Advocacy implies speaking for the disadvantaged or marginalised in society. We tend to think of advocacy as a modern phenomenon, yet biblical literature has advocated for the marginalised in society since time immemorial. Our world today also marginalizes people, and we can take a leaf out of the Old Testament’s advocacy in these troublesome situations. This briefing paper considers advocacy for the common good in the Old Testament.

It divides up into three main parts.

The first part—“The Common Good”—defines the common good from the Catholic Social Teaching perspective and delves into biblical illustrations of the same matter.

The second part—“Advocacy in the Old Testament: For Whom?”—elaborates on the beneficiaries of advocacy in the Old Testament.

The third part—“Old Testament Advocates as Counter-narrators”—concerns the operations of Old Testament advocates for the common good.

Paper by CPLO