Texts in Conversation
1 Samuel 2:8 and Psalm 113:7 share identical language describing the poor being lifted from the dust and raised from the ash heap to sit among princes. Both texts use this imagery to depict extreme reversal, portraying the needy as utterly powerless until elevated to honor.
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1 Samuel 2:8
Hebrew Bible
6 The Lord both kills and gives life; he brings down to the grave and raises up. 7 The Lord impoverishes and makes wealthy; he humbles and he exalts. 8 He lifts the weak from the dust; he raises the poor from the ash heap to seat them with princes—he bestows on them an honored position. The foundations of the earth belong to the Lord—he placed the world on them. 9 He watches over his holy ones, but the wicked are made speechless in the darkness, for it is not by one’s own strength that one prevails. 10 The Lord shatters his adversaries; he thunders against them from the heavens. The Lord executes judgment to the ends of the earth. He will strengthen his king and exalt the power of his anointed one.”
Date: 6th Century B.C.E. (Final composition) (based on scholarly estimates)
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Psalm 113:7
Hebrew Bible
5 Who can compare to the Lord our God, who sits on a high throne? 6 He bends down to look at the sky and the earth. 7 He raises the poor from the dirt and lifts up the needy from the garbage pile 8 that he might seat him with princes, with the princes of his people. 9 He makes the barren woman of the family a happy mother of children. Praise the Lord.
Date: 6th-3rd Centuries B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... In its biblical usage, ʾebyôn (hereafter evyon) denotes 'needy' or 'poor.' Examining the context of its 61 occurrences in the Hebrew Bible indicates that evyon often appears beside the word ʿani. This proximity suggests that the two words convey similar meanings. In the Bible, the evyon indicates a weak person with low social standing. Often an evyon has nothing: he lacks bread, clothing, a home and a father or any alternate provider. He is down in the dust, humiliated by a level of poverty from which only God can raise him. (As is clearly articulated in 1 Samuel 2:8 ... See also Psalm 113:7-8) Nachum Avraham claims that it is difficult to identify the root of this word since the meaning of the root הבא is 'to agree' or 'to want.' ..."
Wilfand, Yael
Poverty, Charity and the Image of the Poor in Rabbinic Texts from the Land of Israel
(p. 49) Duke University, 2011
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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