Publican

"One who farmed the taxes (e.g., Zacchaeus, Luke 19:2) to be" "levied from a town or district, and thus undertook to pay to the" supreme government a certain amount. In order to collect the "taxes, the publicans employed subordinates (5:27; 15:1; 18:10)," "who, for their own ends, were often guilty of extortion and" peculation. In New Testament times these taxes were paid to the "Romans, and hence were regarded by the Jews as a very heavy" "burden, and hence also the collectors of taxes, who were" "frequently Jews, were hated, and were usually spoken of in very" "opprobrious terms. Jesus was accused of being a "friend of" "publicans and sinners" (Luke 7:34)."