We sometimes assume it is those who are physically needy, and He also says the poor you will always have with you in Mark 14:7; John 12:8 and Matthew 26:11.
Another reference to thepooris inPsalms 41:1:
To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David.
Blessed [is] he that considereth the poor: the LORD will deliver him in time of trouble.
In the beatitudes in Matthew 5, when Yeshua/Jesus says
blessed are the poor…. He is referring to the poor in spirit.
In Psalm 41, there seems to be some good things associated with an individual who considers the poor. First they are blessed and the Lord will deliver them in time of trouble, and this is for just considering the poor. It does not even say to help the poor, just consider them and the Lord will deliver you from evil, protect and sustain you and you’ll be happy in your land and not fall into greedy enemy hands. There is even a promise of physical healing included.
When we hear the word poor, we usually think of someone without money and resources or is homeless. Maybe they have lost their job or are too sick to work. Yet Messiah said the poor you will always have with you, so it is not something unique to our generation, country or physical location.
This seems strange that there are so many positives for the person who simply considers the poor. It doesn’t seem to be consistent with the gospels teaching on being a helpful blessing to our neighbors; and being doers of the word.
So what is the psalmist referring to when he says the poor?
To find out we need to look at the Hebrew meaning.
Original Word: דַּל Part of Speech: Adjective Transliteration: dal Pronunciation: dal Phonetic Spelling: (dal) KJV: lean, needy, poor (man), weaker Word Origin: [fromH1809 (דָּלַל – brought low)]
1. (properly) dangling 2. (by implication) weak or thin
The Hebrew adjective דַּל (dal) portrays a condition of material poverty, social vulnerability, or physical weakness. While often translated “poor,” its nuance extends to the thin, powerless, or insignificant—individuals who lack the resources or influence to secure their own welfare. In many contexts דַּל is juxtaposed with the rich (ʿāšîr) or the strong (gibbôr), highlighting the sharp social contrasts within ancient Israel.
Scripture presents poverty neither as a virtue in itself nor as evidence of divine disfavor. Rather, דַּל highlights the reality of a fallen world where inequality persists. The condition becomes a test case for covenant faithfulness: how God’s people treat the dal reveals whether they have adopted the character of their covenant Lord,“the Father of the fatherless and defender of widows” (Psalm 68:5).
Our Heavenly Father reveals His care for the Dal by His Divine justice:“He will judge the poor with righteousness and decide with fairness for the afflicted of the earth” (Isaiah 11:4). Messianic expectation centers on a ruler whose governance puts right the imbalance in the existing system by restoration to the Fathers principles.
He further shows care through His Covenant Provision; for example, the gleaning laws(Leviticus 19:9-10) and sabbatical cancellations of debt (Deuteronomy 15:1-11)safeguard the dal from perpetual destitution. And Psalm 72:13-14depicts the royal ideal of His protective presence“He will take pity on the weak and the needy and save the lives of the poor.”
Scripture shows us what our human responsibility is toward the Dal:
“You shall not show partiality to a poor man in his lawsuit” (Exodus 23:3), balancing compassion with truth thus showing impartial justice.
“Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the LORD” (Proverbs 19:17).We are to be generous in our giving to charity; this verse indicates it to be as an investment with our Heavenly Father Himself.
“Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless” (Psalm 82:3). Leadership is judged by its protection of the powerless, and a nation will be judged by how they treat the poor within their borders.
Prophets denounce exploitation of the dal as breaking the covenant (Jeremiah 5:28; Amos 4:1).Judgment falls on societies that“trample the heads of the poor into the dust of the earth” (Amos 2:6). Yet the prophetic declare a future where the dal inherit security (Zephaniah 3:12-13),foreshadowing the Gospel proclamation to the poor in Isaiah 61:1.
Yeshua/Jesus declares TaNaKH application coming to fulfillment when He readsIsaiah 61 in Nazareth, announcing good news to the poor (Luke 4:18). (The Septuagint’s ptōchos carries the semantic field of dal, tying the Hebrew hope to the Messiah’s mission.)
