Reference: Loan
Easton
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; De 23:19-20; Le 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; Pr 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; De 24:12-13). A widow's garment (De 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 (De 24:10-11). The Hebrew debtor could not be retained in bondage longer than the seventh year, or at farthest the year of jubilee (Ex 21:2; Le 25:39,42), but foreign sojourners were to be "bondmen for ever" (Le 25:44-54).
See Verses Found in Dictionary
If thou buy a Hebrew servant, six years he shall serve, and in the seventh he shall go out free for nothing.
If thou lend money to any of my people with thee who is poor, thou shall not be to him as a creditor, neither shall ye lay upon him interest. If thou at all take thy neighbor's garment to pledge, thou shall restore it to him before the sun goes down, read more. for that is his only covering. It is his garment for his skin. How shall he sleep? And it shall come to pass, when he cries to me, that I will hear, for I am gracious.
And if thy brother becomes poor, and his hand fails with thee, then thou shall uphold him; he shall live with thee [as] a stranger and a sojourner. Take thou no interest from him or increase, but fear thy God, that thy brother may live with thee. read more. Thou shall not give him thy money upon interest, nor give him thy food for profit. I am LORD your God, who brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, to give you the land of Canaan, [and] to be your God. And if thy brother becomes poor with thee, and sells himself to thee, thou shall not make him to serve as a bondman.
For they are my servants, whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt. They shall not be sold as bondmen.
And as for thy bondmen, and thy bondmaids, whom thou shall have, from the nations that are round about you, ye shall buy bondmen and bondmaids from them. Moreover of the sons of the strangers who sojourn among you, ye shall buy from them, and from their families that are with you, which they have begotten in your land, and they shall be your possession. read more. And ye shall make them an inheritance for your sons after you, to hold for a possession. Ye shall take them your bondmen forever, but over your brothers the sons of Israel ye shall not rule, one over another, with rigor. And if a stranger or sojourner with thee becomes rich, and thy brother becomes poor beside him, and sells himself to the stranger [or] sojourner with thee, or to the stock of the stranger's family, he may be redeemed after he is sold. One of his brothers may redeem him. Or his uncle, or his uncle's son, may redeem him. Or any who is near of kin to him of his family may redeem him. Or if he becomes rich, he may redeem himself. And he shall reckon with him who bought him from the year that he sold himself to him to the year of jubilee. And the price of his sale shall be according to the number of years. He shall be with him according to the time of a hire If there be yet many years, according to them he shall give back the price of his redemption out of the money that he was bought for. And if there remain but few years to the year of jubilee, then he shall reckon with him. He shall give back the price of his redemption according to his years. He shall be with him as a servant hired year by year. He shall not rule with rigor over him in thy sight. And if he is not redeemed by these [means], then he shall go out in the year of jubilee, he, and his sons with him.
Thou shall not lend upon interest to thy brother: interest of money, interest of food, interest of anything that is lent upon interest. To a foreigner thou may lend upon interest, but to thy brother thou shall not lend upon interest, that LORD thy God may bless thee in all that thou put thy hand to, in the land where thou go in to possess it.
When thou do lend thy neighbor any manner of loan, thou shall not go into his house to fetch his pledge. Thou shall stand outside, and the man to whom thou lend shall bring forth the pledge outside to thee. read more. And if he is a poor man, thou shall not sleep with his pledge. Thou shall surely restore to him the pledge when the sun goes down, that he may sleep in his garment, and bless thee. And it shall be righteousness to thee before LORD thy God.
Thou shall not distort the justice [due] to the sojourner, [or] to the fatherless, nor take the widow's raiment to pledge,
he who puts not his money out to interest, nor takes a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things shall never be moved.
My son, if thou have become surety for thy neighbor, if thou have struck thy hands for a stranger,
He who is surety for a stranger shall smart for it, but he who hates suretyship is secure.
A man void of understanding strikes hands, and becomes surety in the presence of his neighbor.
Take his garment who is surety for a stranger, and hold him in pledge for foreigners.
Take his garment who is surety for a stranger, and hold him in pledge [who is surety] for a strange woman.
