Lexical Summary
telónés: Tax collector, publican
Original Word: τελώνης
Part of Speech: Noun, Masculine
Transliteration: telónés
Pronunciation: te-lo'-nace
Phonetic Spelling: (tel-o'-nace)
KJV: publican
NASB: tax collectors, tax collector, collector
Word Origin: [from G5056 (τέλος - end) and G5608 (ὠνέομαι - purchased)]
1. a tax-farmer, i.e. collector of public revenue
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
tax collector
From telos and oneomai; a tax-farmer, i.e. Collector of public revenue -- publican.
see GREEK telos
see GREEK oneomai
HELPS Word-studies
5057 telṓnēs – a publican; a tax-collector, gathering public taxes from the Jews for the Romans.
[5057 /telṓnēs (literally, "paying-at-the-end") referred to the toll-house where the Romans collected taxes from the public. "Publican/tax-gatherer" (5057 /telṓnēs) is derived from telos ("a tax at the end") and ōneomai ("to buy").]
NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Originfrom
telos and
óneomaiDefinitiona farmer of taxes, i.e. a tax collector
NASB Translationcollector (1), tax collector (5), tax collectors (15).
Thayer's Greek Lexicon
STRONGS NT 5057: τελώνηςτελώνης,
τελωνου,
ὁ (from
τέλος ((which see 2)) tax, and
ὠνέομαι to buy; cf.
δημοσιώνης,
ὀψώνης,
δεκατωνης), from
Aristophanes,
Aeschines,
Aristotle,
Polybius down;
1. a renter or farmer of taxes (Latinpublicanus); among the Romans usually a man of equestrian rank.
2. a tax-gatherer, collector of taxes or tolls (Vulg.publicanus incorrectly: (so A. V. publican)), one employed by a publican or farmer-general in collecting the taxes. The tax-collectors were, as a class, detested not only by the Jews but by other nations also, both on account of their employment and of the harshness, greed, and deception, with which they prosecuted it; (hence, they are classed by Artemidorus Daldianus, oneir. 1, 23; 4, 57, with καπηλοις καί τοῖς μετά ἀναιδειας ζῶσι καί λῃσταῖς καί ζυγοκρουσταις καί παραλογισταις ἀνθρώποις; Lucian, necyom. c. 11 puts together μοιχοί, πορνοβοσκοι καί τελῶναι καί κολακες καί συκοφανται (Theophrastus, charact. 6 (περί ἀπονοίας) πανδοχευσαι, καί πορνοβοσκησαι, καί τελωνησαι)): Matthew 5:46, 47 Rec.;
Topical Lexicon
Socio-Political BackgroundUnder Roman administration taxes were farmed out to local entrepreneurs who paid the authorities a lump sum in advance and then recouped the money—plus profit—by collecting from the populace. These contractors hired agents, the τελῶναι, who staffed toll booths, assessed customs on trade routes, and levied direct taxes. Their livelihood depended on collecting more than Rome required, so overcharging and intimidation were common. Because their work enriched the occupying power, placed them in regular contact with Gentiles, and was prone to corruption, tax collectors were viewed as collaborators and moral outcasts in first-century Jewish society.
Religious Reputation in Second Temple Judaism
Rabbinic writings list tax collectors with robbers and murderers; their testimony was inadmissible in court, and they were often barred from synagogue fellowship. This background explains why the Gospels routinely pair “tax collectors and sinners” (for example, Luke 15:1). Even legitimate collection practices could render a Jew ritually unclean, so social ostracism was both religious and patriotic. Against this backdrop the prominence of tax collectors in the Gospel narratives is striking and the Lord’s gracious dealings with them subversive to prevailing prejudices.
Survey of New Testament Occurrences
The twenty-one uses of τελώνης and its plurals appear exclusively in the Synoptic Gospels, each occurrence illustrating one of three patterns:
1. Public perception (Matthew 5:46; Matthew 18:17; Luke 7:34): tax collectors serve as extreme examples of people whom respectable Jews naturally despised.
2. Conversion and discipleship (Matthew 9:9-13; Mark 2:13-17; Luke 5:27-32): individual tax collectors respond to Jesus’ call and hospitality.
3. Illustrative teaching (Luke 3:12-13; Luke 18:9-14; Matthew 21:28-32): their moral transformation or humility contrasts with religious complacency.
Jesus’ Fellowship with Tax Collectors
“Then Levi hosted a great banquet for Jesus at his house, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were eating with them” (Luke 5:29). Table fellowship signified acceptance; by eating with them Jesus publicly identified with those regarded as irredeemable. When critics protested, He answered, “I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance” (Luke 5:32). His actions embodied Hosea 6:6, cited in Matthew 9:13, revealing the Messiah’s mission to extend covenant mercy rather than reinforce social exclusions.
Call of Levi (Matthew)
Levi’s immediate obedience—“and Levi got up, left everything, and followed Him” (Luke 5:28)—demonstrates the power of Christ’s summons. Church tradition recognizes this former tax collector as Matthew, author of the Gospel bearing his name. The radical redirection of a life once marked by greed into apostolic service underscores the transforming grace available to the worst of sinners.
Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector
Luke 18:10-14 contrasts outward religiosity with contrite faith. The Pharisee recites his virtues; the tax collector pleads, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!” (Luke 18:13). Jesus concludes, “I tell you, this man, rather than the other, went home justified” (Luke 18:14). Justification flows from humble dependence on divine mercy, not merit—a fundamental Gospel truth Paul later articulates in Romans and Galatians.
John the Baptist’s Ethical Directive
When “tax collectors came to be baptized” (Luke 3:12), John did not demand they abandon their vocation but required integrity: “Collect no more than you are authorized” (Luke 3:13). Repentance thus entailed moral reform within one’s occupation, anticipating New Testament teaching that believers should remain in their callings while honoring God by righteousness and fairness (1 Corinthians 7:17-24).
Ecclesial Discipline and Missional Implications
“If he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector” (Matthew 18:17). The verse presupposes the ongoing social connotations of τελῶναι: persistent, willful sin places a professing believer outside the fellowship, just as tax collectors once stood outside Israel’s religious community. Yet Matthew’s own conversion and Jesus’ outreach prove that exclusion is never the final word; restoration remains the goal for anyone who repents.
Themes for Contemporary Ministry
• Grace transcends social stigma: no category of sinner lies beyond Christ’s reach.
• True repentance produces ethical change, whether by abandoning dishonesty (Luke 19:8 with Zacchaeus, a chief tax collector) or conducting business justly (Luke 3:13).
• Humility, not heritage or performance, secures justification (Luke 18:14).
• The church mirrors Jesus’ example when it welcomes outcasts without condoning sin, offering both compassionate fellowship and a call to repentance.
Conclusion
The Gospel treatment of τελῶναι magnifies the breadth of divine mercy, confronts self-righteousness, and models evangelistic engagement with those deemed least acceptable. From Levi’s penning of the first Gospel to the parable that anchors justification by faith, the once-despised tax collector becomes a vivid testimony that “where sin increased, grace increased all the more” (Romans 5:20).
Forms and Transliterations
τελωναι τελώναι τελῶναι τελωνην τελώνην τελωνης τελώνης τελωνων τελωνών τελωνῶν telonai telônai telōnai telō̂nai telonen telōnēn telṓnen telṓnēn telones telōnēs telṓnes telṓnēs telonon telonôn telōnōn telōnō̂n
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