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bor´ō-ing:
(1) In the Old Testament period loans were not of a commercial nature, i.e. they were not granted to enable a man to start or run a business. They were really a form of charity, and were made by the lender only to meet the pressure of poverty. To the borrower they were esteemed a form of misfortune ( f), and by the lender a form of beneficence. Hence, the tone of the Mosaic legislation on the subject.
(2) Laying interest upon the poor of Israel was forbidden in all the codes (see (JE); ; H), because it was looked upon as making unwarranted profit out of a brother's distress: “If thou lend money to any of my people with thee that is poor, thou shalt not be to him as a creditor; neither shall ye lay upon him interest ... and it shall come to pass, when he crieth unto me, that I will hear; for I am gracious.â€
(3) The Law, however, allowed interest to be taken of a foreigner, or non-Jew ( : “Unto a foreigner thou mayest lend upon interestâ€; compare ); and even among Jews pledges were allowed under limitations, or taken against the law (; compare , “There are that remove the landmarks ... they take the widow's ox for a pledgeâ€). In there is a remarkable law providing a “release†by the creditor every “seven years,†a “letting drop of loans†(see Driver in the place cited.). In , the King James Version “shall borrow†is rendered “shall ask†in the Revised Version (British and American).