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what was the economic reality for poor israelites that made this law so crucial?

The passage, plainly, with room to sit with it.

Deuteronomy 24:19-22

When you reap your harvest in your field, and have forgot a sheaf in the field, you shall not go again to get it. It shall be for the foreigner, for the fatherless, and for the widow, that Yahweh your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. When you beat your olive tree, you shall not go over the boughs again. It shall be for the foreigner, for the fatherless, and for the widow. When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, you shall not glean it afterward. It shall be for the foreigner, for the fatherless, and for the widow. You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt. Therefore I command you to do this thing.

Deuteronomy is presented as Moses' farewell speeches to the Israelites on the plains of Moab, just before they enter the promised land. This section provides various laws for ordering their society, including specific instructions for justice and care for the vulnerable once they are settled in the land.

What does 'forgetting' or leaving portions of a harvest mean for a society's approach to wealth and scarcity?

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Read alongside it

  • Leviticus 19:9-10

    This passage describes a similar gleaning law, reinforcing the care for the poor and foreigners.

  • Ruth 2:2-3

    The story of Ruth illustrates these gleaning laws in practice, providing for Ruth and Naomi.

  • Amos 8:4-6

    The prophet Amos condemns those who disregard the poor and exploit the vulnerable, showing the consequences of neglecting such laws.

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