one of the branches of the king of Persia's revenues ( Ezra 4:13 ; 7:24 ), probably a tax levied from those who used the bridges and fords and highways.
TOLL
tol:
(1) Aramaic middah, "toll" or "tribute" paid by a vassal nation to its conqueror (Ezra 4:20; 6:8; Nehemiah 5:4); written also mindah (Ezra 4:13; 7:24). More accurately for halakh, "toll," or "way tax" (Ezra 4:13,10; 7:24). In New Testament times the Romans had placed throughout Palestine many toll stations (telonion). Levi the publican was stationed at such a tax office (Matthew 9:9; Mark 2:14; Luke 5:27); compare telones, a "tax collector" or "publican." The tax which the Jews paid toward the support of the temple, a didrachma, is called telos, "toll" (Matthew 17:25), the same as the word rendered "tribute" (Romans 13:7).
Edward Bagby Pollard
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