taxed the land," should not be construed as

a tax on the people. The tax object was the land, although the

owners of the land were paying the tax. A literal word-for-word

translation of the relevant Hebrew text is [II Kings 23:35]:

And the silver and gold gave Yehoiakim to Pharaoh.

But he [Yehoiakim] taxed the land to give the money

according to Pharaoh; each man according to his taxa-

tion he exacted the silver and the gold of the people of

the land to give to Pharaoh Neco.

Note is made of the difference between the income tax and this

property tax. The former was based on the increase or yield of

property, whereas the latter was a function of the value of prop-

erty. Since it was related to value, increase or yield was imma-

terial.

Special Assessment Tax: A special assessment tax is a tax levied

to raise revenue for specific projects. II Chronicles 24:5 men-

tions a special assessment tax:

He called together the priests and Levites and said to

them, 'Go to the towns of Judah and collect the money

due annually from all Israel, to repair the temple of

your God . . .'

The immediate purpose of this levy was to repair the

temple that had been built by King Solomon in the United

Monarchy (c. 1050-880 B.C.)

at vast expense. II Chronicles

24:6-9 indicates that Moses had levied a tax for maintenance of

The dates used for identifying Israel's historical periods are from F.F.

Bruce [1963].

Accounting Historians Journal, Vol. 25 [1998], Iss. 2, Art. 5

https://egrove.olemiss.edu/aah_journal/vol25/iss2/5

Jose and Moore: Taxation in the Bible

the tabernacle centuries previously in the days of the Tribal

Confederation (c. 1300-1050 B.C.). Since this tax was not de-

scribed as a set uniform sum per person, it is not treated as a

poll tax. This new levy took place during the Divided Kingdom

(c.

880-540 B.C.), when the temple had fallen into disrepair.

Hence, it could be said that this levy mentioned in II Chronicles

24:5 was a special assessment tax for infrastructure repair.

Poll Tax: This tax is a flat sum levied on a per-capita basis. A

poll tax is mentioned in Exodus 30:12. A tax was levied on each

person 20 years old and older at the time of the departure of the

Israelites from Egypt:

Then the Lord said to Moses, 'When you take a census

of the Israelites to count them, each one must pay the

Lord a ransom for his life at the time he is counted.'

Much later, a one-third shekel poll tax was established for

maintaining public worship in the temple (Nehemiah 10:32):

"We assume the responsibility for carrying out the commands

to give a third of a shekel, each year for the service of the house

of our God."

In Matthew 17:24-27, a New Testament poll tax is found:

After Jesus and his disciples arrived in Capernaum, the

collectors of the two-drachma tax came to Peter and

asked,

'Doesn't your teacher pay the temple tax?'

'Yes,

he does,' he replied.

When Peter came into the house, Jesus was the first to

speak. 'What do you think, Simon?' he asked. 'From

whom do the kings of the earth collect duty and taxes

— from their own sons or from others?'

'From others,' Peter answered.

'Then the sons are exempt,' Jesus said to him. 'But so

that we may not offend them, go to the lake and throw

out your line. Take the first fish you catch; open its

mouth and you will find a four-drachma coin. Take it

and give it to them for my tax and yours.'

The poll tax was presumably the type of tax that the Ro-

mans levied when Caesar Augustus decreed a census or taxing

of "the entire Roman world" in Luke 2:1-3 at the time of Jesus'

birth:

In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a

census should be taken of the entire Roman world.

Jose and Moore: Development of taxation in the Bible: Improvements in counting, measurement, and computation in the ancient Middle East

Published by eGrove, 1998

Accounting Historians Journal, December 1998

[This was the first census that took place while

Quirinius was governor of Syria.] And everyone went

to his own town to register.

This census tax is treated here as a poll tax for sake of

consistency. The census tax that was commanded for the Israel-

ites upon their departure from Egypt was a poll tax, fixed at a

set sum of one-half shekel per person. Of course, it might have

involved the registering of property as well as of persons. If so,

it would have been a property tax as well as a poll tax.

