It was a common eschatological idea that before the Judgment could come evils of all kinds would greatly increase. This idea is found, e.g., in the Apocalyptic Discourse, and the coining of great tribulation is predicted (Mk 13'"; cf. Zeph V\ Dn 12'). ' The inhabitants of the earth . . . shall fall into many tribulations. . . . And it will come to pass when they will say in their thoughts by reason of their much tribulation: "The Mighty One doth no longer remember the earth " — yea, it will come to pass when they abandon hope, that the time will then awake ' {Apoc. Bar. xxv. 3, 4). The faithful martyrs who have come out of the great tribulation will receive the highest place of honour in heaven (Rev 7"). To the wicked the Judgment is ' the day of tribulation ' (4 Ezr. ii. 27 RV ; cf. 1 En. i. 1, xcvi. 2), when they shall be recompensed for the tribulation which they have inflicted on the righteous (2 Th !«'■).
I.ITKRATCRE. — J. Weiss, Die Sckri/ten rfcs NT, Gottingen, 3907, s.v. 'Trubsal' in Index ; P. Volz, .JO-di.<!che Kschatolvijie, Tubingen, l«0:i, J 31 ; VCG, t.v. ; John Foster, Lectures, London, 1853, lect. xli. WlI,LI.\M VVaTSON.
TRIBUTE. — The Roman system of taxation prevailed generally in tho.se countries where Christians were living in the Apostolic Age. The taxes were of two kinds, viz. (1) indirect, such as customs-d\ity levicil on merchandise in transit ; and (2) direct, consisting of (a) taxes imposed upon products of the land (trihutum .mli or rii/ri) and (6) poll-tax (trihutum cnpiti.s). The indirect taxes were commonly controlled by local authorities who farmed them out to the so-called 'publicans.' The publican paid the Government a lixed sum for the privilege of collecting the customs from a given territory, reimbiirsing himself and paj-ing his subordinates out of the surplus. Although the amount to be collected on ditlerent articles was probably in most cases fixed by law (see especially the I'almyrene inscription edited by Scbroeder in SBA W, 1884, pp. 417-438), the collector frequently
grew rich on the prolits ; and it is not improbable that he often made excessive a.sscssments (cf. l.k 3'» 19"). On the other hand, the direct taxes— the ' tribute ' projier — were not farmcil out, but were collected by Roman ollicials. Levies on the pro- ducts of the soil were paid partly in kind and partly in money, and the poll-tax was |iaid in Imperial coinage (Lk 20'-'). I'rom time to time in
the |irovinces a census was taken (cf. L.k 2'") as a basis for regulating taxation.
Christians in apostolic times must have been quite familiar with all these forms of taxation, although the Christian writings of the period contain only a few references to these matters. It is true that the publicans (reXii-ai) appear some- what frequently in the Gospels (8 times in Mt., 3 times in Mk., 10 times in Lk. ; also tAos in Mt 17-", Ro 13'; and TfXiinoc in Mt U" || Mk 2" || Lk S^), but reference to direct taxation — the payment of ' tribute ' — is less frequent. In Ro 13,"'- St. Paul admonishes his readers to pay tribute (if>lipov%) as a matter of conscience, since rulers are God's instru- ments in the preservation of civic order. All three Synoptic Go.spels report an incident in which Jesus had advised submission to the existing order, even to the extent of paying the Imperial tribute (K7>(ro5, Lat. census, Mt 22"- •", Mk 12'"- ; l)ut 04pos in Lk 20='- 23'^ and Siji-dpiov in Lk 20^). The dues payable to the Temple in Jerusalem are also spoken of as 'tribute' (x^ro-oj) in Mt 17-', where Jesus again advised submission for jiractical reasons, although affirming that ideally Christians were free from this obligation.
Literature. — J. J. Wetstein, Novum Tettamentum Grifcum, Amsterdam, ITiJl-.'iS. i. ,^14-31(5 ; J. Marquardt, llominche Stadtsrcrwaltunt/, ii.- [Leipzip. 1884] ISOff., 2GlfT., 2S1) IT. ; B. P. Grenfell and J. P. Mahaffy, Revenue Laws o) l'li>lnny Philuiieljilnw, r)\ford, 1890; U. Wilcken, GrifchUche itntraka avs .{efiyi'ten vnd Atj/./i'/i, Leipzi)^', 1899, i. 194 ff. ; E. Schurer, OVr "i.-" [Leijizig, 19U1J 474fl., ClUff.
S. J. Cask. TRINITY.— See GoD.
TRIUMPH.— This verb (Bpiaii^tvuv) is used in later Greek as the equivalent of the Latin tri- umphare, to which it seems to be etymologically akin. It occurs twice in the NT— 2 Co 2", Col 2''. In Col 2" the Crucilixion is represented as the triumph which crowns the Holy \Var of redemption. As the Roman con(iueror led the vanquished cap- tives in triumphal procession up to the Capitol and offered them to the supreme God, so in exalting to His right hand the Criicilied Christ, by whom He has reconciled us unto Himself in the body of His Hesb through death, God led in triumjih the ' prin- cipalities and powers,' the world-governing s|>irits who are unfriendly to man, and to whose dominion man in the state of nature is sulijected. Tlie thought of the passage is similar to that of 1 Co 2', where the spirit-rulers of this world are repre- sented as ignor;intly bringing about that cruci- fixion through which their own power is brought to naught (1 Co 15-''). In 2 Co 2'* the general mean- ing is clear. ' In a magnificent figure Paul repre- sents himself as by (iod's ordinance sharing, in bis travels through the world, the triumph Christ is celebrating over all that has withstood His cause ' (A. Menzies, Tlie Second Epistle to the Cor- inthians, 1912, p. 17). But in what capacity — as conqueror or as captive ? The only meaning which the known usage of the word justifies is that St. Paul himself is the most auspicious trophy of tin; conquering power of Christ (Ileinrici, Rousset). Many modern commentators, however (Schmiedel, Menzies, etc.), give the verb an active sense, ' maketh us to triumph ' (AV), on the ground that, tliough no lexical parallel is found, the sense of the passage requires it. Others (Theodoret, Lietz- mann) take the word in the more general sense of