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 should buy a Hebrew slave, he shall serve six years; and in the seventh he shall go out free for nothing.
If thou should lend money to my people, to the poor who is with thee, thou shalt not be to him as a usurer, neither shalt thou lay upon him usury. If thou at all take thy neighbour's clothing as a pledge, thou shalt deliver it unto him before the sun goes down; read more. for only that is his covering, it is his clothing to cover his flesh, in which he must sleep; and it shall come to pass, when he cries unto me, that I will hear, for I am merciful.
And if thy brother becomes poor and comes unto thee, then thou shalt receive him; as a stranger, or a sojourner, he shall live with thee. Take thou no usury of him, or increase; but thou shalt have the fear of thy God, and thy brother shall live with thee. read more. Thou shalt not give him thy money upon usury, nor lend him thy food for increase. I AM 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 when thy brother becomes poor, being with thee, and if he should sell himself unto thee, thou shalt not compel him to serve as a slave.
For they belong to me, I brought them forth out of the land of Egypt; they shall not be sold as slaves.
Both thy menslaves and thy maidslaves, which thou shalt have, shall be of the Gentiles that are round about you; of them shall ye buy slaves. Ye may also buy of the children of the strangers that live among you and of those of their lineage that are born in your land, who are with you, and they shall be your possession. read more. And ye shall possess them as an inheritance for your children after you, to inherit as a possession; they shall be your bondmen for ever; but over your brethren, the sons of Israel, ye shall not rule over one another with rigor. And if a sojourner or stranger who is with thee becomes rich and thy brother who is with him becomes poor and sells himself unto the stranger or sojourner who is with thee or to the race of the lineage of the stranger, after he is sold he shall have redemption; one of his brethren shall redeem him; either his uncle or his uncle's son shall redeem him; or any that is near of kin unto him of his lineage shall redeem him; or if he is able, he may redeem himself. And he shall reckon with him that bought him from the year that he was sold to him unto the year of jubilee; and the price of his sale shall be according to the number of years, according to the time of a hired servant shall it be with him. If there are yet many years, according unto them he shall give again the price of his redemption out of the money that he was bought for. And if there remain but few years unto the year of jubilee, then he shall count with him, and according unto his years shall he give him again the price of his redemption. And as a yearly hired servant shall he be with him; and the other shall not rule with rigor over him in thy sight. And if he is not redeemed in these years, then he shall go out in the year of jubilee, both he and his children with him.
Thou shalt not lend upon usury to thy brother, usury of money, usury of food, usury of any thing that is lent upon usury. Unto a stranger thou may lend upon usury, but unto thy brother thou shalt not lend upon usury that the LORD thy God may bless thee in all the work of thy hands upon the land which thou doest enter in to inherit.
When thou dost lend thy brother any thing, thou shalt not go into his house to take his pledge. Thou shalt stand outside, and the man to whom thou dost lend shall bring the pledge out unto thee. read more. And if the man is poor, thou shalt not sleep with his pledge. Without fail thou shalt deliver him the pledge again when the sun goes down that he may sleep in his own clothing and bless thee, and it shall be righteousness unto thee before the LORD thy God.
Thou shalt not twist the rights of the stranger nor of the fatherless nor take a widow's clothing for a pledge,
He that does not put out his money to usury nor take a bribe against the innocent. He that does these things shall never be moved.
My son, if thou be surety for thy friend, if thou hast stricken thy hand with a stranger,
Give not sleep to thine eyes, nor slumber to thine eyelids.
With anxiety shall he that is surety for a stranger be afflicted, and he that hates suretiship shall live securely.
A man void of understanding strikes hands and becomes surety in the presence of his friend.
Take his garment that is surety for a stranger, and take a pledge of him that is surety for a strange woman.
Take his garment that is surety for a stranger and take a pledge of him that is surety for a strange woman.
Woe is me, my mother, that thou hast borne me a man of strife and a man of contention to the whole earth! I have neither lent on usury, nor men have lent to me on usury; 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 should buy a Hebrew slave, he shall serve six years; and in the seventh he shall go out free for nothing.
If thou at all take thy neighbour's clothing as a pledge, thou shalt deliver it unto him before the sun goes down; for only that is his covering, it is his clothing to cover his flesh, in which he must sleep; and it shall come to pass, when he cries unto me, that I will hear, for I am merciful.
