Publican: One who farmed the taxes (e.g., Zacchaeus,)
(Luke 19:2) to be levied from
a town or district, and thus undertook to pay to the supreme
government a certain amount. In order to collect the taxes, the
publicans employed subordinates
(Luke 5:27; 15:1; 18:10) who, for their
own ends, were often guilty of extortion and peculation. In New
Testament times these taxes were paid to the Romans, and hence were
regarded by the Jews as a very heavy burden, and hence also the
collectors of taxes, who were frequently Jews, were hated, and were
usually spoken of in very opprobrious terms. Jesus was accused of
being a "friend of publicans and sinners"
(Luke 7:34)
