In Go(l)d We Trust: Literary and Economic Currency Exchange in the Debate over Caesar's Coin (Mark 12:13-17)

Abstract

The intricate connection between inscription, place and economics in the ancient world is carefully carved in the debate over the payment of taxes to Caesar. The application of a Marxist reading strategy that draws on historical and spatial materialism not only opens up the complex interplay of location, denarius and monetary legend in the story but also raises important questions about the incorporation of this story into further inscribed forms. Mark and Marx enter into a sustained dialogue about the ability of inscription to subvert religio-political power.