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Cover -- Half Title -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Dedication -- Contents -- Preface -- Introduction -- 1. Poverty in Ancient Judea -- 2. Evolution of Inequality and Poverty in Judea -- 3. Enigma of Change and Other Conundrums -- 4. Emergence of Philanthropic Institutions for the Support of the Poor -- 4.1 Agricultural Harvest Portions for the Poor -- 4.2 Poorman's Tithe -- 4.3 Sabbatical Year -- 4.4 Jubilee and Land Ownership -- 4.5 Loans -- 4.6 From Individual Charity to CommunalPhilanthropic Institutions -- 5. Emergence of Indirect Institutional Supports for the Poor -- 5.1 Protection of Workers -- 5.2 Contractual Slavery and Indentured Servants -- 5.3 Provisions for Poor Travelers -- 5.4 Elementary Education for the Poor -- 5.5 Health Services for the Poor -- 5.6 Special Provisions for Poor Widows and Orphans -- 5.7 Differential Sacrifices of the Poor -- 6. From Charity to Social Justice -- Appendix: Philanthropies of the Early Christians -- Bibliography -- Bibliographical Index -- Index

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In ancient Judea, support for the poor was the responsibility of individuals. The Bible commanded each Jewish farmer to set aside a small part of his harvest for the poor This arrangement reflected life in a simple agricultural society. When social, political, and economic conditions changed and poverty became a growing social problem. these arrangements were no longer adequate and others evolved in their place. The evolution of these new programs, us well as various innovative funding methods developed in the Second Temple and talmudic periods to support them, are reviewed.

Philanthropic institutions were not invented in the nineteenth century but were already known in antiquity. Most ancient people displayed sentiments of love or pity for the unfortunate and expressed those feelings in organized ways, though different cultures followed various methods. Invariably, these concerns for others were at first on a person-to-person basis, but in time voluntary organizations arose to provide such services. At a still later date, community agencies began to supplement or replace these voluntary efforts. The chronology of this evolution usually remained imprecise, even elusive, but such a process did occur almost everywhere. The development of services for poor travelers permits a test of the general hypothesis that philanthropic institutions evolved from individual concern, that the initiation of voluntary organizations followed, and that an acceptance of communal responsibility for the welfare of various dependent groups came still later. The evolution of services for migrants and other poor travelers in Judea is traced during a thousand-year period from circa 800 B.C.E. to 200 C.E.

Cooperation between the public and voluntary sectors is not a new phenomenon but was already common in the nineteenth century. Then as now, the boundaries between the two sectors were not clearly defined. The extent of interpenetration and shared activities has been underesti mated or ignored by many, but there is abundant evidence to suggest that nineteenth-century Americans did not hesitate to request and use governmental help, just as government had no qualms about using pri vate organizations to carry out many of its welfare responsibilities. All levels of government (local, state, and federal) were involved in various relationships with voluntary organizations. Selected data to support this proposition are presented. This commingling of public and private sector activities has become a characteristic of American society, but the concern over the relationship between these sectors persists. Possible reasons for this continuing concern, as well as implications for contemporary welfare issues, are explored.

Voluntary organizations may serve somewhat different functions in devel oping countries and colonial societies than they do in more developed countries. In all societies, voluntary organizations engage in social action in order to make their governments more responsive to the social needs and political rights of the population, but this function is especially crucial in societies where there is no access to the political decision-making structures. This case study explores yet another role for the voluntary organization: the deliberate and planful utilization of a voluntary organi zation structure to prepare for self-government and political independence. The establishment and early years of operation of the Social Service Department of the Jewish National Council in British-ruled Palestine in the 1930s serves as the example.