You asked

what forms of 'servitude' or dependency does debt create in our modern economy?

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 comes from the book of Deuteronomy, a collection of Moses' speeches to the Israelites on the plains of Moab, just before they enter the promised land. It's part of a larger set of laws and instructions meant to shape their society, emphasizing justice and care for the vulnerable within their community.

What systems might we create today to alleviate the burdens of unending debt?

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Read alongside it

Leviticus 25:8-17
Describes the Year of Jubilee, a larger cycle that included land restitution and release from servitude.
Nehemiah 5:1-13
Shows a real-world example of debt-slavery among the Israelites and Nehemiah's intervention.
Proverbs 22:7
Observes that 'the borrower is slave to the lender,' reflecting the practical reality of debt.

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