Bank; Banking
The Mosaic Law and Interest
The foundation for understanding banking in the Bible is the Mosaic law's treatment of lending and interest. The law of Moses prohibited Israelites from charging interest to fellow Israelites (Exodus 22:25; Leviticus 25:35-37; Deuteronomy 23:19). This prohibition was rooted in the covenant community's obligation to care for its members, particularly the poor. Lending was to be an act of generosity, not a means of profit. However, the law permitted charging interest to foreigners (Deuteronomy 23:20), reflecting a distinction between covenant obligations and ordinary commerce. Despite these laws, the practice of charging interest to fellow Israelites was common enough that the prophets condemned it. Nehemiah rebuked the nobles and officials of his day for exacting interest from their impoverished neighbors (Nehemiah 5:7-12).
Money-Changers in Ancient Israel
Money-changing was a necessary service in the ancient world, where multiple currencies circulated side by side. In Israel, this service became particularly important in connection with the temple. Every adult Jewish male was required to pay an annual temple tax of a half-shekel (Exodus 30:13-16; Matthew 17:24-27). Foreign coins, which often bore images of pagan deities, were not accepted for temple purposes. Money-changers set up their tables in the temple courts to exchange common currency for the Tyrian shekel, which was the standard accepted for temple payments. They charged a small premium for this service, making it a profitable business.
Jesus and the Money-Changers
Jesus' cleansing of the temple is one of the most dramatic events in the Gospels. He overturned the tables of the money-changers and drove out those who were buying and selling, declaring, "My house shall be called a house of prayer, but you make it a den of robbers" (Matthew 21:12-13; Mark 11:15-17; John 2:14-16). Jesus' anger was not directed at the concept of money-changing itself, which was a legitimate service, but at the exploitation of worshippers and the commercialization of sacred space. The Court of the Gentiles, which should have been a place of prayer for all nations, had been turned into a marketplace.
The Parable of the Talents
Jesus' parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14-30) and the similar parable of the minas (Luke 19:12-27) directly reference banking practices. A master entrusts his servants with large sums of money before departing on a journey. Two servants invest wisely and double their amounts. The third buries his money in the ground. When the master returns, he rebukes the lazy servant: "You ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest" (Matthew 25:27). The Greek word for "interest" here is tokos, literally meaning "what is born of money." Jesus uses the banking system as a parable of spiritual responsibility: at minimum, the servant should have put the money to productive use.
Banking in the Greco-Roman World
By the time of the New Testament, sophisticated banking practices were well established throughout the Roman Empire. Bankers sat at their tables (trapezai, from which we get the word "trapezoid" and the modern Greek word for bank) in the marketplace, accepting deposits, making loans, and facilitating currency exchange. Roman publicans farmed the revenues of provinces, and wealthy citizens invested in trading ventures. The Phoenicians are credited with developing many of the money-lending and exchange practices that spread throughout the Mediterranean world. This economic backdrop helps explain why Jesus' audiences would have readily understood his financial parables.
Biblical Context
Banking and money-related topics appear throughout Scripture. The Mosaic law addresses lending and interest (Exodus 22:25; Leviticus 25:35-37; Deuteronomy 23:19-20). The Psalms and Proverbs touch on honest dealing and the dangers of debt (Psalm 15:5; Proverbs 22:7). Nehemiah confronts usury (Nehemiah 5:7-12). Ezekiel lists charging interest among serious sins (Ezekiel 18:8, 13, 17). In the Gospels, Jesus drives out money-changers (Matthew 21:12-13) and uses banking imagery in parables (Matthew 25:27; Luke 19:23).
Theological Significance
The Bible's treatment of banking and interest reveals a consistent concern for justice and the welfare of the vulnerable. Lending at interest to the poor was prohibited because it could trap them in cycles of debt and poverty. Jesus' cleansing of the temple shows that commercial activity, however legitimate in its proper place, must never be allowed to corrupt worship or exploit the faithful. The parable of the talents teaches that God entrusts his gifts to his people and expects them to be used productively for his kingdom, not hoarded or wasted.
Historical Background
Archaeological evidence from across the ancient Near East confirms the prevalence of lending and money-changing. Cuneiform tablets from Mesopotamia record loan contracts with interest rates, some dating back to the third millennium BC. The Code of Hammurabi regulated interest rates in Babylon. In the Greco-Roman period, banking houses operated in major cities throughout the empire. Excavations in the temple area of Jerusalem have uncovered stone weights and other artifacts associated with commercial activity. The Tyrian shekel, required for temple payments, has been found in numerous archaeological contexts throughout Israel.