Indirect Taxes: These indirect taxes were of various types, such

as custom duties or sales taxes. An excise tax on articles con-

sumed was called "belo" in Hebrew, and a road toll or customs

tax was termed "halakh." In Ezra 4:20, these indirect taxes are

termed "tribute" and "duty" respectively in the modern English

version. Other words used in various places in the Old Testa-

ment were "mas" (forced labor) [I Kings 5:13; v. 27, Hebrew

text],

"massa" (burden) [II Chronicles 17:11], "mekhes" (mea-

sure) [Numbers 31:25-31], and "middah" (tribute) [Ezra

4:20].

These numerous terms were perhaps necessary because the He-

brew language had no general word corresponding to the Eng-

lish word "tax" [Orr, 1956, p. 2918].

Paul referred to the duty of paying indirect as well as direct

taxes in Romans 13:6-7 during the time of New Testament

Israel:

This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are

God's servants, who give their full time to governing.

Give everyone what you owe him. If you owe taxes, pay

taxes;

if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect;

if honor, then honor.

Two commentators, Lietzmann and Kuhl, have interpreted

"taxes"

and "revenue" in this passage as a reference to direct

taxes and indirect taxes [Harmon, 1954, Vol. IX, p. 604]. In the

original Greek of the New Testament, the word "phoros" is used

for "taxes" and "telos" for "revenue." Of the four duties of the

citizen to his government mentioned in verse 7, "taxes" and

"revenue" are the only ones denoting a transfer of assets. The

comment by Lietzmann and Kuhl is plausible as a distinction

between "taxes" and "revenue" in light of the definitions from a

Greek dictionary [Strong, 1983, p. 76]:

'phoros:' a tax, properly an individual assessment on

persons or property; whereas 'telos' is usually a general

toll on goods or travel.

Accounting Historians Journal, Vol. 25 [1998], Iss. 2, Art. 5

https://egrove.olemiss.edu/aah_journal/vol25/iss2/5

Jose and Moore: Taxation in the Bible

The first four types of taxes discussed in this paper are direct

taxes,

such as the "individual assessment on persons or prop-

erty," referred to as "phoros" above. The indirect taxes, indi-

cated by the term "telos," such as general tolls on goods or

travel, were referred to by Jesus in Matthew 17:25: "From

whom do the kings of the earth collect duty and taxes?" The

term "duty" refers to indirect taxes and is a translation of a

declined form of "telos" in the Greek text.

STAGES OF TAXATION

The above types of taxation can best be understood and

appreciated when viewed in the context of Israel's historical

development. This history can be divided into the following six

general periods: Israel's Infancy in Egypt; the Tribal Confedera-

tion; the United Monarchy of Saul, David, and Solomon; the

Divided Kingdom; the Period after the Babylonian Captivity;

and New Testament Israel (see Appendix A). These periods are

discussed below within the context of the five taxation types

identified above.

Israel's Infancy in Egypt (c. 1700-1300

B.C.):

The 20% income

tax of Genesis 47:26, applied to the yield of property, was levied

on the Egyptians, ironically by Joseph, the Israelite prime min-

ister appointed by Pharaoh during the seven years of plenty.

During this time, the government ran surpluses so huge that

they could not be measured [Genesis 41:49] as preparation for

the seven famine years subsequently. It was these years of fam-

ine that brought the rest of the Israelites to Egypt from Pales-

tine.

The nation of Israel descended from the 70 members of

Joseph's family protected in Egypt during this famine [Genesis

46:26,

27].

The breakdown of the means by which the surpluses could

be measured evokes the deficiencies of the token system in

dealing with large quantities. This brings up the primitive

evolutionary development of accounting as described by

Schmandt-Besserat [1986, pp. 32-39]. A system of clay counters

or tokens represented "the first unequivocal evidence of ac-

counting in the prehistoric Middle East." The use of tokens

required a one-for-one correspondence with the items counted.

For instance, one clay ball used as a token could represent one

measure of grain, two clay balls could represent two measures

of grain, etc.

