Matthew 17:24

The two-drachma tax was a Jewish tax that every male Jew between 20 and 50 years of age had to pay toward the maintenance of the temple and its services (Exodus 30:13). There was no two-drachma coin in circulation at this time, so two adults often went together and paid one shekel that was worth four drachmas. [Note: Carson, "Matthew," p. 393. Cf. Josephus, Antiquities of . . ., 3:8:2; 18:9:1; and Mishnah Shekalim.]