Woe is me, my mother, that thou have bore me, a man of strife and a man of contention to the whole earth! I have not lent, nor have men lent to me, [yet] every one of them curses me.
Fausets
(See USURY.) The merciful character of Moses' law appears in the command not to keep the poor man's outer garment, his covering by night as well as day, after sunset (Ex 22:26-27; De 24:6,10-13,17; compare, however, Pr 22:27). The millstone, including all instruments necessary to life, and a widow's garment, were forbidden to be taken. The creditor must not enter the debtor's house to seize the pledge, but wait for the debtor to bring out an adequate security for payment.
The debtor could be held as a bondman only until the seventh year, i.e. for six years, and not beyond the Jubilee year, whatever his period of service might be (Ex 21:2). Then he must be sent away with a liberal supply of provisions, the prospect of such a gift doubtless stimulating zeal in service (De 15:12-18; Le 25:39-55); his land was to be restored. But foreign slaves might be held in continual servitude (2Ki 4:1; Isa 50:1; 52:3). The Roman or else the oriental law detaining the debtor in prison until he paid the uttermost farthing, and even giving him over to torturers, is alluded to in Mt 5:26; 18:34.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
If thou buy a Hebrew servant, six years he shall serve, and in the seventh he shall go out free for nothing.
If thou at all take thy neighbor's garment to pledge, thou shall restore it to him before the sun goes down, for that is his only covering. It is his garment for his skin. How shall he sleep? And it shall come to pass, when he cries to me, that I will hear, for I am gracious.
And if thy brother becomes poor with thee, and sells himself to thee, thou shall not make him to serve as a bondman. He shall be with thee as a hired servant, and as a sojourner. He shall serve with thee to the year of jubilee. read more. Then he shall go out from thee, he and his sons with him, and shall return to his own family. And he shall return to the possession of his fathers. For they are my servants, whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt. They shall not be sold as bondmen. Thou shall not rule over him with rigor, but shall fear thy God. And as for thy bondmen, and thy bondmaids, whom thou shall have, from the nations that are round about you, ye shall buy bondmen and bondmaids from them. Moreover of the sons of the strangers who sojourn among you, ye shall buy from them, and from their families that are with you, which they have begotten in your land, and they shall be your possession. And ye shall make them an inheritance for your sons after you, to hold for a possession. Ye shall take them your bondmen forever, but over your brothers the sons of Israel ye shall not rule, one over another, with rigor. And if a stranger or sojourner with thee becomes rich, and thy brother becomes poor beside him, and sells himself to the stranger [or] sojourner with thee, or to the stock of the stranger's family, he may be redeemed after he is sold. One of his brothers may redeem him. Or his uncle, or his uncle's son, may redeem him. Or any who is near of kin to him of his family may redeem him. Or if he becomes rich, he may redeem himself. And he shall reckon with him who bought him from the year that he sold himself to him to the year of jubilee. And the price of his sale shall be according to the number of years. He shall be with him according to the time of a hire If there be yet many years, according to them he shall give back the price of his redemption out of the money that he was bought for. And if there remain but few years to the year of jubilee, then he shall reckon with him. He shall give back the price of his redemption according to his years. He shall be with him as a servant hired year by year. He shall not rule with rigor over him in thy sight. And if he is not redeemed by these [means], then he shall go out in the year of jubilee, he, and his sons with him. For the sons of Israel are servants to me. They are my servants whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt. I am LORD your God.
If thy brother, a Hebrew man, or a Hebrew woman, is sold to thee, and serves thee six years, then in the seventh year thou shall let him go free from thee. And when thou let him go free from thee, thou shall not let him go empty. read more. Thou shall furnish him liberally out of thy flock, and out of thy threshing-floor, and out of thy winepress. As LORD thy God has blessed thee thou shall give to him. And thou shall remember that thou were a bondman in the land of Egypt, and LORD thy God redeemed thee. Therefore I command thee this thing today. And it shall be, if he says to thee, I will not go out from thee, because he loves thee and thy house, because he is well with thee, then thou shall take an awl, and thrust it through his ear to the door, and he shall be thy servant forever. And also to thy maid-servant thou shall do likewise. It shall not seem hard to thee when thou let him go free from thee, for he has been worth a double hired servant to thee, in serving thee six years. And LORD thy God will bless thee in all that thou do.
