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Tosefta Shabbat

Tosefta

About this book

An inscription which runs under pictures or busts [of rulers] - they do not look at it on the Sabbath.⁠ Not only so, but also on an ordinary day they do not look at the busts, since it is said, 'Do not turn to idols or make for yourselves molten gods' (Lev. 19:4). A. R. Eleazar b. R. Yose the Galilean says, 'If you see a righteous man go on a journey and you plan to go on that same journey, push up your trip for three days or postpone it for three days on his account, so that you may go on the journey with him. On what account? 'Because angels of peace accompany him'. Since it is said, 'For he will give his angels charge of you to guard you in all your ways (Ps. 91:11).

Texts in conversation

Compare Matthew 22:21 and Tosefta Shabbat 17:1

New Testament · Rabbinic

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Summary

In Matthew, Jesus' saying about the coin and Caesar resembles Jewish tradition, found in the Tosefta, that discusses how to remain faithful while under foreign rule. Both highlight the coin’s image and inscription as symbols of imperial authority.

Passages

Matthew 22:21

New Testament
19 Show me the coin used for the tax.” So they brought him a denarius. 20 Jesus said to them, “Whose image is this, and whose inscription?” 21 They replied, “Caesar’s.” He said to them, “Then give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” 22 Now when they heard this they were stunned, and they left him and went away. 23 The same day Sadducees (who say there is no resurrection) came to him and asked him,
70–90 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Matthew

Tosefta Shabbat 17:1

Rabbinic · Tosefta
An inscription which runs under pictures or busts [of rulers] - they do not look at it on the Sabbath. Not only so, but also on an ordinary day they do not look at the busts, since it is said, 'Do not turn to idols or make for yourselves molten gods' (Lev. 19:4). A. R. Eleazar b. R. Yose the Galilean says, 'If you see a righteous man go on a journey and you plan to go on that same journey, push up your trip for three days or postpone it for three days on his account, so that you may go on the journey with him. On what account? 'Because angels of peace accompany him'.
190–230 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Tosefta Shabbat

References

"... On the practice of placing inscriptions at the base of a statue see Henderson, Pliny’s Statue, 33-36. Inscriptions often contained dedications invoking the gods or honoring a person. Scholars from Loewe to Finney have noted the connection between Jesus and the coin (Mark 12:13-17; Matthew 22:15-22; Luke 20:20-26) and Jerusalem Avodah Zarah 31:1, 42b; however, they have not noted the much closer temporal and terminological connections with Tosefta Shabbat 17:1 (eikon, legend, closer in time) ..."
Rachel Neis, The Sense of Sight in Rabbinic Culture: Jewish Ways of Seeing in Late Antiquity (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2013), 176–177.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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Matthew 22:21 and Tosefta Shabbat 17:1

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