Beg

Begging and poverty are treated seriously in biblical law and wisdom literature. Mosaic law commanded regular provision for the poor through gleaning rights, sabbatical year debt release, and tithes (Exodus 23:11; Deuteronomy 15:11; Leviticus 19:10). Psalm 37:25 famously claims the psalmist has never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread—an expression of trust in divine provision, not a denial of poverty's existence. The New Testament shows beggars at the temple gate (Acts 3:2) and Bartimaeus crying by the roadside (Mark 10:46). Jesus's beatitude on the poor in spirit (Matthew 5:3) and Luke's version on the poor (Luke 6:20) reflect deep engagement with the theology of dependence.