No man shall take the mill or the upper millstone to pledge, for he takes life to pledge.
When thou do lend thy neighbor any manner of loan, thou shall not go into his house to fetch his pledge. Thou shall stand outside, and the man to whom thou lend shall bring forth the pledge outside to thee. read more. And if he is a poor man, thou shall not sleep with his pledge. Thou shall surely restore to him the pledge when the sun goes down, that he may sleep in his garment, and bless thee. And it shall be righteousness to thee before LORD thy God.
Thou shall not distort the justice [due] to the sojourner, [or] to the fatherless, nor take the widow's raiment to pledge,
Now a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets cried out to Elisha, saying, Thy servant my husband is dead, and thou know that thy servant feared LORD, and the creditor has come to take my two children to him to be bo
If thou have not wherewith to pay, why should he take away thy bed from under thee?
Thus says LORD, Where is the bill of your mother's divorcement, with which I have put her away? Or which of my creditors is it to whom I have sold you? Behold, for your iniquities ye were sold, and for your transgressions your moth
For thus says LORD: Ye were sold for nothing, and ye shall be redeemed without money.
Truly I say to thee, thou will, no, not come out from there, until thou have paid the last quadran.
And having become angry, his lord delivered him to the tormentors until he would pay all that was due to him.
Hastings
Smith
Loan.
The law strictly forbade any interest to be taken for a loan to any poor person, and at first, as it seems, even in the case of a foreigner; but this prohibition was afterward limited to Hebrews only, from whom, of whatever rank, not only was no usury on any pretence to be exacted, but relief to the poor by way of loan was enjoined, and excuses for evading this duty were forbidden.
As commerce increased, the practice of usury, and so also of suretyship, grew up; but the exaction of it from a Hebrew appears to have been regarded to a late period as discreditable.
Ps 15:5; Pr 6:1,4; 11:15; 17:18; 20:16; 22:26; Jer 15:10; Eze 18:13
Systematic breach of the law in this respect was corrected by Nehemiah after the return from captivity.
The money-changers, who had seats and tables in the temple, where traders whose profits arose chiefly from the exchange of money with those who came to pay their annual half-shekel. The Jewish law did not forbid temporary bondage in the case of debtors, but it forbade a Hebrew debtor to be detained as a bondman longer than the seventh year, or at farthest the year of jubilee.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
If thou buy a Hebrew servant, six years he shall serve, and in the seventh he shall go out free for nothing.
If thou lend money to any of my people with thee who is poor, thou shall not be to him as a creditor, neither shall ye lay upon him interest.
And if thy brother becomes poor, and his hand fails with thee, then thou shall uphold him; he shall live with thee [as] a stranger and a sojourner.
Thou shall not give him thy money upon interest, nor give him thy food for profit.
And if thy brother becomes poor with thee, and sells himself to thee, thou shall not make him to serve as a bondman.
For they are my servants, whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt. They shall not be sold as bondmen.
Beware that there not be a base thought in thy heart, saying, The seventh year, the year of release, is at hand, and thine eye be evil against thy poor brother, and thou give him nothing, and he cry to LORD against thee, and it be
Then there arose a great cry of the people and of their wives against their brothers the Jews.
Also I shook out my lap, and said, So God shake out every man from his house, and from his labor, who does not perform this promise, even thus be he shaken out, and emptied. And all the assembly said, Amen, and praised LORD. And th
he who puts not his money out to interest, nor takes a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things shall never be moved.
My son, if thou have become surety for thy neighbor, if thou have struck thy hands for a stranger,
He who is surety for a stranger shall smart for it, but he who hates suretyship is secure.
A man void of understanding strikes hands, and becomes surety in the presence of his neighbor.
Take his garment who is surety for a stranger, and hold him in pledge for foreigners.
Be thou not one of those who strike hands, [or] of those who are sureties for debts.
Woe is me, my mother, that thou have bore me, a man of strife and a man of contention to the whole earth! I have not lent, nor have men lent to me, [yet] every one of them curses me.