thinking bible.
Explore Ask another

You asked

what was the economic reality for ancient israelites that made interest on loans so oppressive?

PlainDeeperStudy

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 of Moses, given to the Israelites as they prepared to enter the Promised Land, likely around the 13th century BCE. It lays out guidelines for community life, including economic practices, with a specific focus on how Israelites should treat one another.

What does a community's economic well-being reveal about its core values?

Keep thinking

Read alongside it

  • Exodus 22:25

    This earlier law also prohibits charging interest to the poor among the Israelites.

  • Leviticus 25:35-37

    This passage links lending without interest to supporting a fellow Israelite who falls into poverty, emphasizing mutual aid.

  • Nehemiah 5:1-11

    Centuries later, Nehemiah confronts wealthy Jews charging exorbitant interest to their struggling brethren, showing this issue persisted.

Ask your own follow-up