Probably everyone has ever heardstatement: "Caesar is Caesar's, and God belongs to Gods." However, not everyone understands the meaning of this phraseological unit. Moreover, few people know the history of this catch phrase.
Although there are numerous variations of thissayings, in the original source, it sounds like this: “Give Caesarean to Caesar and God to God.” The essence of the idiom is transmitted using another, equally well-known idiom: "To each his own." Sometimes the meaning of this idiom is interpreted as everyone should get what they deserve (what they should be).
Before you learn about the history of the emergence of this phraseological unit, it is worth clarifying who was called Caesar and why someone had to give him something.
As you know, the first Roman emperor wasthe great commander and thinker Julius Caesar. After him, the Roman Empire was never able to return to the republic. After Julius Caesar, she was always ruled by emperors. Since they all honored the first carrier of this title, at first they added to the list of their names and the name of the great Guy Julius - Caesar.
A few years later the word "Caesar" from a proper name turned into a common noun - a synonym for "emperor". Since then, in Rome, every ruler was called Caesar.
From the Latin language spoken inRoman Empire, the word "Caesar" moved to the other. However, the Latin word “caesar” was read differently in different countries, since the letter “c” sounded like [k] for some, and like [q] for others, and s could be read as [s] or as [ h]. Due to this, in other languages the word "Caesar" was pronounced as "Caesar", in particular in Slavic, although both versions were used here. By the way, over the years, "Caesar" has become a "king" - so began to call the rulers, as in the Roman Empire.
Having understood, Caesar - who it is, it is worth clarifying the author of the famous phrase. It belongs to Jesus Christ, one of the most famous personalities in the history of mankind.
As you know, at the time when Jesus lived, histhe homeland was long ago conquered by the Romans and turned into one of the provinces. And although the invaders rather well controlled the Israeli people, respecting their culture and religion, the descendants of Abraham dreamed of liberating themselves. Therefore, periodically there were conspiracies and rebellions. But the Roman authorities managed to suppress them. Despite this, the hatred of the invaders among the people was strong. The Pharisees knew about this - one of the strongest religious organizations of the Jews, which was respected by the people and often had great power.
At a time when Jesus began to actively preachand work wonders, in a short time He gained tremendous power over the people, and the Pharisees began to envy Him. Therefore, some of their representatives were looking for a way to discredit the "competitor" in the eyes of society.
To this end, Jesus was set up various trapsand asked tricky questions. One of them concerned the tax: should it be paid to Caesar. By asking a similar question, one of the Pharisees hoped to catch Christ at his word. After all, if He takes the side of the people and answers “No, do not pay,” the Pharisees will be able to declare him a rebel and give it to the Romans. If Jesus agrees that the tribute to the hated Romans should still be paid, the people will turn away from Him.
But as stated in the Bible, Christ could readthoughts and see people's intentions. Seeing the true purpose of the tricky question, He asked for a coin for Him. And asked the person who asked the question, whose profile is depicted on it.
The perplexed Pharisee answered that he was Caesar (Caesar). Jesus said to him in response to this: "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God — Gods."
The meaning of a phraseological unit in this case implied that everyone should give what should. Caesar - coins with his face, which he introduced in the conquered country, and to God - praise and obedience.
Much has been said about the idiom "Caesar is Caesar's, andGod - Gods. The meaning of the idiom, its author and history of appearance are now known to us. It is necessary to clarify exactly where this catch phrase is mentioned. Of course, in the Holy Scriptures. Here, as many as four Gospels tell of the life of Christ, as well as of His acts. In them, in their own words, the students tried to describe what they remembered about the Master. In three of the four Gospels there is an almost identical story about the appearance of the idiom "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and God to God-God." The meaning of the phraseological unit in these sources is also the same.
The exception is the fourth Gospel of the Apostle John, where no such incident is mentioned at all.
Among the theologians there is a version explainingalmost identical descriptions of the same event by different people in different places. It is believed that at the time of Christ there was a small book where the main theses of Jesus' sermons were recorded, but later it was lost. When writing the Gospels, the students used quotations from this book, where, perhaps, there was the famous phrase “Give Caesar's to Caesar, and God to God.” However, this theory is subject to sharp criticism, since it is unlikely that a book of such importance could simply be lost.
Almost twenty centuries have passed sincesince Christ had uttered the famous phrase: “Give to Caesar — Caesar's, and to God — Gods.” The meaning of the idiom over the years has remained unchanged, as is the case with truly wise words.
