publican

publican [Lat.,=state employee], in ancient Rome, man who was employed by the state government under contract. As early as c.200 BC there was a class of men in Rome accustomed to undertaking contracts involving public works and tax collecting; the tax collectors made the most profit. The publicans were usually equites , or capitalists. In the Gospels—which showed the general detestation, particularly in Asia Minor, Syria, and Palestine, in which the publicans were held—the publicans mentioned were tax collectors. From the 1st cent. AD the abuses of the publicans began to be corrected, and by the end of the 2d cent. the publicans as a group had disappeared.

publican in ancient Roman and biblical times, a collector or farmer of taxes. The word is used chiefly in biblical translations and allusions, as in reference to Matthew 11:9, ‘Why eateth your Master with publicans and sinners?’

publican. The word used in the traditional English versions of the Bible to translate the Greek term τελώυnς (Lat. publicanus), a member of one of the financial organizations which farmed the taxes in the service of the Roman government. The system led to abuses and corruption; the publicans were generally hated.