You asked

what did 'lending' to a poor brother mean in an economy without banks or interest?

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

Deuteronomy 23:19-20

“You shall not lend on interest to your brother: interest of money, interest of food, interest of anything that is lent on interest. You may lend on interest to a foreigner; but to your brother you shall not lend on interest, that Yahweh your God may bless you in all that you put your hand to in the land into which you are entering to possess it.”

This passage is part of the Law given through Moses to the Israelites as they prepared to enter the Promised Land. It sets out ethical guidelines for how they, as a covenant people, were to live and interact, particularly regarding financial matters within their community.

How might a community-oriented approach to finance, rooted in mutual support rather than profit from vulnerability, challenge modern economic assumptions?

Keep thinking

Read alongside it

Exodus 22:25
This earlier law also prohibits charging interest to the poor among the Israelites, emphasizing care for the vulnerable.
Leviticus 25:35-37
This passage expands on supporting a poor Israelite, saying not to charge interest or take profit from them, but to sustain them.
Nehemiah 5:1-13
This historical account shows Nehemiah rebuking and reforming Israelites who were charging excessive interest to their impoverished countrymen during a time of famine.

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