Verse 19<\/span>. Usury<\/B><\/I>] See Clarke on <\/span>Le 25:36<\/span><\/span>.<\/P> <\/p>\n i.e. So as to receive thy principal money or thing left with such increase or improvement of it, as was usual and allowed among the Gentiles. But whether all usury be unlawful to Christians is too great a question to be determined in a work of this nature. See Exo 22:25<\/span>; Deu 15:3<\/span>; Psa 15:5<\/span>; Neh 5:2<\/span>; Luk 6:34<\/span>. <\/P> <\/p>\n 19, 20. Thou shalt not lend uponusury to thy brother . . . Unto a stranger thou mayest lend uponusury<\/B>The Israelites lived in a simple state of society, andhence they were encouraged to lend to each other in a friendly waywithout any hope of gain. But the case was different with foreigners,who, engaged in trade and commerce, borrowed to enlarge theircapital, and might reasonably be expected to pay interest on theirloans. Besides, the distinction was admirably conducive to keepingthe Israelites separate from the rest of the world.<\/P><\/p>\n Thou shalt not lend upon usury to thy brother<\/strong>,…. One of the same nation and religion, and who is in poor and necessitous circumstances, and wants either food for himself and family, or money to carry on his husbandry, till such times as the fruits of his ground will bring him in a sufficiency for his support, and the payment of what he borrows, and which is to be lent him without any interest: as the Jews were chiefly employed in husbandry, and not merchandise, they had but little occasion to borrow, and when they did could not afford to pay interest, as persons concerned in merchandise, whose gains are great, are able to do; and it is but reasonable that such persons should; but that the Israelites, when poor and in distress, might not be bowed down under their burdens, this law is made for their relief:<\/p>\n usury of money, usury of victuals, usury of anything that is lent upon usury<\/strong>; this takes in all sorts of usury, whether what is lent be money or food, or anything else, no interest was to be taken for it;<\/p>\n [See comments on Le 25:36]<\/span>;<\/p>\n [See comments on Le 25:37]<\/span>.<\/p>\n Different Theocratic Rights of Citizenship. – Deu 23:19<\/span>, Deu 23:20<\/span>. Of his brother (i.e., his countryman), the Israelite was not to take interest for money, food, or anything else that he lent to him; but only of strangers (non-Israelites: cf. Exo 22:24<\/span> and Lev 25:36-37<\/span>).<\/p>\n Verses 19, 20:<\/strong><\/p>\n “Usury,” nashak, <\/strong>“to exact, to cause to bite.” The term denotes interest charged on a loan.<\/p>\n “Brother,” a fellow Israelite.<\/p>\n An Israelite was not to charge interest on the loan of money, food, or anthing else, to a fellow Israelite, see Exo 22:25-27<\/span>; Lev 25:35-37<\/span>. No such prohibition applied to a loan to a foreigner.<\/p>\n <\/strong><\/p>\n From these passages we learn that it is not enough to refrain from taking the goods of another, unless we also constantly exercise humanity and mercy in the relief of the poor. Heathen authors also saw this, although not with sufficient clearness, (when they declared (109)) that, since all men are born for the sake of each other, human society is not properly maintained, except by an interchange of good offices. Wherefore, that we may not defraud our neighbors, and so be accounted thieves in God’s sight, let us learn, according to our several means, to be kind to those who need our help; for liberality is a part of righteousness, so that he must be deservedly held to be unrighteous who does not relieve the necessities of his brethren when he can. This is the tendency of Solomon’s exhortation, that <\/p>\n “<\/p>\n we should drink waters out of our own cistern, (110) and that our fountains should be dispersed abroad amongst our neighbors,” (Pro 5:15<\/span>\ud83d\ude09 <\/p>\n for, after he has enjoined us each to be contented with what is our own, without seeking to enrich ourselves by the loss of others, he adds that those who have abundance do not enjoy their possessions as they ought, unless they communicate them to the poor for the relief of their poverty. For this is the reason, as Solomon