The Mosaic law required that when an Israelite needed to borrow,
what he asked was to be freely lent to him, and no interest was
to be charged, although interest might be taken of a foreigner
(Ex. 22:25; Deut. 23:19, 20; Lev. 25:35-38). At the end of seven
years all debts were remitted. Of a foreigner the loan might,
however, be exacted. At a later period of the Hebrew
commonwealth, when commerce increased, the practice of exacting
usury or interest on loans, and of suretiship in the commercial
sense, grew up. Yet the exaction of it from a Hebrew was
regarded as discreditable (Ps. 15:5; Prov. 6:1, 4; 11:15; 17:18;
20:16; 27:13; Jer. 15:10).
Limitations are prescribed by the law to the taking of a
pledge from the borrower. The outer garment in which a man slept
at night, if taken in pledge, was to be returned before sunset
(Ex. 22:26, 27; Deut. 24:12, 13). A widow's garment (Deut.
24:17) and a millstone (6) could not be taken. A creditor could
not enter the house to reclaim a pledge, but must remain outside
till the borrower brought it (10, 11). The Hebrew debtor could
not be retained in bondage longer than the seventh year, or at
farthest the year of jubilee (Ex. 21:2; Lev. 25:39, 42), but
foreign sojourners were to be "bondmen for ever" (Lev.
25:44-54).
Loan
You Might Also Like:
Read More
Have you ever heard the story of Noah's Ark? It's a famous story from the Bible about a man named Noah who built a huge boat to save himself and the a...
Read More
Have you ever heard the story of the Tower of Babel? It's a story from the Bible about a group of people who wanted to build a tower that reached all ...
Read More
Have you ever heard about the Ten Plagues in the Bible? It's a fascinating story about how God showed His power to the Pharaoh of Egypt and freed the ...
Read More
Have you ever heard about the Ten Commandments in the Bible? These are ten rules that God gave to Moses on Mount Sinai to guide the Israelites and all...
Read More
Have you ever heard about the 12 Tribes of Israel in the Bible? These tribes were the descendants of the twelve sons of Jacob, who was later named Isr...
Read More
Have you ever heard about the Ministry of Jesus in the Bible? Jesus was a great teacher and healer who spent three years traveling throughout Israel, ...
Read More
Have you ever heard about the Early Church in the Bible? After Jesus' death and resurrection, his followers began to spread his teachings throughout t...
