You asked

if debt forgiveness were mandated, what would need to change in how we structure lending and borrowing?

The passage, plainly, with room to sit with it.

Deuteronomy 15:1-2

“At the end of every seven years you shall make a release. This is the manner of the release: every creditor shall release that which he has lent to his neighbor; he shall not exact it of his neighbor and his brother, because Yahweh’s release has been proclaimed.”

This passage is part of Moses's instructions to the Israelites as they prepare to enter the promised land. It outlines laws for their community life, including economic practices intended to prevent extreme poverty and consolidate wealth, ensuring a more equitable society.

How might a cycle of regular debt release impact our understanding of financial responsibility for both lenders and borrowers?

Keep thinking

Read alongside it

Leviticus 25:8-17
Describes the Jubilee year, a larger-scale release of land and debts every 50 years, aiming for societal reset.
Nehemiah 5:1-12
Shows a real-world example of social injustice due to debt and Nehemiah's intervention to enforce a form of debt relief.
Matthew 6:12
Jesus teaches his disciples to pray, 'forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors,' linking financial and spiritual forgiveness.

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