The token system eventually developed into symbols

Jose and Moore: Development of taxation in the Bible: Improvements in counting, measurement, and computation in the ancient Middle East

Published by eGrove, 1998

70 Accounting Historians Journal, December 1998

on clay tablets representing abstract quantities. Schmandt-

Besserat [1988, p. 7] described the methodology:

The first state emerged in Sumer, present-day Iraq,

about 3100 B.C. The new political system required citi-

zens to deliver in-kind contributions to the temple,

where the goods were stored and redistributed. The

increased volume of accounting involved in registering

the entries and expenditures of temple warehouses

brought about the collapse of the archaic token system

and its replacement by writing. At the same time, the

clay tablets show the first evidence for abstract count-

ing.

Conceivably, the huge surpluses in Egypt under Joseph

could not be measured for some of the same reasons suggested

by Schmandt-Besserat in connection with ancient Iraq. Both

locales are of course in the Middle East, and there is a rough

correspondence chronologically. The parallel between Egypt

and Iraq is their shared lack of a ready computational means.

Of course, there are differences. The token system disappeared

over a thousand years before Israel's captivity in Egypt. The

Egyptian system was based on a developed system of writing

and abstract counting, whereas the token system was more ap-

propriate to the needs of an illiterate society.

Some kind of rudimentary tallying system was supposedly

used by the Egyptians to accumulate totals. Calinger [1995, p.

8] observed, "Homo sapiens sapiens (thinking humans) . . . used

tallying techniques widely." The Old Kingdom Egyptians had

even developed a positional or place-value notation system for

computational purposes that was similar to that of the Old

Babylonian Dynasty, but was soon lost. Egyptian mathematics

thus appears mainly to have been limited to recording amounts

and distances accumulated by tallies. Manipulation of those

amounts was [Calinger, 1995, p. 29]:

essentially additive, meaning that they reduced multi-

plication and division as children and electronic com-

puters do, to repeated additions and subtractions.

Calinger [1995, p. 29] described a mathematical problem in

the Rhind Papyrus,

"The problem was solved by trial and error

— as it has been suggested, the Egyptians solved all their

One of the oldest mathematical documents in recorded history, dating

from around the Twelfth Dynasty (2000-1788 B.C.), was discovered in 1858 in

Egypt and is now in the British Museum.

Accounting Historians Journal, Vol. 25 [1998], Iss. 2, Art. 5

https://egrove.olemiss.edu/aah_journal/vol25/iss2/5

Jose and Moore: Taxation in the Bible

mathematical problems." Though the measurement system had

advanced to this tally stage from the token system of a

one-for-one correspondence, following the developments in an-

cient Iraq, the lack of a ready computational means apparently

caused the surpluses to overrun the means of tracking them.

An implicit development by Israel during the United Mon-

archy, centuries after the nation's Infancy in Egypt, is very tell-

ing. An approximation of the mathematical "pi" (3.1416) as 3.0

is found in I Kings 7:23 [quoted in Calinger, 1995, p. 35]:

He made the Sea (a furnishing of the temple) of cast

metal, circular in shape, measuring ten cubits from

rim to rim and five cubits high. It took a line of thirty

cubits to measure around it.

There is no indication that any such development by Israel oc-

curred before this time, or even any indication that "pi" was

used later in Israel for measurement of volume. The absence of

this mathematical fundamental for ascertaining the volume of

circular storage pots, bins, vats, or heaps of farm produce

would make it completely understandable that the surpluses

were unmeasurable from the standpoint of volume computa-

tions based on dimensions. Supposedly, volume computations

based on weight would have been a help, but the greater the

surpluses, the harder it would have been to estimate volume by

weighing the produce. Thus, "pi"-based volume computations,

based on dimensions, would have been all the more indispens-

able had the concept existed.

