Wealth and Poverty in the Old Testament (II): Prophets, Wisdom, and Psalms

Wealth and Poverty in the Old Testament (II): Prophets, Wisdom, and Psalms

TAI Ho-Fai Nicholas

This is the second part of the article titled “Wealth and Poverty in the Old Testament.” It examines what the prophetic literature, wisdom traditions, and the Psalter say about wealth and poverty, what beliefs these materials represent, and what kind of normative reminder they bring to us today.

The classical prophetic literature was mainly by the prophets of the eighth century BC, who announced the doom of Israel for their failing represented to uphold God's justice (mišpāṭ) and righteousness (ṣĕdāqâ). The prophets preached against the injustices of the society and mainly targeted the dignitaries and officials, who through the misuse of economic and administrative power acquired land and wealth at the expense of the poor and the needy. In early wisdom traditions, wealth and poverty were believed to be the result of one's own hard work or laziness, and it seemed that factors like natural and man-made disasters were not considered. This was probably a simplistic conclusion derived from the early small-scale peasant society of Israel. However, in the subsequent monarchical period and the post-exilic era, with the oppression caused by the monarchy or foreign countries, the wisdom tradition then stressed God's retribution in the created order. In accordance with God's justice and righteousness, those who care for the poor are righteous in the created order; on the contrary, those who oppress the poor are evil.

In the Psalter, issues of wealth and poverty are mentioned frequently. Through the Psalms, we can understand that in the Israelites' belief, the rights of the poor, ie, justice and righteousness, must be upheld, for God is the Guarantor of Justice and Righteousness. God executes His justice and righteousness through the king, so that the stability and prosperity given by God can be achieved.