ABSTRACT
Coggins's remark that it is an illusion to suppose that the Old Testament presents a single, consistent view on social issues is undoubtedly true. A proper study of poverty in the Old Testament must examine the Old Testament book by book, and also be prepared to find contrasting attitudes not only between one book and another but also within individual books and parts of books. To take an instance cited by Coggins: in a single chapter of Deuteronomy there occur the apparently contradictory statements that 'there will be no poor among you' and 'the poor will never cease out of the land'. Yet it would be a mistake to conclude, though commentators have done so, that these are necessarily the work of different writers. Very frequently in the Old Testament itself the poor are mentioned in close association with their counterparts, the rich.
