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Loan
Excerpt from the Lexham Bible Dictionary, the most advanced Bible dictionary.
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).
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The Lexham Bible Dictionary
Loan
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
The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Revised
Lend;Lender;Loan
Lend; Lender; Loan[Heb hiphil of lāwâ] (Ex. 22:25 [MT 24]; Dt. 28:12, 44; Ps. 37:26; 112:5; Prov. 19:17; 22:7; Isa. 24:2); NEB also ADVANCE (Ex. 22:25); [nāṯan (be- or bannešeḵ)] (Lev. 25:37; Ezk. 18:8, 13); AV also “give forth (upon usury)”; NEB also ADVANCE; [hiphil of nāšaḵ] (Dt. 23:19f
The HarperCollins Bible Dictionary (Revised and Updated)
Loan, Loans
loan, loans. Biblical legislation concerning lending must be understood against the background of a noncommercial agricultural society with strong tribal roots. The primary motivation of borrowers was to obtain relief from need rather than to further their economic enterprises. Furthermore, the poor
The Wycliffe Bible Encyclopedia
Loan
LOAN. In the economy set up by the law of Moses, loans were on a charitable rather than a commercial basis. They were to help those in an essentially agricultural economy who faced a time of stress, poverty, or need. The commercial loan system practiced in Babylon did not exist in Israel, nor was it
Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible
Debt, Interest, Loans
Debt, Interest, LoansThe practice of making of loans at interest was a widespread phenomenon in biblical times. The first extant legal source regulating interest rates is the Laws of Eshnunna (ca. 1800 b.c.e.) in Babylonia where interest rates were limited to 20 percent for money and 33.3 percent for
Catholic Bible Dictionary
Loan
LOAN In Old Testament money lending, both sides in the arrangement had certain obligations, but (as Deut 28:12, 44 taught), it was far better to be a creditor than a debtor. Loans were not to be made with a charge of interest (Exod 22:24; Ps 15:5; Prov 28:8; Ezek 18:13, 17; 22:12) except to Gentiles
Smith’s Bible Dictionary
Loan
Loan. The law strictly forbade any interest to be taken for a loan to any poor person, and at first, as it seems, even in the case of a foreigner; but this prohibition was afterward limited to Hebrews only, from whom, of whatever rank, not only was no usury on any pretence to be exacted, but relief to
The New Unger’s Bible Dictionary
Loan
LOAN. The law of Moses did not contemplate any raising of money by loans to obtain capital; and bankers and sureties, in the commercial sense (Neh. 5:3; Prov. 22:26), were unknown in the early ages of the Hebrews. The law made the following provisions respecting loans.
Easton’s Bible Dictionary
Loan
Loan—The Mosaic law required that when an Israelite needed to borrow, what he asked was to be freely lent to him, and no interest was to be charged, although interest might be taken of a foreigner (Ex. 22:25; Deut. 23:19, 20; Lev. 25:35–38). At the end of seven years all debts were remitted. Of a foreigner
Harper’s Bible Dictionary
Loan
Loanloan, something lent or furnished on condition of being returned. Biblical legislation concerning the lending of fungibles must be understood against the background of a noncommercial agricultural society with strong tribal roots. The primary motivation of borrowers was to obtain relief from need