Nehemiah 10:32

The third part of a shekel. It is not stated who were to make this contribution for the upkeep of the Temple service, but it was a well-known custom. This payment was evidently a revival of the Mosaic precept (Ex. 30:13) that every man of 20 years of age and upward should give half a shekel as an offering to the Lord, a tribute still required in Christ’s day (Matt. 17:24). In consideration of the poverty of the greater portion of the community, this tax was now lowered to a third of a shekel for each man. The opinion of Ibn Ezra, the great Jewish commentator of the Middle Ages, that a third of a shekel was to be paid in addition to the half shekel levied in conformity with the law, is unsupported by the text.

For the service. This fund was not for building expenses or for repair work on the Temple, but for maintaining the regular Temple services. According to v. 33 this tax was to be used to supply the shewbread, the continual meat and burnt offerings (Num. 28:3-8), sacrifices for the Sabbath day and the new moon (ch. 28:9-15), and for other festivals (chs. 28:16 to 29:40).