Loan A temporary lending of money or other goods with the expectation of reimbursement.

Loans are mentioned throughout the Bible, particularly in the law codes of the Pentateuch. Lending on interest to the poor is prohibited in Exod 22:25. Leviticus 25:35–38 requires Israelites to receive no interest from fellow Israelites because of the goodness of Yahweh to Israel. However, charging interest to foreigners is allowed (see Deut 23:19–20). According to Deuteronomy 15:1–6, a creditor is required to release a fellow Israelite from his debt in the year of Jubilee, but may require payment from a foreigner. Israel may lend to other nations, but must not borrow from them (Deut 28:12, 44). A pledge, or security, must not be taken in person by the creditor from the house of the debtor, nor kept overnight, if the debtor is poor (Deut 24:10–13).

Regardless of the law in Leviticus, usury seems to have become common in Israel before the exile (Isa 24:2; Jer 15:10), was practiced on the return, and was an evil corrected by Nehemiah (Neh 5:7, 10).

In Wisdom literature, according to Psa 37:21, 26; 112:5; and Prov 19:17, lending to the needy was regarded as a mark of piety. However, no interest was to be charged, and borrowing was discouraged (Prov 22:7).

In deuterocanonical texts (Wis 15:16; Sir 8:12; 18:33; 20:15, 29; 4 Macc 2:8), borrowing is likewise discouraged. Lending is exalted as an act of mercy.

In the New Testament, Jesus teaches that His followers should lend even to enemies and to those from whom they have no hope of expecting anything in return. To do this is to be like the Most High (Luke 6:34–35; compare Matt 5:42). Jesus indirectly discussed lending in parables, like the parable of the talents/minas (Matt 25:14–30; Luke 19:11–27) and the parable of the unmerciful servant (Matt 18:23–35).