“And Zaccheus stood, and said unto the Lord; Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold.”
But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount — stood up (statheis, taking a stand) and said: the public declaration before the community. Half of my possessions to the poor and fourfold restitution for any cheating: the voluntary generosity and the generous legal restitution (the Torah required 20% over and above what was taken; Zacchaeus volunteers 300%). The present-tense verbs (I give, I will pay back) communicate immediate, current action.
COMMUNITY REFLECTIONS
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