ABSTRACT
The absence of fakery in laws on the poor whose chronological scope extends well over a half-millennium – from Moses to Ezra – is the biblical equivalent of the dog that does not bark in the night. First, recurrent defeats of the monotheist states over many centuries are linked to the evolution of the Bible, its composition, editing, preservation, and canonization, much of which took place in periods of exile and recovery when, in the absence of territorial sovereignty, the power of the Word to ensure national survival was greatest. Through the Bible, monotheism evolved as an international community of faith, independent of territory, and particularly welcoming to the poor. To preserve national unity it was best to avoid or downplay social conflict, which could weaken the chances of national survival and return from exile.