In 2 Corinthians 8–9we see how Old Testament gleaning is reflected as Gentile believers help with Jewish poverty, the ecclesia becoming one body that cares for its weakest members.
Revelation 3:17 warns Laodicea, “You do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked,” repeating prophetic warnings that material prosperity can hide extreme lack before our Heavenly Father.
From the covenant directives at Sinai to Messianic fulfillment, the Father reveals His heart by His unwavering commitment to lift the dal, encouraging His people to be part of this righteous and merciful work.
Delilah has the meaning: she who makes one weak. Probably most readers are familiar with the story of Samson and Delilah and her name means exactly what she caused to happen to Samson!
By doing some research apparently this word comes from an old Akkadian word which is used for lowering a well digger down into a well by a rope.
As there were no huge drills and mechanical equipment in those days, digging a well was a very dangerous job.
When a certain depth was reached, they would lower a digger down into the well by a rope and he would carefully dig and this made it a slow process.
If the sides of the well started to collapse, which happened frequently, they would pull the digger up as quickly as possible.
The rope handlers whose job it was to watch for any sign of collapse would sometimes be distracted and not notice the signs of an imminent collapse.
They had failed tomasekil el dal – consider the poor. So is it possible that poormay not be the best word used here? However dal is really a person who is very vulnerable. Many dal give the impression of being capable, like the man being lowered down into the well, but they really need someone to watch their back.
This dal, may be that quiet person who comes to ‘church’, or Bible study class who sits in the back, and never says anything. A dal could be a house cleaner, a janitor, a retiree, a widow or widower, that person that no one bothers to consider. it’s sad to say, but in many ‘churches’ most people are just somewhere in the middle and often overlooked. They are not in leadership or on the board, they don’t have a prominent position of authority where people see and recognize them; and they very seldom need attention or help from others as they are the ones often supplying that assistance.
The other end of the scale is the folks who are always in need in one way or another; so they are always the ones receiving attention and assistance first and constantly taking up the Pastors time and the resources of the ‘church’. It is the same in a family, the 1st born ends up having to help the younger siblings, by being expected to take responsibility and mature quickly to assist the parents. The youngest gets most of the attention, while the middle child gets somewhat overlooked; similarly in school, the clever ones are noticed, the rebellious ones are always in trouble, and the rest, they just slip under the radar, they are dal, not considered like the others.
The word consider in Hebrew is masekil.
It means more than what we understand of its meaning, like think or ponder on an issue or situation while deciding which direction to go or what to do. The Hebrew meaning is more like in our modern terms of watching someones back.
Psalm 41:1 HEB: לְדָוִֽד׃ אַ֭שְׁרֵי מַשְׂכִּ֣יל אֶל־ דָּ֑ל NAS: For the choir director. A Psalm of David. How blessed is he who considersthe helpless; KJV: Blessed [is] he that considereththe poor:
verbbe prudent (Gerber47denominative from שֶׂכֶל, but verb early; Late Hebrew סָכַל, Hithpa`el shew oneself attentive (to), look; Aramaic סְכַל (rare) understand, Ithpa`al look (at), consider, Aph`el instruct; שְׂכַל only Aph`el (for Hebrew הִשְׂכִּיל), understand, mak
Psalms joins שָׂכַל with covenant loyalty. Psalm 14:2
We are to be watching the backs of thedals, or those in the middle who are overlooked, as well as the two other categories. We are to be ready to assist but more than that, we are to pay attention to them even if they appear to be capable and don’t seem to be in urgent need.
Is David saying we must consider (masekil) watch the backs of the dals, the ones in the middle, because we just may need them to warn us if the walls are collapsing and we will be relying on them to pull us out if they do?
Its quite possible that in Psalm 41:1 David is telling us not to forget about them, that we just don’t give enough attention to the ones in the middle, and yet, it’s those dal, that our Father may just use to help us in our day of troubles (41:2), they’ll be the ones who will visit us in the hospital and help us when we are sick (41:4).
Shalom shalom
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משפחה
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As there were no huge drills and mechanical equipment in those days, digging a well was a very dangerous job. 
