# Tax Coin in a Fish's Mouth

Life of Jesus · Draft · BSB

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Date: Ministry in Galilee. A guided comparison of Gospel accounts, not a measured calendar or a claim that every parallel follows the same sequence.

In Capernaum, Peter is asked whether Jesus pays the temple tax. Jesus discusses the freedom of a king’s children, then directs Peter to obtain a coin from a fish and pay for them both to avoid offense.

The passage records the instruction but does not separately narrate Peter catching the fish. This is the two-drachma temple payment, distinct from the later question about paying Caesar.

## Primary Scripture

[Matthew 17:24–27 (BSB)](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2017%3A24%E2%80%9327&version=BSB)

17:24 After they had arrived in Capernaum, the collectors of the two-drachma tax came to Peter and asked, “Does your Teacher pay the two drachmas?”

17:25 “Yes,” he answered. When Peter entered the house, Jesus preempted him. “What do you think, Simon?” He asked. “From whom do the kings of the earth collect customs and taxes: from their own sons, or from others?”

17:26 “From others,” Peter answered. “Then the sons are exempt,” Jesus said to him.

17:27 “But so that we may not offend them, go to the sea, cast a hook, and take the first fish you catch. When you open its mouth, you will find a four-drachma coin. Take it and give it to them for My tax and yours.”

## Related Scripture

[Exodus 30:11–16 · teaching](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus%2030%3A11%E2%80%9316&version=BSB)

The sanctuary contribution supplies background for the discussion of a religious payment.

## Location evidence

Matthew explicitly names Capernaum. The instruction sends Peter to the sea without identifying an exact fishing spot.

Event map marker: Identified site; \[longitude, latitude\] = \[35.57516, 32.88059\]. This is a teaching marker, not an exact event venue.

Capernaum: Identified site. Coordinates \[longitude, latitude\]: \[35.57516, 32.88059\]. Classification source: rule.

[Digital Atlas of the Roman Empire](http://dare.ht.lu.se/places/33337)

[Digital Atlas of the Roman Empire](http://dare.ht.lu.se/places/33337)

## For the class

How do freedom and consideration for others appear together in Jesus’s answer?

## Interpretation and reuse

Narrative order is a reading arrangement, not a proven chronology. Dates retain their stated uncertainty. An identified locality does not establish the exact venue or prove an event. Region extents and routes are illustrative, not surveyed boundaries or ancient roads. Draft material has not completed editorial review.

Record source: theographic (409)

Record source: editorial

Events and places adapted from Theographic Bible Metadata (github.com/robertrouse/theographic-bible-metadata), CC BY-SA 4.0. This adapted data is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Place coordinates from OpenBible.info Bible Geocoding Data, CC BY 4.0.

Teaching stops, summaries and regional extents are original editorial content of this atlas.

Berean Standard Bible (BSB), public domain. https://berean.bible/licensing.htm

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