In his effort to trace the role that almsgiving (charity) to the poor has played in the doctrinal and sapiential development of Judaism and Christianity, Anderson begins by tracing the concept within the context of the formative periods of these traditions. At the heart of his discussion is the statement in Proverbs 10:2 and 11:4 that portrays almsgiving “as a diagnostic of faith” (59), for “righteousness delivers from death.” In speaking about both religious practice and everyday speech, he notes that Hebrew and Aramaic speakers in rabbinic times could use the word “commandment” in reference to any of the 613 precepts contained in the Torah or in reference to the greatest of the commandments, that is, almsgiving. He also contends that the practice of almsgiving involves more than a linear transmission from donor to recipient. It also serves as a form of worship (’avodah) as expressed in the Greek translation of Hosea 6:6, “I desire mercy [toward your neighbor] not [just sacrificial] service” (105). Thus giving to the poor is to be considered a “loan to God” (66–67, 182; Prov. 19:17) with the expectation of a reward for this charitable action—in other words an act that is defined as predicated on self-interest rather than on altruism (see Luke 12:13–34). Furthermore, in the face of the reality of human tragedy, giving alms is recognition of the “goodness of God,” who will reward charity, but on a divine timeline, not a human one (110).
Anderson then turns to the importance of charity as depicted in the book of Tobit and by extension in Genesis, Ruth, and Job. In what is an excellent example of intertextual interpretation, Anderson points to the crisis moment when Abraham, Jacob, and Tobit take the risk of losing a son (Isaac, Benjamin, and Tobias) in order to preserve the fortunes of the family and to demonstrate that faithfulness does indeed have a reward, even if it does not occur in the current generation (84–88, 92). If, for instance, Tobit had succumbed to depression over his blindness and had chosen to keep his son home safe, as his wife Anna implored him to do, he would have been dodging the ultimate test of his conviction that there will inevitably be good results from his piety and almsgiving. If Tobias does not go to retrieve the money entrusted by Tobit to his friend, there will be no possibility that the practice of almsgiving can continue into the future.
It is the attempt at obstruction and perhaps the rational thinking of Tobit's wife that provides the parallel to Job's wife, who instructs her husband to look at his physical and financial condition and then curse God and die (Job 2:9–10). For the graphic realities of his condition transcend the possible conclusion that God rewards piety and charitable behavior. Like Job, who silences his wife, Tobit responds by accepting the risk of the loss of his son and his household's future (90; Tobit 5:18–22), and in so doing insures its future existence (Tobias's marriage and, with Raphael's assistance, a cure for Tobit's blindness). In the process of making this decision, Tobit demonstrates that his faith is not a blind devotion to the Deuteronomic principle of “retributive justice” (Deut. 14:28–29), but an active, risk-taking piety that is willing to submit to a test to gain surety (as Ruth does when she chooses to remain with Naomi).
In the second half of his volume, Anderson examines the possible transferability of stored merit held in the treasury in heaven from one generation to another. In his analysis, he explores the theme of “merit making” in Second Temple Judaism and the New Testament, and how it is tied to the concept of the treasury in heaven (see Matt. 6:19–21, Mark 10:21, and Luke 12:34; Mishnah Pe'ah 1:1; 2 Baruch 14; Psalms of Solomon 9:5). In these texts, the effort to understand why evil exists in the world is balanced by the revelation that the righteous must look to the next world for true rewards (129). The presumption is that good deeds done in life, especially gifts for the poor, generate a “substance” that can be “transferred” to heaven for storage (135).
Anderson concludes by saying that the “biblical triad of sacrifice, prayer, and fasting was gradually replaced in the Second Temple period by alms, prayer, and fasting.” Almsgiving replaced sacrifice after the destruction of the Temple as a form of “direct commerce with God” (147). Tosefta Pe'ah 4:19 regards almsgiving as “equal in value to all of the commandments of the Torah” and thus suggests its close association with service at the altar. Anderson notes that many New Testament scholars have missed the “sacrificial character of almsgiving” and fail “to see its important implications for Matthew's Christology” (160). To an extent, the shift in meaning from the Hebrew ẓedakah (almsgiving) to the Greek eleēmosunē (act of mercy) demonstrates how acts of mercy such as charity come to be understood as a means to “generate a merit for the doer of the deed” (169).
Anderson sees a contrast between the portrayal of David and Nebuchadnezzar in the biblical text. He notes that David, whose sins with Bathsheba made him subject to God's (Nathan's) condemnation, did repent, but he still had to exercise patience while future events operated to cleanse his soul. Nebuchadnezzar, however, is told by Daniel (4:27) that he can take an active part in his rehabilitation by paying off his debts through acts of charity. Thus, he contends, this shift in the concept of sanctification makes almsgiving an even more “prestigious act in the spirituality of Judaism and Christianity.” It allows for the “paying down” of the debt of sin and even as a means of deliverance from death (story of Tabitha in Acts 9:36–40; 170–173).
What Anderson then concludes from his examination of Tobit and Ben Sira is that there is a biblical basis for the idea that righteous acts and subsequent accumulation of merit from one's ancestors can be passed on or transferred to successive generations to their benefit (174). This situation, however, does not limit God's power to choose to acknowledge the acts of the supplicant and the merits of the righteous, and by no means does it force God to respond in a particular manner (176). Still, the very possibility of doing something to relieve the condition of the dead sparked in both Christianity and Judaism further reasons for almsgiving and a new means to generate benefits, with the doctrine of purgatory and the introduction of the Kaddish prayers, respectively (179–180). Ultimately, acts of mercy, including charity, spring, as Anderson notes in his citations from Augustine and Thomas à Kempis, from God's grace empowering the righteous to act. It is not a commercial transaction with self-interest at its heart, but a continuous cycle of giving begun by God, transmitted to the faithful, and given back to God (188–189).
Anderson's well-crafted volume has a conversational tone and is filled with recapping, reiteration of themes and major points, and a concerted effort to keep the reader focused on the subject at hand (see the recap of the first half of the book on pp. 104–110). He provides an excellent summary of the origins and shifting understanding of almsgiving as reflected in the Hebrew Bible, New Testament, Deuteroncanonical texts, and rabbinic sources. Although the volume is filled with examples from these works as well as the writings of the Church Fathers, the reader is not overwhelmed and is easily carried along by the author's skillful prose. It should serve as a source for any course on the subject and is recommended to anyone who wishes to explore or discuss the development of a major theological concept in both Jewish and Christian thought.