The observation of Schmandt-Besserat [1988, p. 7] about

Sumer's token system suggested a connection between taxation

and economic development. As Sumer emerged, its new politi-

cal system required increased taxes in the form of in-kind con-

tributions. The method of accounting for mounting stocks of

grains and produce had to be improved from the clay-token

system of a one-to-one correspondence to abstract symbols re-

corded in writing. As the state began to be able to support the

needs of the needy as well as the ambitions of a trader class, the

door opened wider to commerce and a resulting division of

labor which promoted economic development.

The development of a writing system in which abstract

quantities were represented by symbols undoubtedly contrib-

uted to advances in taxation. A tax of 20% of a hundred meas-

ures of grain is infinitely easier to levy and record in symbols,

such as "20% x 100," on a papyrus than to subgroup 20 of 100

clay balls in rows on the ground in a token system. The asses-

Jose and Moore: Development of taxation in the Bible: Improvements in counting, measurement, and computation in the ancient Middle East

Published by eGrove, 1998

72 Accounting Historians Journal, December 1998

sors might have even written numerals equivalent to "1 in 5,"

thus indicating an even simpler tax structure. Hence, the in-

creased emphasis on taxation could be described as arising

from two factors — 1) the needs of the state for sponsoring

more of the infrastructure demands of society, and 2) the im-

provements of the tax system as the use of clay tokens gave way

to abstract symbols recorded in writing. It does not seem that

taxation caused economic development as much as better taxa-

tion allowed more economic development. Economic develop-

ment became more possible as the use of abstract symbols in

writing brought about more efficient and reliable methods of

taxation.

In summary, Israel's Infancy in Egypt was accompanied by

the first recorded tax in the Bible, described as an income tax of

20%

levied under Pharaoh's authority by Joseph. This tax was

imposed to accumulate food stocks for a predicted famine that

became so huge as to be beyond measure. The development of

counting from the token system to abstract symbols capable of

representing large quantities, described by Schmandt-Besserat

[1988] in connection with ancient Iraq, has been examined for

any possible light. This theory of Schmandt-Besserat, perhaps

aptly termed a "token/abstract symbol" theory, also suggests an

intriguing connection between taxation and economic develop-

ment since the use of symbols for recording quantities provides

a means of levying and collecting taxes more conducive for an

advanced economy than the token system. It even suggests that

the additional efficiencies of a change to a numerical system

"paid" for a drop in the rate from 20% to 10%.

The Tribal Confederation (c. 1300-1050

B.C.):

After remaining in

Egypt for approximately 400 years, the Israelites left Egypt in

the Exodus and made the long transition from a tribe into a

nation. At this time a tithe of 10% on gross income was levied

as a tax on the produce of the land and herds [Leviticus 27:32],

only half of the earlier 20% tax in Egypt. Deuteronomy 26:10-11

describes it as a support for the priesthood:

... I bring the firstfruits of the soil that you, O Lord,

have given me. Place the basket before the Lord your

God and bow down before Him. And you and the

Levites and the aliens among you shall rejoice in all the

good things the Lord your God has given to you and

your household.

Exodus 35:5-11 details the first major expenditure in the

Accounting Historians Journal, Vol. 25 [1998], Iss. 2, Art. 5

https://egrove.olemiss.edu/aah_journal/vol25/iss2/5

Jose and Moore: Taxation in the Bible

tribal confederation, the building of the tabernacle, entirely

from free-will offerings:

From what you have, take an offering for the Lord.

Everyone who is willing is to bring to the Lord an

offering of gold, silver and bronze: blue, purple and

scarlet yarn and fine linen; goat hair; ram skins dyed

red and hides of sea cows; acacia wood; olive oil for the

light; spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant

incense; and onyx stones and other gems to be

mounted on ephod and breastpiece.

All who are skilled among you are to come and make

everything the Lord has commanded: the tabernacle

with its tent and its covering, clasps, frames, crossbars,

posts and bases.

In addition, during this era of Israel's history, the poor

were allowed to glean around the corners of the fields of the

landowners [Leviticus 19:9-10]:

When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to

the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of

your harvest. Do not go over your vineyard a second

time or pick up the grapes that have fallen. Leave them

for the poor and the alien. I am the Lord your God.

