The Poor

Occurrences in Scripture

The Old Testament law contains several provisions protecting the poor. At harvest, the corners of the field and the fallen gleanings were to be left for others (Leviticus 19:9-10), and no interest was to be charged to a poor neighbor (Exodus 22:25). Debts were to be released every seventh year (Deuteronomy 15), and the Jubilee was to be observed every fifty years (Leviticus 25). Deuteronomy 15:11 declares, "For the poor shall never cease out of the land," and therefore commands the people to open their hand wide to their brother. Proverbs 19:17 says that "he that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the LORD." The prophet Amos charged Israel with selling "the poor for a pair of shoes" (Amos 2:6).

In the New Testament, Jesus read from Isaiah 61 in the synagogue at Nazareth and declared that he had been anointed "to preach the gospel to the poor" (Luke 4:18). "Blessed be ye poor" (Luke 6:20) and "Blessed are the poor in spirit" (Matthew 5:3) open the Beatitudes. Paul gathered a collection for the poor saints in Jerusalem (Romans 15:26), and James 2 warns against discriminating against the poor within the church.

Background and Original Languages

Ancient Israel was an agrarian society dependent on the land. Losing one's land or the head of one's household therefore meant losing one's livelihood. This is why the law grouped the fatherless, the widow, and the stranger together with the poor as those to be protected (Deuteronomy 24:19-21). The account of Ruth gleaning in the field of Boaz (Ruth 2) shows these provisions being carried out in practice.

The Hebrew terms include ʿani (one brought low by affliction), ʾebyon (the needy), and dal (the weak). In the Psalms, the poor are sometimes portrayed as overlapping with the godly who rely on God alone. The Greek word ptōchos, used in the Beatitudes, denotes a state of poverty so severe that one can scarcely survive without the help of others.

Significance Across Scripture

The Old Testament emphasizes that God hears the cry of the poor and vindicates them against injustice. The New Testament carries this theme forward, presenting the preaching of the gospel to the poor as a sign that the kingdom of God has come (Luke 7:22). Paul made the fact that Christ, "though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor" (2 Corinthians 8:9), the basis for believers' sharing with one another.

Interpretation and Debates

• Differences between Matthew and Luke: Matthew's "poor in spirit" is commonly read as the humility of recognizing one's own inadequacy before God. Many interpreters hold that Luke's "poor" also includes actual economic poverty. Some interpreters read the two expressions together, while others place greater emphasis on either the spiritual or the social meaning.
• "Ye have the poor with you always": This saying in Mark 14:7 is sometimes cited as grounds for treating poverty as unavoidable. Many interpreters point out, however, that its background text, Deuteronomy 15:11, continues with the command, "therefore I command thee, saying, Thou shalt open thine hand wide."
• Theological emphases: Latin American liberation theology championed a "preferential option for the poor," and Korean minjung theology of the 1970s placed the suffering common people at the center of biblical interpretation. Evangelicals often speak of relief work and social responsibility while also emphasizing evangelism. Prosperity theology, which reads 2 Corinthians 8:9 as a promise of material wealth, has been criticized by theologians from many denominations.

In the Korean Church

In the Korean church, the term frequently appears in sermons on the Beatitudes and in exhortations to almsgiving. Many churches help their neighbors through offerings for the needy and through sharing events during the holidays or at Thanksgiving. The year-end Salvation Army red kettle is known as one of the best-known fundraising drives for neighbors in need.