Probably, everyone at least once in his life heard the statement: "Caesar is Caesar's, and God belongs to God." However, not everyone understands the meaning of this phraseological unit. Moreover, few people know the history of this winged phrase.
What does it mean "to God - God, Caesar - Caesarean"
Although there are numerous variations of this statement, in the original source it sounds like this: “Give Caesarean to Caesar, and God to God.” The essence of phraseologism is conveyed using another, no less well-known idiom: "To each his own." Sometimes the meaning of this phraseology is interpreted as everyone should get what they deserve (what is appropriate for them).
Caesar - who is this?
Before you learn about the history of this phraseological unit, it is worth clarifying who was called Caesar and why someone should give something to him.
As you know, the first Roman emperor was the great commander and thinker Julius Caesar. After him, the Roman Empire was never able to return to the republic. After Julius Caesar, it was always ruled by emperors. Since they all revered the first bearer of this title, at first they added to the list of their names the surname 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, each ruler was called Caesar.
From the Latin language spoken in the Roman Empire, the word "Caesar" migrated to others. However, the word caesar, written in Latin, was read differently in different countries, as the letter “c” sounded like [k] in some, and [c] in others, and “s” could be read as [c] or like [ 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” turned into a “king” - so began to call the rulers, as in the Roman Empire.
Who said: “God is God, Caesar is Caesarean”?
Having understood, Caesar - who it is, it is worth clarifying the author of the famous phrase. Belongs to this is expressed by Jesus Christ - one of the most famous personalities in the history of mankind.
The history of the phraseology
As you know, at the time when Jesus lived, his homeland was long 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 freeing 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 the time when Jesus began to actively preach and work miracles, in a short time He gained immense 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 set various traps and asked tricky questions. One of them concerned the tax: should I pay it to Caesar. Having asked a similar question, one of the Pharisees expected to catch Christ by word. After all, if He takes the side of the people and answers “No, there is no need to pay,” the Pharisees will be able to declare Him a rebel and give him to the Romans. If Jesus agrees that taxes still need to be paid to the hated Romans, the people will turn away from Him.
But, as indicated in the Bible, Christ was able to read thoughts and see the intentions of people. Seeing the true purpose of the tricky question, He asked for a coin to be given to Him. And he asked the person who asked the question whose profile is depicted on it.
The perplexed Pharisee gave the answer that Caesar (Caesar). Jesus said to him in response to this: "Give Caesar - Caesarean, and God - God."
The value of phraseology in this case implied that we must give everyone what they should. Caesar - coins with his face, which he introduced in the conquered country, and to God - praise and obedience.
Where and under what circumstances was this phrase first mentioned?
Much has been said about the idiom "Caesar is Caesar's, and God is God." The meaning of phraseology, its author and the history of its appearance are now known to us. It is worth clarifying exactly where this catch phrase is mentioned. Of course, in the scriptures. Here, as many as four Gospels tell about the life of Christ, as well as His deeds. In them, the students in their own words tried to describe what they remembered about the Teacher. In three of the four Gospels, the story is almost identical to the appearance of the idiom "Give Caesar - Caesar's, and God - God." The meaning of phraseology in these sources is also the same.
An exception is the fourth Gospel of the Apostle John, where such an incident is not mentioned at all.
Among theologians there is a version explaining almost the same descriptions of the same event by different people in different places. It is believed that in 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 quotes from this book, where perhaps the famous phrase “Give Caesarean to Caesar and God to God” was used. However, this theory is sharply criticized, since it is unlikely that a book of such importance could simply be lost.
Almost twenty centuries have passed since Christ spoke the famous phrase: “Give Caesar - Caesar's, and God - God.” The meaning of phraseology over the years has remained unchanged, as is the case with truly wise words.