A person who asks for help, usually money or food. This person often lives by asking others for these things.
The Bible does not use the word “beggar” often. In the Old Testament, Hebrew words meaning “to seek” or “to ask,” or words that refer to “the poor and needy.” In the New Testament, Greek words describe people who are “poor” or “miserable,” and those who “ask for more.”
In Moses's time, there were no people who begged as a job. This was because the law made sure to take care of poor people.
The earliest laws required caring for the poor (Deuteronomy 15:11):
In the Sabbath year (every seven years), the produce of the land was left to the poor, and all debts were canceled (Leviticus 25, Exodus 23:11, Deuteronomy 15:1).
Lending generously to the poor was encouraged (Deuteronomy 15:7–11).
Hired workers were protected (Deuteronomy 24:14–15).
The goal was that “there will be no poor among you” (Deuteronomy 15:4). When the Israelites first settled in their land, everyone had about the same amount of wealth.
Digging at Tirsah near Nablus found that the size of houses in the tenth century BC were all equal. However, by the eighth century BC, there was a large difference. Houses were divided into richer and poorer sections of town. This social change happened when kings began to rule over Israel. Some officials used their jobs to get rich. The prophets spoke against this unfair wealth (for example, Isaiah 5:8; Hosea 12:8; Amos 8:4–7; Micah 2:2). The prophet Amos criticized people who lent money but did not care about the poor (Amos 2:6–8; 8:6). Even so, the Old Testament rarely mentions beggars. However, between the Old and New Testament times, giving to the poor became an important religious duty (this is also known as giving alms).
In the New Testament, begging was more common. In the ministry of Jesus, references are made to:
a blind beggar (John 9:8–9),
blind Bartimaeus (Mark 10:46–52), and
Lazarus, a godly beggar who is compared to a rich man (Luke 16:19–31).
Peter and John met a beggar who could not walk at the Beautiful Gate in Jerusalem (Acts 3:1–11).
Jesus criticized giving to the poor just to be seen by others (Matthew 6:1–4). He stressed the importance of giving to the poor for the right reasons (Matthew 5:42–48). By the time of Jesus, Jerusalem was full of beggars, probably because giving to the poor in Jerusalem was seen as a virtue. Beggars often stayed near holy places. For example, the pool of Bethesda was a place of healing, where the sick and disabled begged and sought healing in the waters (John 5:2–9).
In the early Christian community, leaders were chosen to fairly distribute funds to the poor (Acts 4:32–35; 6:1–6). A part of every Christian’s income was to be given to the needy (Acts 11:27–30; Romans 15:25–27; 1 Corinthians 16:1–4). Poverty in Palestine may have been worse because of heavy taxes from Rome. The gospels often mention tax collectors and people asking for help.
Some think the Zealots (a group that fought against Rome) started because of poverty. Josephus, a Jewish historian, says the Zealots included many poor people. In AD 66, the Zealots burned records in Jerusalem, probably to destroy records of what they owed. Josephus also says that before Rome destroyed Jerusalem, groups of people asking for help were causing fear and unrest throughout the whole city.