There is more than one division of the publicans.  One of the divisions is the division between general farmers and under-farmers.  The general farmers are usually men of high stature.  They would have other collectors under them.  These other collectors would be the under-collectors.  They would be subordinate to the general farmers.  The under-farmers would do the actual process of collecting taxes from the people.  Another way of dividing the publicans up is to add one other division.  The top tier now would be those who purchased their right to collect taxes.  Then under them would be the supervisory officials, who had the opportunity for personal gain.  Under the supervisory officials were those who collected taxes at toll booths or tax offices.  The publicans that Jesus associated with are most likely the final kind.  They would have been found at the transportation centers of Jericho and Capernaum.  These two cities were major transportation centers because the Jews would go through them trying to avoid Samaria.

    There were many different kinds of taxes that were collected by the Romans.  First there were the personal taxes that were based upon the census.  They also collected land taxes.  Both of these taxes would have been collected by the general farmers under the direct employment of the Romans.  These two taxes were followed by many other indirect taxes, which included taxes for the transport of goods.  The transport tax made up a significant portion of the tax revenues.  The collectors for this tax would have been the ones at the commercial and transportation centers.

    Tax collecting had the possibility of being a money making proposition.  Publicans could be either contracted by public officials or they can purchase their right to be a publican.  The publican would start by paying the state what they were due and then going out and collecting the taxes from the people.  This type of system led to a lot of the publicans taking advantage of the people they collected taxes from, by over charging them for a profit.  The publican position was not only usually a lucrative position, but it was also a politically important position.  

    The Jewish people looked down upon the publicans.  They saw the publican as supporting Rome, since they were working for them.  Publicans were equated with the likes of pickpockets and thieves.  They were also considered to be sinners, because of the reputation they had of taking advantage of their provinces.  This also caused the problem of the publican not being a reputable person to reciprocate upon itself.  People with a good name did not want to be tax collectors for fear ruining their reputation.  So the people that took the occupations were usually those who already had a bad reputation.  So this just compounded the problem.

    In the Gospel’s Jesus has many encounters with the publicans.  These encounters can only be found in the synoptic Gospels.  Jesus’ association with the publicans is viewed as showing the message of God’s mercy to sinners.  Zachues was one of the tax collectors Jesus associated with.  He was a chief publican at Jericho.  Apparently he had other publicans underneath him.  Mathew was also a tax collector.   He was one of the inferior publicans.  

 

 

    Anawim is found thirteen times in the Psalms, and is primarily found in the Psalms of Lament.  In the Psalms this term characterizes God’s relationship with the poor.  God is seen as rescuing and guiding them.  The poor characterized by this term have the characteristics:  lacking food, landless, being in pain, opponents of the wicked.  In the Psalms the use of anawim is similar to the use of ani.  It is thought that it could possibly even be the plural of ani.  

    In the prophetic books the term anawim is only found in a few scattered places.  The poor in these books are always characterized as victims of social justice.  The texts found in Isaiah offer hope to the poor.  These texts in Isaiah have a political flavor to them.  The poor are described as those who strive to follow God’s laws and to seek humility.  This is one of the few times that this term seems to concretely stand for humility.

    The wisdom books only contain anawim four times.  It is found three times in Proverbs and one time in Job.  In these books it is seen to be the spoken form of the written plural of ani.

    There is ongoing debate for a general definition of the term.  The debate is over whether or not the term makes a link between poverty and humility.  There are some who believe that anawim signifies a spiritual movement.  This is based on the rest of the Old Testament giving a negative depiction of poverty.  Poverty is seen as an evil that has no spiritual value.  The change from this negative to the positive is seen to take place after the exile of the Jews.  The exile was seen to be a humbling act for the Jews.  It is in second Isaiah that we first see the poor in this positive light.  Some thought it not to be a spiritual movement, but instead a religious movement or tendency within a population.

    The term anawim is seen by some to be a character trait of humility.  They want to separate the notion of poor from the economically poor.  They once again feel that the poor in the Bible are not exalted.  With them there is no positive aspect of the poor, but the poor are only just in so far as they are being oppressed by others.

    The last look at the term would be to say that it is the plural form of the word ani.  Anaw is the singular case of anawim, which is only found once.  The singular anaw is found in Numbers 12:3.  It refers to Moses as being humble.  There are examples where the plural form of ani and anawim are used next to one another.  The only exception to this is in the Psalms.  If it is the case that anawim is the plural form of ani its meaning would be similar.  The meaning of anawim would then refer to the socioeconomic forms of poverty that would be due to the oppression of others.  Humbleness would no longer apply.  God would still be concerned for these poor, but it would be based upon justice for the oppressed not upon piety.  Regardless of these differences the term anawim still refers to the poor who are being oppressed by others, and the hope that God brings them.  In certain circumstances it can refer to the humble and pious.  

 

 

    A scribe is described as a person of the class of literate professionals ranging from copiers to secretaries, and other government officials in the earlier Old Testament periods, to special scholars and teachers of the Torah from after the Babylonian exile through the New Testament periods.  These scribes were very well educated.  There is no direct evidence of scribal schools, but they are thought to have been in the major cities.

    The first mention of a scribe in the Old Testament is in the Song of Deborah.  This scribe is mentioned to be a muster officer, who is a person in charge of a group.  The chief scribe at the Jerusalem court was a high cabinet officer concerned with finance, policy, and administration.  Another scribe of the Old Testament was Baruch.  He is known for recording the words of the prophet Jeremiah and was among the highest government officials.  After the exile the most well known scribe was Ezra.  He is known for being skilled in the Law of Moses.  He asked and was granted permission, by the Persian king, to lead a group of exiles back to Jerusalem.  Scribes in the Old Testament were seen as treasurers.  The scribe Zadok along with a priest and a Levite were appointed to be treasurers of a storehouse, where tithes were being brought.  After the exile many of the roles of leaders in the Jewish society overlapped.  This accounted for the many different purposes the scribe fulfilled.  The scribes are responsible for the transmission of the Biblical text.

    There are also many scribes spoke of during the Greco-Roman period.  Since the scribes were learned they were appointed to government offices and councils.  The Greeks had many needs for people with scribal skills.  Often scribes were community officials with access to the king, and they were responsible for supervising observance of the law.  Scribes were also thought to have been government record keepers.

    Scribes also play an important role in the New Testament.  In the New Testament, the scribes are seen as a unified group but that may not have been the case.  The synoptic Gospels put the scribes together in a group opposed to Jesus, but they don’t give any characteristics to the group.  In the Gospel of Mark the scribes are associated closely with the chief priest, which probably means they were high officials or advisors.  Matthew groups the Pharisees and the scribes together.  Matthew approves of the scribes and can see the role they will play in the new Christian community.  He sees them as guides for the community and guardians of tradition.  In Luke and Acts the scribes are more or less looked at as being apart of the larger group of the Pharisees.  At the time of Jesus death they are associated with the chief priests in Jerusalem.  In Acts they continue to appear as learned leaders active in protecting Judaism.  The scribes in the synoptic Gospels are seen as bureaucrats and experts on Jewish life.  The role of the scribe seems to be as associates of the priests, both in judicial proceedings and enforcement of the Jewish custom and law, and in the ongoing business of the Sanhedrin.

 

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