1. Ezra 4:13 (ESV)
  2. Exposition

What were the tribute, custom, and toll?

Ezra 4:13 (ESV)

13 Now be it known to the king that if this city is rebuilt and the walls finished, they will not pay tribute, custom, or toll, and the royal revenue will be impaired.

The tribute was a fixed annual tax paid by the provinces to the king.

The custom was the rent tax in Babylonia, duty charged on merchandise.

The toll was a land tax. Estimates that between 25 and 35 million dollars (US) of taxes were annually collected by the Persian king.1