The biblical traditions constantly engage and reflect the structures and daily realities of aristocratic-controlled empires. Empires employ a proprietary theory whereby ruling elites claim a material share of all things: land, production, traded goods, and labor. The payment (often in kind) of taxes, tributes, rents, and forced labor by peasants to local and foreign elites ensures a continual source of wealth. Peasants who usually seek to supply their own needs locally are thereby forced to produce a “surplus.” Taxation does not benefit the common good. Rather, it supports the privileged lifestyle of elites. Taxation exerts control over land, its production, and those who work it, maintaining a hierarchical societal structure benefiting a few at the expense of most.
The biblical documents refer to varying forms of taxation. Claiming control of land (Gen 41:41), the Egyptian pharaoh exacted 20 percent of the crop to offset famine among his own residents (Gen 41:33-36) and nations (Gen 41:57). Subsequently, Egypt imposed another form of taxation on Israelites, that of forced labor. Israelites were forced to work “in mortar and brick” and in the fields (Exod 1:12-14). During Israel’s monarchy, Assyria took tribute from Israel (2 Kgs 15:20) and from Judah after Assyria invaded Judah in 701 bce (2 Kgs 18:13-16). A century later, Egypt exacted tribute from Judah, forcing Jehoiakim to tax the land to meet Pharaoh Neco’s demands (2 Kgs 23:28-35 ). Babylon exacted tribute after taking Jerusalem in 597-587 BCE (2 Kgs 24:13).
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