There was no need for heavy taxation. The tithe supported

the tabernacle worship and priests and was not expended for

social welfare purposes. As the poor were left to glean for them-

selves, the need of taxation was decreased.

During this time period, the written numerical system was

primitive compared to today. The Bible's Hebrew language used

letters to represent quantities. The Hebrew letter for "A" repre-

sented the quantity one. The Hebrew letter for "B" represented

two,

etc. No effort was evidently made to group the letters by

powers or orders to connote large quantities. Rather, larger

amounts were expressed as words. For instance, in the Hebrew

text of Numbers 1:46 in the Bible, the 603,550 Israelites that left

Egypt in the Exodus are recorded, spelled out in words of He-

brew letters as "six hundred thousand and three thousand and

five hundred and fifty," rather than written in numerals. Com-

putation using these non-ciphered written amounts was prob-

ably cumbersome, if possible at all. Later translations expressed

the amount in numerals.

The most ancient Hebrew letters are scarcely recognizable

today, even to the native-born Israeli. Even in the very earliest

forms of the Hebrew Bible, letters were used to represent

Jose and Moore: Development of taxation in the Bible: Improvements in counting, measurement, and computation in the ancient Middle East

Published by eGrove, 1998

Accounting Historians Journal, December 1998

amounts. There is no evidence that the development of writing

and abstract counting in Hebrew culture predated such devel-

opments in neighboring cultures in the Mediterranean Basin.

As far as the evidence allows, it may be surmised that writing

developed in Hebrew culture at least as early as the date of

Israel's exodus from Egypt, 1300 B.C., at a time when the first

five books of the Bible are traditionally thought to have been

committed to a written record. The use of numerals to symbol-

ize abstract counting certainly took place centuries later, no

earlier than similar developments in the neighboring cultures.

The implications are far-reaching for assessing and collect-

ing the income and poll taxes which until this stage of Israel's

existence had been undertaken without abstract numerals and

means of computation. It is unfathomable how the administra-

tion of any tax system would have been possible under such

conditions.

A poll tax of one-half shekel per person was also instituted

during this time. This tax of Exodus 30:12 was previously dis-

cussed. It may have been the first tax of ancient Israel for it is

also described as a "crossing over" levy in Exodus 30:14. Israel

was scarcely a nation before it crossed over the Red Sea.

The United Monarchy of Saul,

David,

and Solomon (c. 1050-880

B.C.):

With Saul, the first king of Israel, there appeared a new

emphasis on taxation in the full sense of enforced exactions.

The prophet Samuel warned of this development [I Samuel

8:11,

15, 17]:

He said, 'this is what the king who will reign over you

will do . . .

He will take a tenth of your grain and of your vintage

and give it to his officials and attendants.

He will take a tenth of your flocks.'

Building the temple required huge capital expenditures

from concomitant tax revenues. The men of Israel were pressed

into service as loggers in Lebanon cutting down timber [I Kings

5:13-14]:

King Solomon conscripted laborers from all Israel —

thirty thousand men. He sent them off to Lebanon in

shifts of ten thousand a month, so that they spent one

month in Lebanon and two months at home.

As ruler of a vast kingdom, King Solomon's court was sup-

ported by his subjects [I Kings 4:22-24, 27]:

Accounting Historians Journal, Vol. 25 [1998], Iss. 2, Art. 5

https://egrove.olemiss.edu/aah_journal/vol25/iss2/5

Jose and Moore: Taxation in the Bible

Solomon's daily provisions were thirty cors

of fine

flour and sixty cors of meal, ten head of stall-fed cattle,

twenty of pasture-fed cattle and a hundred sheep and

goats,

as well as deer, gazelles, roebucks and choice

fowl. For he ruled over all the kingdoms west of the

River, from Tiphsah to Gaza, and had peace on all

sides.

The district officers, each in his month, supplied provi-

sions for King Solomon and all who came to the king's

table . . .

