Hebrew word · H4371

מֶ֫כֶס

mekhes

tribute

An assessed tax, levy or computed share. It belongs to the root k-s-s, "to count, compute". The verb from that root appears in Exodus 12:4 ("you shall count" how many people share a Passover lamb), and the related noun miksâ, "computed amount, valuation", appears in Exodus 12:4 and Leviticus 27:23.

Appears 6 times in 6 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

computation, proportion to be paid, tribute, tax

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Numbers 31:28

Range of meaning

An assessed tax, levy or computed share. It belongs to the root k-s-s, "to count, compute". The verb from that root appears in Exodus 12:4 ("you shall count" how many people share a Passover lamb), and the related noun miksâ, "computed amount, valuation", appears in Exodus 12:4 and Leviticus 27:23. A mekes is the portion you reach by counting.

Against the English

KJV, WEB and BSB say "tribute". NASB-type versions say "tax". "Levy" or "tax" catches the arithmetic and administrative flavour better than "tribute". To many modern ears "tribute" suggests an honorary gesture ("a tribute to...") rather than a fixed assessed rate.

How it drifted

Older English used "tribute" for any compulsory payment to a ruler. Today the word leans toward homage or commemoration.

Used elsewhere in the period

In the Hebrew Bible the word occurs only in Numbers 31 (vv. 28, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41). The same root is common in the region's administrative vocabulary: Akkadian miksu means a share of the yield or a toll (CAD M/2). Later Hebrew uses mekes for customs duty and mōkēs for a toll-collector (e.g. Mishnah Nedarim 3:4). The Greek Septuagint renders it telos, the ordinary Greek word for a tax or toll.

From the study of Numbers 31:41

Range of meaning

A levy, tax or toll: a set proportion owed out of a total. It is related to מִכְסָה (miksāh, H4373), meaning 'count, share by calculation' (Exod 12:4; Lev 27:23). The root idea is working out a share. In the Hebrew Bible mekhes appears only in Numbers 31 (vv. 28, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41).

Against the English

KJV, BSB, WEB and YLT have 'tribute'. NASB has 'levy'. 'Levy' or 'tax' is closer. In today's English 'tribute' usually means an act of honour ('a tribute to her career'), while mekhes is about a fixed rate: exactly one in five hundred.

How it drifted

'Tribute' was a fine choice in 1611, when it chiefly meant a payment owed to an overlord. Its main sense today has moved toward praise and homage.

Used elsewhere in the period

The cognate Akkadian miksu means a toll or a share of produce owed (CAD M/2). Later Hebrew and Aramaic keep the tax sense. In the Mishnah, mekhes is customs duty and the mōkhēs is the tax collector, the class of person the Gospels call telōnēs, 'tax collector' (e.g., m. Nedarim 3:4; m. Bava Qamma 10:1). The Septuagint translates it here with telos, 'tax, toll'.

Where it appears

Numbers · 6

  1. Numbers 31:28 מֶ֜כֶס a tax

    Set aside a tribute for the LORD from what belongs to the soldiers who went into battle: one out of every five hundred, whether persons, cattle, donkeys, or sheep.

    Here: A counted, assessed portion: a levy worked out by arithmetic. The word is rare. It appears only in this chapter of the Hebrew Bible and gives the passage the feel of administration.

  2. Numbers 31:37 הַמֶּ֥כֶס the tax

    including a tribute to the LORD of 675,

  3. Numbers 31:38 וּמִכְסָ֥ם and tax their

    36,000 cattle, including a tribute to the LORD of 72,

  4. Numbers 31:39 וּמִכְסָ֥ם and tax their

    30,500 donkeys, including a tribute to the LORD of 61,

  5. Numbers 31:40 וּמִכְסָם֙ and tax their

    and 16,000 people, including a tribute to the LORD of 32.

  6. Numbers 31:41 מֶ֙כֶס֙ [the] tax of

    Moses gave the tribute to Eleazar the priest as an offering for the LORD, as the LORD had commanded Moses.

    Here: A word from tax and toll language: a set fraction taken out of a total. In the Bible it occurs only in this chapter (vv. 28, 37–41), for the 1-in-500 share taken from the soldiers' half of the plunder.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.