“When thou cuttest down thine harvest in thy field, and thou hast forgot a sheaf in the field, thou shalt not turn again to fetch it: it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow: that the Lord thy God may bless thee in all the work of thine hands.”—Deut. xxiv.
Whether a custom of this kind already prevailed in the ancient world before the days of Moses, we cannot determine, since the Pentateuch is the oldest authority extant. The earlier books of the sacred writings, Genesis and Exodus, contain nothing on the subject. Some of the precepts of the Mosaic code, however, are known to be merely a confirmation and repetition of those given still earlier, such as those which enjoin sacrifice and circumcision, &c., &c. Many others doubtless flowed first, at the period of the Exodus, from Almighty wisdom and mercy, like the raising of the tabernacle, the establishment of the Levitical Priesthood, &c., &c. The protection of the gleaner may have belonged to either class of precepts; but its minuteness partakes very much of the character of the Hebrew law, and it is quite possible that it may have been first inculcated from the lips of Moses in the wilderness. Whatever be the origin of the custom, it has since spread far and wide; it was a simple form of charity, natural to a primitive age, and during thirty-three hundred years at least, it has prevailed in the world. There is, I believe, no part of the Old World where it has not been more or less practiced, whether in Asia, Africa, or Europe; and it is possible there may be some portions of this continent also where it is customary, though we have never seen any allusion to it by travellers, either in North or South America. Within the limits of our own country, it is believed to be entirely unknown.
