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מֶכֶס

𐤌𐤊𐤎

mekeç

H4371 noun

SILEX Entry

Definition

A tax, levy, or tribute imposed by an authority, typically assessed based on enumeration or census for purposes of revenue collection. In biblical contexts, מֶכֶס refers to financial payments or assessments exacted by a ruling power, whether local or foreign, usually as an administrative requirement rather than a spontaneous offering. The term is most often associated with imposed taxation, especially as a requirement from a governing empire or administration.

Semantic Range

tax, assessment, tribute, levy, custom, revenue, financial imposition

Root / Etymology

Root: כסס (presumed based on contextual and morphological analysis, though not attested as a verb in Biblical Hebrew). The nominal form מֶכֶס is probably derived from the concept of assessing or assigning a due portion, especially one determined by counting or measuring. The exact root is uncertain and traditional sources often note 'root uncertain' or link to the proposal of a root meaning 'to enumerate.'

Historical & Contextual Notes

In biblical usage, מֶכֶס appears in post-exilic texts (notably Ezra 4:13; 4:20; 7:24; Nehemiah 7:24) where it refers to a form of tax or tribute imposed by imperial administrations (e.g., Persian authorities) upon territories under their control, including Judean subjects. The word denotes a type of fixed or assessed payment, often distinguished from other terms for tax or tribute, such as מַס (mas, forced labor or corvée) and מִדָּה (middah, 'toll' or 'tribute'). In these texts, מֶכֶס is one of several categories of dues—alongside tolls and road tariffs—mentioned as burdens placed on local populations. Standard English translations render מֶכֶס variously as 'tribute,' 'tax,' or 'custom,' but the term specifically refers to an assessed tax, often tied to enumeration, and distinct from types of forced service or irregular tribute. Over time, the concept shifted from primarily exactions by foreign authorities to a general term for administrative taxation. The usage is rare, confined to post-exilic administrative contexts, and is not found in earlier Israelite or monarchic periods.

Translation Consistency

primary "tax" 5 occurrences

Mekeç refers primarily to an imposed financial charge; 'tax' is the most natural, common English noun covering levy, assessment, tribute, or revenue requirement. It fits the typical biblical usage (imposed by an authority) and will read naturally and consistently across all forms.

Alternatives (1 occurrence):
"assessed levy" (1x)

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

probably from an unused root meaning to enumerate; an assessment (as based upon a census); tribute.

Bantu Hebrew

No Bantu Hebrew comparisons have been recorded for this word yet.

Root Family

כְּסס (uncertain) (mekeç) — to reckon, to assess, to enumerate (root level; uncertain)

Root כְּסס (uncertain) to reckon, to assess, to enumerate (root level; uncertain)

Word Forms

3 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2 Occurrences
H4371-03 וּ/מִכְסָ֥/ם umikhesam HC/Ncmsc/Sp3mp and their tribute and their assessed levy and their tax 3
H4371-02 מֶ֜כֶס mekhes HNcmsa a tribute assessed levy assessed tax 2
H4371-01 הַ/מֶּ֥כֶס hamekhes HTd/Ncmsa the tribute the assessed levy the assessed levy 1

Occurrences in Scripture

6 occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2
H4371-02 Numbers 31:28 מֶ֜כֶס mekhes HNcmsa a tribute assessed levy assessed tax
H4371-01 Numbers 31:37 הַ/מֶּ֥כֶס hamekhes HTd/Ncmsa the tribute the assessed levy the assessed levy
H4371-03 Numbers 31:38 וּ/מִכְסָ֥/ם umikhesam HC/Ncmsc/Sp3mp and of them and their assessed levy and their tax
H4371-03 Numbers 31:39 וּ/מִכְסָ֥/ם umikhesam HC/Ncmsc/Sp3mp and their tribute and their assessed levy and their tax
H4371-03 Numbers 31:40 וּ/מִכְסָ/ם֙ umikhesam HC/Ncmsc/Sp3mp and their tribute and their assessed levy and their tax
H4371-02 Numbers 31:41 מֶ֨כֶס֙ mekhes HNcmsa tribute assessed levy assessed tax
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