And when thy brother becomes poor, being with thee, and if he should sell himself unto thee, thou shalt not compel him to serve as a slave. As a hired servant and as a sojourner, he shall be with thee and shall serve thee unto the year of jubilee. read more. Then he shall depart free from thy house, both he and his children with him, and shall return unto his own family, and unto the possession of his fathers shall he be restored. For they belong to me, I brought them forth out of the land of Egypt; they shall not be sold as slaves. Thou shalt not rule over him with rigor, but shalt fear thy God. Both thy menslaves and thy maidslaves, which thou shalt have, shall be of the Gentiles that are round about you; of them shall ye buy slaves. Ye may also buy of the children of the strangers that live among you and of those of their lineage that are born in your land, who are with you, and they shall be your possession. And ye shall possess them as an inheritance for your children after you, to inherit as a possession; they shall be your bondmen for ever; but over your brethren, the sons of Israel, ye shall not rule over one another with rigor. And if a sojourner or stranger who is with thee becomes rich and thy brother who is with him becomes poor and sells himself unto the stranger or sojourner who is with thee or to the race of the lineage of the stranger, after he is sold he shall have redemption; one of his brethren shall redeem him; either his uncle or his uncle's son shall redeem him; or any that is near of kin unto him of his lineage shall redeem him; or if he is able, he may redeem himself. And he shall reckon with him that bought him from the year that he was sold to him unto the year of jubilee; and the price of his sale shall be according to the number of years, according to the time of a hired servant shall it be with him. If there are yet many years, according unto them he shall give again the price of his redemption out of the money that he was bought for. And if there remain but few years unto the year of jubilee, then he shall count with him, and according unto his years shall he give him again the price of his redemption. And as a yearly hired servant shall he be with him; and the other shall not rule with rigor over him in thy sight. And if he is not redeemed in these years, then he shall go out in the year of jubilee, both he and his children with him. For the sons of Israel are mine; they are my slaves whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt. I AM your God.
And if thy brother, a Hebrew man, or a Hebrew woman, is sold unto thee and serves thee six years, then in the seventh year thou shalt send him forth from thee free. And when thou sendest him out free from thee, thou shalt not send him away empty. read more. Thou shalt furnish him liberally out of thy flock and out of thy threshing floor and out of thy winepress; of that with which the LORD thy God has blessed thee thou shalt give unto him. And thou shalt remember that thou wast a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD thy God ransomed thee; therefore, I command thee this thing to day. And it shall be, if he says unto thee, I will not go away from thee because he loves thee and thy house because he is well with thee, then thou shalt take an aul and thrust it through his ear unto the door, and he shall be thy slave for ever. And also unto thy maidservant thou shalt do likewise. It shall not seem hard unto thee when thou sendest him away free from thee, for he has served thee for half the cost of a hired servant for six years; and the LORD thy God shall bless thee in all that thou doest.
No man shall take the lower or the upper millstone for a pledge, for he takes a man's life to pledge.
When thou dost lend thy brother any thing, thou shalt not go into his house to take his pledge. Thou shalt stand outside, and the man to whom thou dost lend shall bring the pledge out unto thee. read more. And if the man is poor, thou shalt not sleep with his pledge. Without fail thou shalt deliver him the pledge again when the sun goes down that he may sleep in his own clothing and bless thee, and it shall be righteousness unto thee before the LORD thy God.
Thou shalt not twist the rights of the stranger nor of the fatherless nor take a widow's clothing for a pledge,
Now a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets cried unto Elisha, saying, Thy slave, my husband, is dead; and thou knowest that thy slave feared the LORD; and the creditor is come to take my two sons to be his slaves.
If thou hast nothing to pay, why should they take away thy bed from under thee?
Thus saith the LORD, Where is the bill of your mother's divorce, whom I have put away? or which of my creditors is it to whom I have sold you? Behold, for your iniquities ye are sold, and for your rebellions was your mother put away,
For thus saith the LORD, Ye have sold yourselves for nothing; and ye shall be redeemed without money.
Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out of there, until thou hast paid the uttermost farthing.
And his lord was wroth and delivered him to the tormentors until he should pay all that was due unto 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 should buy a Hebrew slave, he shall serve six years; and in the seventh he shall go out free for nothing.
If thou should lend money to my people, to the poor who is with thee, thou shalt not be to him as a usurer, neither shalt thou lay upon him usury.
And if thy brother becomes poor and comes unto thee, then thou shalt receive him; as a stranger, or a sojourner, he shall live with thee.
Thou shalt not give him thy money upon usury, nor lend him thy food for increase.
And when thy brother becomes poor, being with thee, and if he should sell himself unto thee, thou shalt not compel him to serve as a slave.
For they belong to me, I brought them forth out of the land of Egypt; they shall not be sold as slaves.
Keep thyself that there not be a thought of Belial in thy heart, saying, The seventh year, the year of release, is at hand; and thine eye be evil against thy poor brother to give him nothing; for he shall cry unto the LORD against thee, and it shall be a sin unto thee.
Then there was a great cry of the people and of their wives against their brethren, the Jews.
Also I shook my lap and said, Thus will God shake out each man from his house and from his labour, that does not perform this promise, even thus shall he be shaken out and emptied. And all the congregation said, Amen, and praised the LORD. And the people did according to this promise.
He that does not put out his money to usury nor take a bribe against the innocent. He that does these things shall never be moved.
My son, if thou be surety for thy friend, if thou hast stricken thy hand with a stranger,
Give not sleep to thine eyes, nor slumber to thine eyelids.
With anxiety shall he that is surety for a stranger be afflicted, and he that hates suretiship shall live securely.
A man void of understanding strikes hands and becomes surety in the presence of his friend.
Take his garment that is surety for a stranger, and take a pledge of him that is surety for a strange woman.
Be not thou one of them that strike hands or of them that are sureties for debts.
Woe is me, my mother, that thou hast borne me a man of strife and a man of contention to the whole earth! I have neither lent on usury, nor men have lent to me on usury; yet every one of them curses me.
gives forth upon usury and takes increase, shall he then live? He shall not live; he has done all these abominations; he shall surely die; his blood shall be upon him.