The Divided Kingdom (c. 880-540

B.C.):

Taxation of crops, herd

yields, and other types of income was so heavy under King

Solomon's son, King Rehoboam, that Israel split into two king-

doms,

the northern kingdom (Israel) and the southern kingdom

(Judah) [II Chronicles 10:10, 13-14, 18-19]:

'Your father put a heavy yoke on us, but make our yoke

lighter

The king answered them harshly. Rejecting the advice

of the elders, he followed the advice of the young men

and said, 'My father made your yoke heavy; I will make

it even heavier.'

King Rehoboam sent out Adoniram, who was in charge

of forced labor, but the Israelites stoned him to death.

King Rehoboam, however, managed to get into his

chariot and escape to Jerusalem. So Israel has been in

rebellion against the House of David . . .

The tithe continued to be levied in Judah as well as in Israel:

As soon as the order went out, the Israelites generously

gave the firstfruits of their grain, new wine, oil and

honey and all that the fields produced. They brought a

great amount, a tithe of everything [II Chronicles

31:5].

. . . Bring your sacrifices every morning, your tithes

every three years [Amos 4:4].

A property tax was levied by King Jehoikim to raise tribute

money for the Pharaoh of Egypt. He "taxed the land" [II Kings

23:35].

In addition, a special assessments tax was levied in

Judah by King Joash for repair of the temple [II Chronicles

24:5]:

"Go to the towns of Judah and collect the money due

annually from all Israel, to repair the temple of your God."

About 6 ¼ bushels. See entry "weights and measures" in Tenney [1967].

Jose and Moore: Development of taxation in the Bible: Improvements in counting, measurement, and computation in the ancient Middle East

Published by eGrove, 1998

Accounting Historians Journal, December 1998

In this period, the northern kingdom of Israel disappeared

into Assyrian captivity, and somewhat later the southern king-

dom of Judah was taken into Babylonian captivity.

The Period after the Babylonian Captivity (c. 540-100

B.C.):

The

people of Judah returned from Babylon after several decades.

The primary development in this era was the specific exemp-

tion of the priests and other religious workers from taxes [Ezra

7:24]:

... you have no authority to impose taxes, tribute or

duty on any of the priests, Levites, singers, gatekeepers,

temple servants or other workers at this house of God.

They were the ones to whom the tithes were brought in earlier

Israel, so their tax exemption was already implicit. In view of

the importance of religion as a focus of nationhood to the re-

turned people of Judah, it was probably very significant that the

Persian King, Artaxerxes, issued the proclamation recorded in

the above quotation.

The tax system was reformed as well, for the heavy exac-

tions under King Solomon were partially replaced by contribu-

tions and firstfruits [Nehemiah 12:44] that were closer to the

Biblical model for giving and less resembled forced exactions.

But the tithe as a tax was still assessed, a "portion required by

the Law," as a full reading of the verse reveals. Presumably the

rate of tax was the traditional 10%.

A new poll tax emerged in this period. It was a required

annual payment of one-third shekel by each person to maintain

temple worship [Nehemiah 10:32].

New Testament Israel: The poll tax, the tax paid by Jesus and

Peter, was a principal tax in New Testament Israel comprised

primarily of the descendants of Judah (1-70 A.D.). The tithe as a

10%

levy on the increase of produce and herds is not mentioned

in the New Testament. Its only serious mention as a revenue

source to the temple or government is as a property tax based

on a 10% portion of total holdings [Luke 18:12 KJV]: "I fast

twice a week and give a tenth of all I possess."

Josephus described a poll tax that the Romans assessed in

Egypt. He addressed the Jews of Israel in the 1st century of the

present era [Whiston, 1960, p. 489]:

What occasion is there for showing you the power of

the Romans over remote countries, when it is easy to

learn it from Egypt, in your neighborhood? This coun-

Accounting Historians Journal, Vol. 25 [1998], Iss. 2, Art. 5

https://egrove.olemiss.edu/aah_journal/vol25/iss2/5

Jose and Moore: Taxation in the Bible

try is extended as far as the Ethiopians, and Arabia the

Happy, and borders upon India; it has seven million

five hundred thousand men, besides the inhabitants of

Alexandria, as may be learned from the revenue of the

poll tax. . . it pays more tribute to the Romans in one

month than you do in a year.

