Tax collector
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Τελώνης names a tax collector or revenue officer within the Roman imperial system. Such collectors were widely despised because the system associated them with foreign rule, social betrayal, and opportunities for extortion.
Reader summary
Full entry for τελώνης (G5057) · Open the biblical lexicon
Τελώνης names a tax collector or revenue officer within the Roman imperial system. Such collectors were widely despised because the system associated them with foreign rule, social betrayal, and opportunities for extortion.
The BSB source-word alignment has 21 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include tax collectors (11), a tax collector (3), of tax collectors (3), tax collector (3), [these people] (1).
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 5:46. Its strongest book concentrations include Luke (10), Matthew (8), Mark (3).
Τελώνης names a tax collector or revenue officer within the Roman imperial system. Such collectors were widely despised because the system associated them with foreign rule, social betrayal, and opportunities for extortion. The Gospels use that social reality without teaching that every individual collector committed identical abuses. Jesus eats with tax collectors and sinners, calls Matthew, and declares that the sick need a physician.
John the Baptist does not tell collectors merely to abandon society; he commands them to collect no more than authorized. In the Sermon on the Mount, even tax collectors loving those who love them becomes the baseline Jesus' disciples must exceed through enemy-love. The noun identifies an occupation and social category, while the narratives reveal sin, repentance, grace, and transformed practice.
Τελώνης identifies a tax collector in an exploitative imperial environment. The Gospels neither excuse corruption nor treat collectors as beyond repentance, fellowship, and discipleship.
If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Do not even tax collectors do the same?
Jesus uses tax collectors' reciprocal love as a deliberately low social comparison while calling disciples to reflect the Father's indiscriminate kindness.
While Jesus was dining at Levi’s house, many tax collectors and sinners were eating with Him and His disciples—for there were many who followed Him.
Jesus' table fellowship with Levi's circle displays His mission to sinners and provokes leaders who fail to see their own need for the physician.
Even tax collectors came to be baptized. “Teacher,” they asked, “what should we do?”
John requires economic repentance within the occupation: collect no more than what is authorized.
Later, as Jesus was dining at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with Him and His disciples.
Matthew's meal makes the call of a tax collector visible in a new community gathered around Jesus.
When the Pharisees saw this, they asked His disciples, “Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
The Pharisees' question reveals the scandal of Jesus' fellowship, which He answers by naming mercy and His mission to call sinners.
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders ItA compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
Greek word. Jewish tax collector for Rome; socially despised as traitor and collaborator, yet evangelically significant figure in Jesus' ministry.
Textus Receptus witness, full corpusGreek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
16 of 22 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
a collector of taxes
Read versea collector of taxes
Read versea collector of taxes
Read versea collector of taxes
Read versea collector of taxes
Read versea collector of taxes
Read versea collector of taxes
Read versea collector of taxes
Read versea collector of taxes
Read versea collector of taxes
Read versea collector of taxes
Read versea collector of taxes
Read versea collector of taxes
Read versea collector of taxes
Read versea collector of taxes
Read versea collector of taxes
Read verseFull New Testament corpus: 260 chapters, 7,957 verses, 140,628 tokens. Data source: honza/textus-receptus (data only), with authority check against byztxt/greektext-textus-receptus.
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
This word appears as a noun across 4 case and number patterns. The form changes show how the word functions in a sentence; they do not change the basic lexical meaning by themselves.
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Showing 2 selected witnesses from 21 lexical occurrence verses.
τελώνης is built from these roots:
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
Tax collectors carried a reputation shaped by both an unjust system and real opportunities for personal abuse. The Gospels do not deny that moral setting. John tells collectors to stop overcharging, and Zacchaeus later embodies restitution. Yet Jesus refuses the conclusion that such people should be excluded from mercy. He calls Matthew, shares a table with his associates, and identifies Himself as the physician for sinners.
That fellowship is missional and transforming, not an endorsement of corruption. Churches can learn to hold moral clarity and welcome together. We should challenge exploitation, demand honest economic conduct, and protect those harmed by predatory systems. We should also refuse contempt toward workers, debtors, prisoners, political opponents, or any group reduced to a social label.
Christ calls actual sinners into repentance, dignity, fellowship, and new obedience.
Matt.5.46
Τελώνης is the personal noun for one involved in collecting tolls or taxes. It names an occupation, not a lexical synonym for sinner. Gospel pairings with “sinners” reflect social and moral categorization in the narrative rather than a claim that the terms are identical.
The law condemns dishonest scales and extortion while requiring justice for neighbor and stranger. The prophets expose economic exploitation. Jesus brings that call to repentance into fellowship with the despised and demonstrates God's joy in recovering the lost.