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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadInternational Standard Bible Encyclopedia: Pledge
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plej (verbs חבל, ḥābhal (10 times), ערב, ‛ārabh ( = ); nouns חבל, ḥăbhāl (, ; ), חבלה, ḥăbḥōlāh (), ערבּה, ‛ărubbāh), (), ערבון, ‛ērābhōn (, , ); also עבט, ‛ăbhōṭ (-13) and (the Revised Version (British and American) only) עבטיט, ‛abhṭı̄ṭ ()): All these words have about the same meaning. (1) The “pledge†is, as in modern English, security given for future payment (-24) or conduct (, where the conquered nations have given guaranties of their subserviency to the Chaldeans; the King James Version's “thick clay†here rests on a misreading of the Hebrew). In (= ) the “pledge†is a wager (so the Revised Version margin). Rabshakeh mockingly dares Hezekiah to stake a “pledge†that he can produce 2,000 men for the defense of Jerusalem, although the mighty Assyrian host has that number of horses alone. The general point of the obscure passage (= ) is that he who guarantees strangers needs a guaranty himself. is uncertain and the text may be corrupt. If not, the “pledge†is some (prearranged?) token of the welfare of David's brethren. (2) Most of the occurrences of “pledge,†however, deal with the debts of the very poor, who had no property that they could spare even temporarily. Consequently, the exaction of a pledge from such persons worked genuine hardship, and to take a pledge at all was a cruel act (), although of course the dishonesty of withholding a pledge (; ) was worse. Lowest in the scale was the creditor who took the garment the borrower was wearing (; ; margin), and special legislation controlled this practice. A garment (the outer “cloak†- see DRESS - not worn while doing manual labor) so taken must be restored at night (; , ), for it was the usual covering of the sleeper. (Apparently, though, the creditor regained custody of it in the daytime until the debt was paid.) A widow's clothing, however, was entirely exempt (), as was the handmill used for bread-making (). The lender had no right of entry into the borrower's house to obtain the pledge (, ), but it is not said that he could not dictate what he would accept; indeed, the contrary is inconceivable. (3) the American Standard Revised Version gives “pledge†for the King James Version and the English Revised Version “faith†in . See also EARNEST.