Borrowing
The Nature of Biblical Borrowing
In the ancient world of the Old Testament, borrowing looked nothing like modern financial transactions. Loans were not taken out to start businesses or fund investments. Instead, they were acts of charity extended to those in desperate need. For the borrower, being in debt was considered a misfortune and a sign of God's disfavor. Deuteronomy 28:12-13 presents freedom from borrowing as a blessing and indebtedness as a curse, making clear that the ideal Israelite would lend to many nations but never need to borrow.
This understanding shaped every aspect of biblical lending law. Because loans existed to relieve suffering rather than generate profit, the entire legal framework aimed to protect the poor from exploitation while encouraging generosity among those who had means.
The Prohibition Against Interest
The most distinctive feature of biblical lending law was the strict prohibition against charging interest to fellow Israelites. This command appears across multiple law codes: Exodus 22:25 forbids treating a poor borrower as a creditor or laying interest upon him; Deuteronomy 23:19 broadly prohibits interest on money, food, or anything else lent to a brother; and Leviticus 25:36 commands Israelites not to take interest or profit from a fellow countryman.
The reasoning behind this prohibition was deeply theological. Charging interest on a loan to a poor Israelite was seen as profiting from a brother's distress. God declared Himself gracious and promised to hear the cry of the oppressed debtor (Exodus 22:27). The prophets Ezekiel and Nehemiah both condemned the practice of usury as a serious sin (Ezekiel 18:8, 13, 17; Nehemiah 5:7-11).
Pledges and Collateral
While interest was forbidden among Israelites, the law did permit lenders to take pledges as collateral, though with significant humanitarian restrictions. Deuteronomy 24:10-13 stipulated that a lender could not enter a borrower's house to seize a pledge but must wait outside for it to be brought out. If the pledge was a cloak needed for warmth, it had to be returned by sunset so the poor person could sleep comfortably.
These regulations reveal the tension between practical economic necessity and compassion. Job 24:2-3 describes the wicked who "remove landmarks" and "take the widow's ox for a pledge," illustrating how the system could be abused. The prophets consistently condemned such exploitation of the vulnerable.
The Year of Release
Perhaps the most remarkable provision in biblical lending law was the sabbatical release described in Deuteronomy 15:1-11. Every seven years, creditors were required to cancel outstanding debts owed by fellow Israelites. This "letting drop of loans" was designed to prevent the permanent impoverishment of any Israelite family and to maintain the economic fabric of the community.
God anticipated that this law might discourage lending as the seventh year approached, and so He explicitly warned against hardening one's heart toward a poor neighbor in need (Deuteronomy 15:9). The command to lend generously was paired with the promise that God would bless the generous lender in all their work.
Lending to Foreigners
The law drew a clear distinction between loans to fellow Israelites and those to foreigners. Deuteronomy 23:20 explicitly permitted charging interest to non-Israelites. This distinction was not rooted in ethnic prejudice but in the covenantal nature of Israelite society. Within the covenant community, mutual aid was obligatory. Foreigners who engaged in commerce with Israel operated under different economic expectations and were not bound by the same covenantal obligations.
This provision also reflected the practical reality that loans to foreigners were more likely to be commercial in nature rather than charitable, making interest a reasonable feature of the transaction.
Borrowing in the New Testament and Beyond
Jesus expanded the ethic of generous lending in His teaching. In Luke 6:34-35, He challenged His followers to lend even to enemies, expecting nothing in return. The parable of the unforgiving servant (Matthew 18:23-35) used the imagery of debt and forgiveness to illustrate God's grace and the obligation of believers to extend that same grace to others.
The apostle Paul echoed this theme when he wrote, "Owe no one anything except to love one another" (Romans 13:8), transforming the concept of debt into a metaphor for the ongoing obligation of Christian love. The biblical teaching on borrowing thus moves from specific legal regulations to a broader ethic of generosity, compassion, and mutual care that continues to challenge believers today.
Biblical Context
Borrowing and lending are addressed across the Pentateuch in Exodus 22:25-27, Leviticus 25:35-38, and Deuteronomy 15:1-11 and 23:19-20. The prophets Ezekiel (18:8-17) and Nehemiah (5:1-13) condemn exploitative lending practices. Psalms 15:5 and 37:21 address the ethics of lending. Jesus taught on lending in Luke 6:34-35 and used debt imagery in parables like the unforgiving servant (Matthew 18:23-35) and the talents (Matthew 25:14-30).
Theological Significance
Biblical borrowing laws reveal God's deep concern for economic justice and the protection of the poor. They teach that wealth carries responsibility, that profit must never come at the expense of a neighbor's suffering, and that the covenant community should function as a safety net for its most vulnerable members. Jesus transformed these principles into a universal ethic of radical generosity that expects nothing in return, pointing to God's own gracious character as the model for human economic relationships.
Historical Background
In the ancient Near East, interest rates were often exorbitant, sometimes reaching 20-33% annually in Mesopotamia. The Code of Hammurabi regulated interest rates but did not prohibit them. Israel's laws were unique in their outright ban on interest within the community. Archaeological evidence from post-exilic Jewish communities, such as the Elephantine papyri from Egypt, shows that lending practices among Jews sometimes diverged from the ideal. By the Second Temple period, Hillel's institution of the prozbul was developed to work around the sabbatical debt release, enabling lending to continue as the seventh year approached.