tells us elsewhere, why “the rich and the poor meet together; and the Lord is the maker of them all.” (Pro 22:2<\/span>.) <\/p>\n (109) Added from Fr. “Atque ita placet Stoicis, quae in terris gignuntur ad usum hominum omnia creari, homines autem hominum causa esse generatos, ut ipsi inter se aliis alii prodesse possent.” — Cic. de Off. 1:7. <\/p>\n (110) It will be seen that these verses are abbreviated, and slightly paraphrased by C. His exposition of them, which is not the ordinary one, agrees with that of Junins in Poole’s Syn. <\/p>\n (3) INTEREST ON LOANS (Deu. 23:19-20<\/span>)<\/p>\n 19 Thou shalt not lend upon interest to thy brother; interest of money, interest of victuals, interest of any thing that is lent upon interest: 20 unto a foreigner thou mayest lend upon interest; but unto thy brother thou shalt not lend upon interest, that Jehovah thy God may bless thee in all that thou puttest thy hand unto, in the land whither thou goest in to possess it.<\/p>\n THOUGHT QUESTIONS 23:19, 20<\/p>\n 399.<\/p>\n Why not lend with interest to our brother? Does this relate to our day? Discuss.<\/p>\n 400.<\/p>\n How shall we connect the blessing of the Lord with lending without interest?<\/p>\n AMPLIFIED TRANSLATION 23:19, 20<\/p>\n 19 You shall not lend on interest to your brother, interest on money, on victuals, on anything that is lent for interest. COMMENT 23:19, 20<\/p>\n The amount of interest which could be charged to foreigners is not stated, but no interest was to be charged a fellow-Israelite. See also Exo. 22:25-27<\/span>, Lev. 25:35-37<\/span>, Neh. 5:6-10<\/span>, Eze. 18:5-9<\/span>. If they were obedient, they would indeed lend as a nation, ch. Deu. 28:12<\/span>.<\/p>\n (19, 20) Usury.<\/strong>See Exo. 22:25<\/span>; Lev. 25:35-36<\/span>. Some recent writers on this law have thought that it forbids the putting out of money to interest. But it is noticeable that in both the previous passages referred to (in Exod. and Lev.) the loan is supposed to be made to a poor man in real distress. Usury in such cases means oppression; and so it is proved to be by the examples given in Neh. 5:2-5<\/span>; Neh. 5:10-12<\/span>. The connection between this exaction and modern investments is not obvious, except in a very few cases. The Mosaic law against usury does not belong to commerce with other nations; it is part of the poor law of the land of Israel.<\/p>\n 19, 20<\/strong>. <\/strong> Not lend upon usury <\/strong> Not to a brother Israelite. Compare Exo 22:25<\/span>, and Lev 25:36-37<\/span>. The Israelite was to exact nothing for the use of money, food, or any thing, provided it was loaned to his own countryman; but from non-Israelites he might.<\/p>\n Covenant Matters and Honest Dealings ( Deu 23:19-25<\/strong><\/span><\/strong> ). <\/p>\n <\/strong><\/p>\n The section on what should be welcomed and what should not was then followed by the approach to covenant responsibilities fulfilled out of honest goodness; such as not taking from the poor interest on loans (Deu 23:19-20<\/span>), not taking from God was has been avowed to Him (Deu 23:21-23<\/span>), and not taking from their neighbours what belongs to them (Deu 23:24-25<\/span>). Honesty was required in all their affairs. There is the presumption in the first that the poor will have loans made available to them, in the second that freewill offerings will be made available for others to partake of, and in the third of the making available to all of ‘ready meals’ from growing grapes and grain (Deu 23:24-25<\/span>). The three are thus closely connected by the thought of honesty of purpose and a readiness to provide. <\/p>\n Lending On Interest Allowable Only To Foreigners ( Deu 23:19-20<\/strong><\/span><\/strong> ). <\/p>\n <\/strong><\/p>\n Lending by one Israelite to another on interest was not to be allowed. Such borrowing would normally be by those in desperate straits, for it was to be an agricultural society. To add interest would be to make such a person’s situation worse. The debt must not be added to in this way. (Exo 22:25<\/span>; Lev 25:36-37<\/span>). But it covered all such loans. This regulation is unique in the Ancient Near East. <\/p>\n