ABSTRACT
Is socio-economic status significant for God? According to this passage from the Jerusalem Talmud, human wealth is insignificant to God. In this text, Rabbi Abin explains the verse from 1 Chronicles where King David tells his son, Solomon: “In my poverty, I have provided for the house of the Lord one hundred thousand talents of gold, one million talents of silver, and bronze and iron beyond measure, for there is so much of it, timber and stone too I have provided. To these you must add more” (1 Chr 22:14). The Talmud reconciles the seeming contradiction between David’s description of himself, in his poverty, and his details of the fortune that he amassed for building the Temple. According to Rabbi Abin, wealth and poverty have no meaning before God. Therefore, despite the riches that King David accumulated, he described himself as poor.
