You asked

what was the social and economic structure of ancient israel that made this law necessary?

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 from the book of Deuteronomy, which presents a series of laws and instructions given by Moses to the Israelites as they stood on the brink of entering the promised land. These laws were intended to establish a just society for their new life together, before a monarchy was established.

What does a system designed for regular reset suggest about the nature of wealth and debt in a community?

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Read alongside it

Leviticus 25:8-10
Describes the Jubilee year, a similar, even broader, system of land and debt release every 50 years.
Nehemiah 5:1-13
Shows a real-world example of economic hardship leading to debt and the need for release among the Jewish people.

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