The Bible and the 'Holy Poor': From the Tanakh to Les Misérables

by David Aberbach

The Hebrew Bible is the main legislative and literary influence on European Poor Law and on literature on poverty and the poor. No extant literature from the ancient world placed more importance upon social welfare and the duty of the better-off toward the poor. It is the founding text for liberation movements.

This book assesses why the Bible is so unambiguously positive in its view of the poor, unlike most later literary and legislative...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1138555703
• ISBN13: 9781138555709
• Release Date: October 2017
• Publisher: Routledge
• Length: 138 Pages