Josephus also referred to the two-drachma poll tax, dis-

cussed by Jesus and Peter above at Matthew 17:24-27. Josephus

[Whiston, 1960, p. 597] described how this two-drachma tax

that each Jew had to pay to the temple in Jerusalem yearly until

the time of its destruction in 70 A.D. was redirected by Caesar

Titus in later years to the Roman government.

Gibbon

[1903,

p. 24] shed light on the particular details of

the poll or capitation tax that the Romans levied on the Jews:

It is somewhat remarkable that the flames of war con-

sumed almost at the same time the temple of Jerusa-

lem and the Capitol of Rome; and it appears no less

singular that the tribute which devotion had destined

to the former should have been converted by the power

of an assaulting victor to restore and adorn the splen-

dor of the latter. The emperors [of Rome] levied a gen-

eral capitation tax on the Jewish people; and, although

the sum assessed on the head of each individual was

inconsiderable, the use for which it was designed, and

the severity with which it was exacted, were considered

as an intolerable grievance.

It is noteworthy that of the four New Testament Gospel

writers, Matthew, as a former tax collector and probable

numeracy expert, was the only one who used a technical term

for taxes, "didrachma," "two drachmas," in referring to the sub-

ject of taxes. This was equivalent to the half-shekel poll tax that

was levied on each Israelite leaving Egypt at the time of the

Exodus [Hartman, 1963, p. 2401]. The other three used general

terms in their references to taxes, "kensos" (poll taxes) and

"phoros" (generally, taxes).

The other principal tax in New Testament Israel was the

indirect taxes included within the meaning of the term "telos."

Sometimes these indirect taxes are denoted by the term "cus-

toms"

or "duties" in modern English versions of the Bible. The

ruling authorities in the Israel of this epoch certainly did levy

such taxes, although the New Testament does not go beyond

use of the term "telos" in description or discussion. Josephus

reported that Herod the Great laid a tax on produce of the field,

and that his son and successor Archelaus levied a sales tax on

Jose and Moore: Development of taxation in the Bible: Improvements in counting, measurement, and computation in the ancient Middle East

Published by eGrove, 1998

Accounting Historians Journal, December 1998

all items bought and sold [Buttrick, 1962, Vol. R-Z, p. 520;

Whiston, 1960, pp. 330, 367].

The New Testament period of ancient Israel is exciting in

that the primary methods of taxation had evolved somewhat

from the Old Testament's income taxes, property taxes, and

special assessment taxes to a poll tax and indirect taxes, such as

customs duties. The fact that the Romans, through agents such

as Herod the Great, levied some of those older taxes, such as

the tax on land, does not diminish the significance of this shift.

SUMMARY

The five forms of taxation referred to in the Bible (income

taxes,

property taxes, special assessment taxes, poll taxes, and

indirect taxes) developed over the 17 or 18 centuries that passed

between Israel's Infancy in Egypt to Israel in New Testament

times in the first decades of the present era. These types of

taxation started with a 20% tax in Egypt based on yields of

crops and herds. This tax was instituted by Joseph, the Israelite

prime minister of Egypt.

However, after the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt, the

rate of the income tax was halved to 10% in the form of a tithe.

A poll tax as a one-time census charge also emerged in the time

of the Tribal Confederation. By the time of the United Monar-

chy, special assessment taxes, as well as indirect taxes, were

levied. So heavy was the burden of taxation that the United

Monarchy split. By the start of the present era, poll taxes and

indirect taxes had become the primary taxes in Israel referred

to in the Bible. These developments in taxation were aided by

improvements in counting, measurement, and computing, as

the use of written abstract symbols supplanted the token sys-

tem of a one-for-one correspondence.

