Matthew 17 Footnotes

17:24-27 The historicity of this event is questioned by a number of scholars. Some have suggested that the passage is a later insertion, reflecting a common concern of the early church. Such theories, however, are highly suspect. Payment of the temple tax was not an issue in the early church, and thus it is far more likely that the episode dates back to Jesus’s life. Coins have been found in the mouths of fish from the Sea of Galilee. This coin is a stater, equivalent to four drachmas.