Reference: Debtor
American
One under obligations, whether pecuniary or moral, Mt 23:16; Ro 1:14; Ga 5:3. If the house, cattle, or goods of a Hebrew would not meet his debts, his land might be appropriate for this purpose until the year of Jubilee, or his person might be reduced into servitude till he had paid his debt by his labor, or till the year of Jubilee, which terminated Hebrew bondage in all cases, Le 25:29-41; 2Ki 4:1; Ne 5:3-5.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
And if a man gives his house in a walled town for money, he has the right to get it back for the space of a full year after he has given it up. And if he does not get it back by the end of the year, then the house in the town will become the property of him who gave the money for it, and of his children for ever; it will not go from him in the year of Jubilee. read more. But houses in small unwalled towns will be the same as property in the country; they may be got back, and they will go back to their owners in the year of Jubilee. But the houses in the towns of the Levites may be got back by the Levites at any time. And if a Levite does not give money to get back his property, his house in the town which was exchanged for money will come back to him in the year of Jubilee. For the houses of the towns of the Levites are their property among the children of Israel. But the land on the outskirts of their towns may not be exchanged for money, for it is their property for ever. And if your brother becomes poor and is not able to make a living, then you are to keep him with you, helping him as you would a man from another country who is living among you. Take no interest from him, in money or in goods, but have the fear of your God before you, and let your brother make a living among you. Do not take interest on the money which you let him have or on the food which you give him. I am the Lord your God, who took you out of the land of Egypt to give you the land of Canaan, that I might be your God. And if your brother becomes poor and gives himself to you for money, do not make use of him like a servant who is your property; But let him be with you as a servant working for payment, till the year of Jubilee; Then he will go out from you, he and his children with him, and go back to his family and to the property of his fathers.
And there were some who said, We are giving our fields and our vine-gardens and our houses for debt: let us get grain because we are in need. And there were others who said, We have given up our fields and our vine-gardens to get money for the king's taxes. read more. But our flesh is the same as the flesh of our countrymen, and our children as their children: and now we are giving our sons and daughters into the hands of others, to be their servants, and some of our daughters are servants even now: and we have no power to put a stop to it; for other men have our fields and our vine-gardens.
A curse is on you, blind guides, who say, Whoever takes an oath by the Temple, it is nothing; but whoever takes an oath by the gold of the Temple, he is responsible.
I have a debt to Greeks and to the nations outside; to the wise and to those who have no learning.
Yes, I give witness again to every man who undergoes circumcision, that he will have to keep all the law.
Easton
Various regulations as to the relation between debtor and creditor are laid down in the Scriptures.
(1.) The debtor was to deliver up as a pledge to the creditor what he could most easily dispense with (De 24:10-11).
(2.) A mill, or millstone, or upper garment, when given as a pledge, could not be kept over night (Ex 22:26-27).
(3.) A debt could not be exacted during the Sabbatic year (De 15:1-15).
For other laws bearing on this relation see Le 25:14,32,39; Mt 18:25,34.
(4.) A surety was liable in the same way as the original debtor (Pr 11:15; 17:18).
See Verses Found in Dictionary
If ever you take your neighbour's clothing in exchange for the use of your money, let him have it back before the sun goes down: For it is the only thing he has for covering his skin; what is he to go to sleep in? and when his cry comes up to me, I will give ear, for my mercy is great.
And in the business of trading goods for money, do no wrong to one another.
But the houses in the towns of the Levites may be got back by the Levites at any time.
And if your brother becomes poor and gives himself to you for money, do not make use of him like a servant who is your property;
At the end of every seven years there is to be a general forgiveness of debt. This is how it is to be done: every creditor is to give up his right to whatever he has let his neighbour have; he is not to make his neighbour, his countryman, give it back; because a general forgiveness has been ordered by the Lord. read more. A man of another nation may be forced to make payment of his debt, but if your brother has anything of yours, let it go; But there will be no poor among you; for the Lord will certainly give you his blessing in the land which the Lord your God is giving you for your heritage; If only you give ear to the voice of the Lord your God, and take care to keep all these orders which I give you today. For the Lord your God will give you his blessing as he has said: you will let other nations have the use of your money, but you will not make use of theirs; you will be rulers over a number of nations, but they will not be your rulers. If in any of your towns in the land which the Lord your God is giving you, there is a poor man, one of your countrymen, do not let your heart be hard or your hand shut to him; But let your hand be open to give him the use of whatever he is in need of. And see that there is no evil thought in your heart, moving you to say to yourself, The seventh year, the year of forgiveness is near; and so looking coldly on your poor countryman you give him nothing; and he will make an outcry to the Lord against you, and it will be judged as sin in you. But it is right for you to give to him, without grief of heart: for because of this, the blessing of the Lord your God will be on all your work and on everything to which you put your hand. For there will never be a time when there are no poor in the land; and so I give orders to you, Let your hand be open to your countrymen, to those who are poor and in need in your land. If one of your countrymen, a Hebrew man or woman, becomes your servant for a price and does work for you six years, in the seventh year let him go free. And when you make him free, do not let him go away with nothing in his hands: But give him freely from your flock and from your grain and your wine: in the measure of the wealth which the Lord your God has given you, you are to give to him. And keep in mind that you yourself were a servant in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God made you free: so I give you this order today.
If you let your brother have the use of anything which is yours, do not go into his house and take anything of his as a sign of his debt; But keep outside till he comes out and gives it to you.
He who makes himself responsible for a strange man will undergo much loss; but the hater of such undertakings will be safe.
A man without sense gives his hand in an agreement, and makes himself responsible before his neighbour.
And because he was not able to make payment, his lord gave orders for him, and his wife, and his sons and daughters, and all he had, to be given for money, and payment to be made.
And his lord was very angry, and put him in the hands of those who would give him punishment till he made payment of all the debt.
Smith
Debtor.
[LOAN]
See Loan