There's Gold in Them Thar Gills

And when they were come to Capernaum, they that received tribute money came to Peter, and said, Doth not your master pay tribute? He saith, Yes. And when he was come into the house, Jesus prevented him, saying, What thinkest thou, Simon? of whom do the kings of the earth take custom or tribute? of their own children, or of strangers? Peter saith unto him, Of strangers. Jesus saith unto him, Then are the children free. Notwithstanding, lest we should offend them, go thou to the sea, and cast an hook, and take up the fish that first cometh up; and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a piece of money: that take, and give unto them for me and thee.-Matthew 17:24-27***Months after Moses and his older brother Aaron led their fellow Israelites, and those with them, away from Egyptian slavery, across the divinely parted Red Sea, and into the desert wilderness of Shur, Moses and Aaron led them into the desert wilderness of Sinai, according to the commands of the Lord God. Near the region of Mount Sinai, the Israelites heard the voice of the Lord God proclaim the Ten Commandments to them, and the Lord God began giving Moses judgments, statutes and laws for the Israelites, the treasured and chosen people of the Lord God. When Moses was with the Lord God upon Mount Sinai for 40 days and nights, the Lord God gave Moses commands and showed Moses the likeness for the tabernacle and other sacred items the Israelites were to make. The Lord God told Moses that all Israelite men 20 years old and older were to pay a ransom of 1/2 a shekel offering to the Lord God to keep a plague from being in their midst. A shekel was a small amount of silver, and a 1/2 shekel amounted to approximately 1/5 of an ounce of silver. The Lord God told Moses that the offering was atonement money and was to be used as necessary at the tabernacle,  the transportable Tent of Meeting wherein the Lord God would dwell among the Israelites and meet with them. During the 40th year of their journey to Canaan, the Promised Land, Aaron died and was buried upon Mount Hor, and Moses went upon Mount Nebo. The Lord God showed Moses the Promised Land, and Moses died and was divinely buried. Joshua, Moses' successor, led the Israelites across the divinely parted Jordan River and onto the land that the Lord God promised to give to Abraham (Abram the Hebrew), and to Abraham's son Isaac, and to Isaac's youngest fraternal twin son Jacob (Israel), and to their descendants. Over 400 years after Joshua died and was buried in his tribe's portion of the Promised Land, Solomon, the 2nd son born to King David and Bathsheba, became the 3rd king to reign over all of the Israelites. In Jerusalem, Solomon built the temple of the Lord according to the instructions David understood in writing from the hand of the Lord God upon him. From thenceforward, the temple was the place wherein the priests served the Lord God. Rehoboam, the son born to Solomon and Naamah, was the 4th king to reign over all of the Israelites. After Rehoboam gave a specific answer, the Israelites split into 2 kingdoms, according to the will of the Lord God, due to the idolatry and other wickedness of Solomon. Judah was the nation in the south, Jerusalem was the royal city and Rehoboam was the 1st king to reign. Israel was the northern nation, Samaria was the final royal city and Jeroboam was the 1st king to reign. Less than 200 years after Jeroboam's son Nadab became the 2nd king to rule the northern nation of Israel, the Assyrians invaded the kingdom, took Israelites to Assyria, and conquered Samaria, according to the will of the Lord God, due to the idolatry and other wickedness of the Israelites. Less than 125 years after Samaria was conquered, the Babylonians (Chaldeans) invaded Judah, looted the temple, took Israelites to Babylon, and conquered Jerusalem, according to the will of the Lord God, due to the idolatry and other wickedness of the Israelites. Moreover, the Babylonians burned the temple, the palaces and other buildings. Over 500 years after Israelites began returning to Judah and Jerusalem,  Jesus the Christ, the Son of God, was born. Jesus was conceived of the Holy Spirit in the womb of Mary, a virgin, and Jesus was born into the tribe of Jacob's 4th born son Judah, the birth tribe of David and his descendants, all of Judah's kings, to Mary and her husband Joseph when Mary was a virgin. Approximately 30 years after Jesus was born to Joseph and Mary, Jesus was baptized in the Jordan River by Mary's relative John the Baptist. Jesus having prayed, the heavens tearing open, the Holy Spirit descended as a dove and lit upon Jesus. The Lord God in heaven audibly acknowledged his Son Jesus, and the Holy Spirit led Jesus into the desert wilderness. Jesus fasted for 40 days and nights and was tempted. Afterwards, Jesus was tended to by angels, and Jesus went to the area near John the Baptist, and John the Baptist proclaimed Jesus to be the Lamb of God taking away the sin of the world. In Galilee, Jesus told specific Israelite men, including Simon Peter, to follow him, and Jesus began to preach, teach and perform miracles among the Israelites.-Genesis 11:26-50:26, Exodus, Numbers 20:1-29, 27:12-23, Deuteronomy 7:1-26, 31:1-30, 32:44-52, 34:1-12, Joshua 1:1-4:24, 23:1-24:33, Judges 1:1-2:23, 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, 2 Kings, 1 Chronicles 1:1-34, 2:1-17, 3:1-24, 6:1-81, 7:20-29, 10:1-29:30, 2 Chronicles, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts 1:1-26

Reference Information:

custom = tele/telos = toll, an end, goal

tribute = didrachmas/didrachmon = a Greek (Grecian) silver coin, the two drachma

tribute = kenson/kensos = poll-tax, current coin of tax money payable to the Roman Empire