alms

Gifts to the needy. In the OT care for the poor is recommended (Prov 14:21; Prov 14:31; Isa 58:6-8) as just behavior, required by the tithe for the poor every three years (Deut 14:28-29) and the leaving of fallen produce at harvest for the poor (Deut 24:19-22). The NT also recommends the traditional Jewish practice of almsgiving (Matt 6:1-4), calling it by a word that comes from the Greek word for “mercy.”