Beggar; Begging

The Mosaic law addressed poverty through structural provisions rather than a formalized system of alms. The poor had the right to glean in fields, vineyards, and olive groves after the main harvest (Lev. 19:9-10; Deut. 24:19-21); to receive the third-year tithe (Deut. 14:28-29); and to borrow without interest from fellow Israelites (Ex. 22:25; Lev. 25:35-37). The Deuteronomic ideal was that 'there need be no poor among you' (Deut. 15:4) if the community practiced covenant generosity, though the realism of verse 11 — 'there will always be poor in the land' — acknowledges ongoing need.

Street begging as a visible practice became more prominent in the Second Temple period, when the blind, lame, and destitute positioned themselves at temple gates and city entrances to appeal for alms (Acts 3:2-3; John 9:8; Mark 10:46). Almsgiving was a recognized pillar of Jewish piety alongside prayer and fasting (Tob. 12:8). Jesus's teaching emphasized quiet generosity without public display (Matt. 6:2-4), and his healings of beggars were understood as fulfillments of Isaiah's messianic signs (Matt. 11:5). The apostolic community's care for the poor became a defining mark of early Christian communal life (Acts 2:44-45; Gal. 2:10).