“Paupers” in the book of Isaiah

The author studies the concepts of poverty and penury in the Ancient Israel in a historical and cultural context and also analyzes the etymology of terms used in the Masoretic text of the Old Testament to describe the poor. The article accept the understanding that the Book of Isaiah was composed gradually over an extended time period, first by the prophet himself (chps. 1-39) and then by followers of his prophetic school (chps. 40-66). The author demonstrates the evolution of the concept of poverty in the book from a term used for the lower social castes to a descriptive first for the religiously-conscious population and then, finally, for the whole Jewish society.