Moneychangers

The moneychangers in the Jerusalem temple provided the half-shekel required for the annual temple tax (Ex. 30:13–15), exchanging the various foreign currencies carried by diaspora Jews into the Tyrian shekel, which the temple accepted. They set up tables in the Court of the Gentiles, especially in the weeks before Passover when pilgrims from across the known world converged on Jerusalem. A premium (commission) was charged for the exchange.

Jesus drove the moneychangers out of the temple on at least one occasion — the Synoptics place it during Passion Week (Matt. 21:12–13; Mark 11:15–17; Luke 19:45–46), while John places a similar act at the beginning of his ministry (John 2:13–17). Jesus cited Isaiah 56:7 ("my house shall be called a house of prayer") and Jeremiah 7:11 ("den of robbers") as he overturned the tables and drove them out, denouncing the commercial exploitation of the sacred space.