Poor. This word, in the Scriptures, often denotes
n<. i so much a man destitute of the good things of this world, as a man sensible of his spiritual wants. In ibis sense the greatest and richest men of the world are on a level with the poorest in the eyes of God. [n the fol- lowing treatment of the subject we make considerable us,. ,,| tin- art. in Smith's Did. of thi I "
I. Hebrew and Greek terms so rendered in the \.V.
These are: 1. """-X. ebySn (Sept jrrwx<5fi v*ulg. /hui-
'"•. dal (7rii>nc; pauper); 3. ~^-~. chelekdh
i-r..>V'r: pauper); I. ""C". misken {irtvnc ; pauper),
a word of later usage; 6. f13S, inn'ih. Chald. i Han. iv,
27 ' i - vnc; paupi • i ; from same root as. 6. '"J. ant, lie' word most usually "poor" in A. V. (71 7rn.*\o(', irkvnc; indigens, pauper. Also Zech. ix, '.), and [sa. \\\i. »'•. wpavc; pauper); 7. CJ1, rdsh, part ol 'l-'" r.i-Hi'iu;: pauper). In 2 Sam. \ii. I, IZJStl; irtvnc, -r„'\ ■■•;. 8. Poverty; """*;. machsdr, hick itroui: egestas). In the N. T., ima\6c, /""'/"/•.ami irtvnc; egenus, once onlj (2 Cor. i.\. 9). " Poor" is also
POOR
401
POOR
used in the sense of "afflicted," "humble," etc., e. g. Matt, v, 3.
II. Jacish Enactments.— The, general kindly spirit of the law towards the poor is sufficiently shown by such passages as Dent, xv, 7, for the reason that (ver. 11) " the poor shall never cease out of the land ;" and a re- markable agreement with some of its directions is expressed in Job xx, 19; xxiv, 3 sq., where among acts of oppression are particularly mentioned "taking (away) a pledge," and withholding the sheaf from the poor "(vers. 9, 10; xxix, 12, 16; xxxi, 17), "eating with" the poor (comp. Deut. xxvi, 12, etc.). See also such passages as Ezek. xviii, 12, 16, 17; xxii, 29; Jer. v, 28 ; xxii, 13, 16 ; Isa. x, 2 ; Amos ii, 7 ; Zech. vii, 10, and Ecclus. iv, 1, 4; vii, 32 ; Tobit xii. 8, 9. See Alms. Among the special enactments in their favor the fol- lowing must be mentioned:
1. The right of gleaning. The " corners" of the Held were not to be reaped, nor all the grapes of the vine- yard to be gathered, the olive-trees not to be beaten a second time, but the stranger, fatherless, and widow to be allowed to gather what was left. So, too, if a sheaf forgotten was left in the field, the owner was not to re- turn for it, but leave it for them (Lev. xix, 9, 10 ; Deut, xxiv, 19, 21). Of the practice in such cases in the times of the Judges the story of Ruth is a striking illustra- tion (Ruth ii, 2, etc.). See Corner; Gleaning.
2. From the produce of the land in sabbatical years the poor and the stranger were to have their portion (Exod, xxiii, 11; Lev. xxv, 6).
3. Re-entry upon land in the jubilee year, with the limitation as to town homes (Lev. xxv, 25-30). See Jubilee.
4. Prohibition of usury, and of retention of pledges, i. e. loans without interest enjoined (Lev. xxv, 35, 37 ; Exod. xxii, 25-27 ; Deut, xv, 7, 8 ; xxiv, 10-13). See Loan.
5. Permanent bondage forbidden, and manumission of Hebrew bondsmen or bondswomen enjoined in the sabbatical and jubilee years, even when bound to a for- eigner, and redemption of such previous to those years (Deut. xv, 12-15 ; Lev. xxv, 39-42, 47-54). See Slav- ery.
6. Portions from the tithes to be shared by the poor after the Levites (Deut. xiv, 28; xxvi, 12,"l3). See Tithes.
7. The poor to partake in entertainments at the feasts of Weeks and Tabernacles (Deut. xvi, 11, 14; see Neh. viii, 10).
8. Daily payment of wages (Lev. xix, 13).
On the other hand, while equal justice was com- manded to be done to the poor man, he was not allowed to take advantage of his position to obstruct the admin- istration of justice (Exod. xxiii, 3; Lev. xix, 15).
On the law of gleaning the Rabbinical writers founded a variety of definitions and refinements, which, notwith- standing their minute and frivolous character, were on the whole strongly in favor of the poor. They are col- lected in the treatise of Maimonides's Miihnoih Ainim, translated by Prideaux (Ugolino, viii, 721), and speci- mens of their character will appear in the following titles: There are, he says, thirteen precepts, seven af- firmative and six negative, gathered from Lev. xix, xxiii; Deut. xiv, xv, xxiv. On these the following questions are raised and answered : What is a " corner," a " handful?" What is to "forget" a sheaf? What is a "stranger?" What is to be done when a field or a single tree belongs to two persons; and further, when one of them is a Gentile, or when it is divided by a road or by water; when insects or enemies destroy the crop? How much grain must a man give by way of alms? Among prohibitions is one forbidding any proprietor to frighten away the poor by a savage beast. An Israelite is forbidden to take alms openly from a Gentile. Un- willing almsgiving is condemned, on the principle ex- pressed in Job xxx, 25. Those who gave less than their due proportion were to be punished. Mendicants are di- vided into two classes, settled poor and vagrants. The VIII.— C c