Exodus 30:11-16

THE HALF-SHEKEL TAX

"And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying, When thou takest the sum of the children of Israel, according to those that are numbered of them, then shall they give every man a ransom for his soul unto Jehovah, when thou numberest them; that there be no plague among them. This they shall give, every one that passeth over unto them that are numbered; half a shekel after the shekel of the sanctuary (the shekel is twenty gerahs), half a shekel for an offering unto Jehovah. Every one that passeth over unto them that are numbered, from twenty years old and upward, shall give the offering of Jehovah. The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less, than the half shekel, when they give the offering of Jehovah, to make atonement for your souls. And thou shalt take the atonement money from the children of Israel, and shalt appoint it for the service of the tent of meeting; that it may be a memorial for the children of Israel before Jehovah, to make atonement for your souls."

Critical attacks on this passage remove it altogether from God's Word, making it a late device invented by the Jewish priesthood for the purpose of raising money for the temple. As Rylaarsdam explained (!) it: "This account is an attempt by a later `P' editor to establish the view that the temple tax was indeed the `commandment of Moses the servant of the Lord.'"[17] Of course, such a comment is related to no fact or evidence whatever, not even any argument being submitted as an attempted justification. Raising money for "the temple" is nowhere in view here, the purpose of this tax being that of providing money to build the tabernacle, which to this point in Exodus still remained on the planning board. Is there anything reasonable about an allegation which would make a priesthood nearly a thousand years later than the tabernacle attempt to improve their finances by initiating a "campaign" to raise money to build a tabernacle that had already been built centuries earlier? "For the service of the tent of meeting ..." (Exodus 30:16), means, "For the construction of the Tabernacle, it does not mean that they collected the money for sacrifices or services of worship in the Tabernacle."[18]

"That there be no plague ..." This is not related to some superstitious fear that taking a census might bring on a plague. The simple meaning is, "That they might not incur punishment for the neglect and contempt of spiritual privileges."[19]

"Everyone that passeth over unto them that are numbered ..." This was declared by Orlinsky as "unclear,"[20] admitting at the same time that it is the "literal" meaning here. What is in view is an ancient method of taking a census. The people were assembled together; and those who were numbered were made to stand apart from those not numbered; and as others were numbered, "they passed over unto them that were already numbered." Moses himself evidently took such a census twice; and there was no sin or danger whatever involved in the census per se. "It was the vain glory of David's census (at a later time) which was culpable."[21]

"They shall give ... every one ... a half shekel ..." The rich were not to give more, nor the poor less. "Here is the confession that all men are lost; that all are on an equal footing; and that all need redemption."[22] Coinage was not known in Israel in the times of Moses, hence, the weight of this tax was specified as twenty gerahs. The word "gerah" means "a bean,"[23] probably a carob bean, from which our word "carat" is derived, and weighing about 11 grains Troy. Another meaning of this census was that, "God owns all souls (people). The very fact of counting one's flock, or wealth, suggests ownership. We do not usually count our neighbor's money."[24] God said, "All souls are mine" (Ezekiel 18:4).