One day Helon was present at the evening-sacrifice, and was witness of a novel scene. He was standing beside the thirteen chests, which were placed in the court of the Women. Each of these chests was inscribed with the name of the gift which was to be deposited in it. Some were for the capitation tax, others, for the money which remained over and above of the destined sum when the victim had been purchased; others, for voluntary gifts for the benefit of the temple. A Jew of Cyrene came to bring the capitation tax of his countrymen. The law had enacted as follows: “The Lord spake unto Moses, saying, when thou takest the sum of the children of Israel, they shall give every man a ransom for his soul unto the Lord, when thou numberest them, that there may be no plague among them when thou numberest them: this shall they give, every one that is numbered a half-shekel, according to the shekel of the sanctuary: a half-shekel shall be the offering of the Lord. Every one, from twenty years and upwards, shall give an offering to the Lord; the rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less, than a half-shekel, that it may be for a memorial unto the children of Israel before the Lord, to make an atonement for your souls.”[131] The shekel is a coin which contains twenty gerahs,[132] and has at different times been of different values, but since the time of the high-priest Simon, has been equal to a Grecian stater. The coin, as struck by him, has a beautiful stamp: on the one side is seen, in the centre, the budding rod of Aaron, with the legend around it, “The holy Jerusalem:” on the other side is a pot of manna, and the words “Shekel of Israel.” Whole and half shekels were coined. It was such a half-shekel that every Jew of twenty years and upwards was bound to give, as an acknowledgment of his belonging to the people of Jehovah. It might be considered as a capitation tax levied in the last month of the ecclesiastical year. On the first day of this month, Adar, the Sanhedrim sent messengers through the whole country, who demanded the half-shekel, and fifteen days were given for the payment. On the fifteenth day of Adar, the receivers of the half-shekel took their seats beside the chests, in the court of the Women, and all who were twenty years and upwards brought their contribution. If any one neglected to do so, compulsory measures were resorted to, in order to obtain it. To the very poorest persons a further respite of a year was granted, and for this reason a chest for the past year was placed by that which received the contributions of the present. At this time a multitude of the poorer class were seen soliciting alms from the rich, to enable them to discharge their debt. This was the only kind of begging which the law allowed in Israel. Strangers, who came to Jerusalem chiefly at the festivals, were accustomed to take these opportunities of discharging the debt, especially at the Passover, which was some weeks later than the day of