REFERENCES

Adams, Charles (1993), For Good and Evil (London: Madison Books).

Bruce, E. F. (1963), Israel and the Nations (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans).

Buttrick, George A. (ed.) (1962), The Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible (New

York, Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press).

Calinger, Ronald (1995), Classics of Mathematics (Englewood Cliffs, NJ:

Prentice Hall).

Commissioner v. Newman, 159 F2d 848 (CA-2, 1947).

Davis,

Harry Z. (1981), "Note on the First Recorded Audit in the Bible," Ac-

counting Historians Journal, Vol. 8 , No. 1: 71-72.

Gibbon, Edward (1903), The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (New York:

Thomas Y. Crowell Company).

Accounting Historians Journal, Vol. 25 [1998], Iss. 2, Art. 5

https://egrove.olemiss.edu/aah_journal/vol25/iss2/5

Jose and Moore: Taxation in the Bible

Guralnik, David B. (ed.) (1976), Webster's New World Dictionary of the Ameri-

can Language (Cleveland, New York: William Collins and World Publishing

Co.,

Inc.).

Hagerman, Robert L. (1980), "Accounting in the Bible," Accounting Historians

Journal, Vol. 7, No. 2: 71-76.

Harmon, Nolan B. (ed.) (1954), The Interpreter's Bible (Nashville, TN:

Abingdon-Cokesbury Press).

Hartman, Louis F. (1963), Encyclopedic Dictionary of the Bible (New York:

McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc.).

Oden, Robert A., Jr. (1984), "Taxation in Biblical Israel," Journal of Religious

Ethics, Vol. 12:

162-181.

Orr, James (ed.) (1956), The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (Grand

Rapids, MI: Eerdmans).

Schmandt-Besserat, Denise (1986), "An Ancient Token System: The Precursor

to Numerals and Writing ," Archaeology, Vol. 39, No. 6: 32-39.

Schmandt-Besserat, Denise (1988), "Accounting in Prehistory," in Craswell, A.

T. (ed.), Collected Papers of the Fifth World Congress of Accounting Histori-

ans (University of Sydney): No. 301.

Strong, James H. (1983), Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (Grand Rapids, MI:

Baker Book House).

Tenney, Merrill C. (ed.) (1967), Pictorial Bible Dictionary (Grand Rapids, MI:

Zondervan) .

The Holy Bible, New International Version (1978), (East Brunswick, NJ: Inter-

national Bible Society).

The Holy Bible, King James Version (year not stated), (New York: The World

Publishing Co.).

Whiston, William (trans.) (1960), Josephus — Complete Works (Grand Rapids,

MI:

Kregel Publishing).

Jose and Moore: Development of taxation in the Bible: Improvements in counting, measurement, and computation in the ancient Middle East

Published by eGrove, 1998

APPENDIX A

Some Tax References

the Bible Referred

to in the

Paper

Six general periods

of Israel's Biblical

existence

Israel's Infancy

Egypt

(1700-1300 B.C.)

Tribal Confederation

(1300-1050 B.C.)

United Monarchy

Saul,

David,

and

Solomon

(1050-880 B.C.)

Divided Kingdom

(880-540 B.C.)

Period after

the

Babylonian Captivity

(540-100 B.C.)

6. New Testament

Israel (1-70 A.D.)

Income

Taxes

Gen. 47:26

Lev. 27:32

I Sam. 8:11,

15,

II Chron.

31:5

Amos

4:4

Nehemiah

12:44

Direct Taxes

Property

Taxes

II Kings

23:35

Luke 18:12

Special

Assessment

Taxes

I Kings

4:22-24,

II Chron.

24:5

Poll

Taxes

Exodus 30:12

Nehemiah

10:32

Matt.

17:27

Luke 2:1-3

Indirect

Taxes

Ezra 4:20

Matt.

17:25

Accounting Historians Journal, December 1998

Accounting Historians Journal, Vol. 25 [1998], Iss. 2, Art. 5

https://egrove.olemiss.edu/aah_journal/vol25/iss2/5