Deu 23:19<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n ‘<\/strong> You shall not lend on interest to your brother; interest of silver, interest of victuals, interest of anything that is lent on interest,’ <\/p>\n The principle of not charging interest (or any extra payment) applied to all lending whether of silver or of goods or of food. Such were to be lent freely out of gratitude to Yahweh (compare Deu 15:1-11<\/span>). This did not necessarily indicate extortionate interest, although interest was usually very high in those days, it signified anything that would increase the debt. The helping hand must not be accompanied by the grasping fist. Any loan was to be an expression of love to Yahweh. Such an offering was acceptable to Yahweh. <\/p>\n Deu 23:20<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n ‘<\/strong> To a foreigner you may lend on interest, but to your brother you shall not lend on interest, that Yahweh your God may bless you in all that you put your hand to, in the land to which you go in to possess it.’ <\/p>\n It was permissible to lend on interest to foreigners, demonstrating that there was nothing inherently wrong in lending on interest. In that case it would be commercial. The point was that advantage should not be taken of a fellow-Israelite’s hard luck. But they had no such covenant responsibility towards foreigners, and the foreigners would mainly be merchants and traders (which did not, however, justify extortionate interest rates). Then Yahweh their God would bless them in all that they put their hand to in the land ‘which they were entering in order to possess it’. They would from this see how Yahweh was the great lender, He was ‘giving’ them the land, they must behave in the same way towards the poor, and Yahweh Himself would then reward them. <\/p>\n Vows To Yahweh Must Be Honoured But Are Not Demanded. <\/p>\n Deu 23:21<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n <\/strong><\/p>\n ‘<\/strong> When you shall vow a vow to Yahweh your God, you shall not be slack to pay it, for Yahweh your God will surely require it of you, and it would be sin in you.’ <\/p>\n To make a vow to Yahweh was a serious matter. Once made there should be no hesitation about fulfilling it. There was provision for those who made unauthorised vows, for example a rash vow by a young woman or a wife (Num 30:4-5<\/span>; Num 30:8<\/span> etc.). Apart from this Yahweh would expect the vow to be fulfilled, and not to fulfil it would be a breach of the covenant. <\/p>\n Deu 23:22<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n ‘<\/strong> But if you shall forbear to vow, it shall be no sin in you.’ <\/p>\n However, it is made quite clear that vows were not demanded. They were totally a matter of freewill and love for Yahweh. There was no breach of covenant for the one who never made a vow. <\/p>\n Deu 23:23<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n ‘<\/strong> What is gone out of your lips you shall observe and do; according as you have vowed to Yahweh your God, a freewill-offering, which you have promised with your mouth.’ <\/p>\n However, once a vow of a freewill offering had been made, it was expected that it would be fulfilled. Note how the vow is seen as connected with and accompanied by a freewill offering, a ‘peace\/wellbeing offering’. Apart from anything else a good number of people would benefit from the freewill offering, from which a feast would be prepared for family and friends, not to overlook Levites (Deu 12:6<\/span>; Deu 12:17<\/span>; Lev 7:16-20<\/span>; Lev 22:21-22<\/span>; Lev 23:38<\/span>; Num 15:3<\/span>; Num 29:39<\/span>). What was promised with the lips, and came from the mouth, must be observed (compare Num 30:2<\/span>). A man could not get credit to himself by his vow, and then change his mind afterwards. <\/p>\n One of the prime requirements for those who would enter Yahweh’s presence was that having given their word they fulfilled it, even to their own cost (Psa 15:4<\/span>), an attitude we could do well to heed. <\/p>\n Ver. <\/em><\/strong>19, 20. <\/strong>Thou shalt not lend upon usury to thy brother, <\/em><\/strong>&c.<\/strong> i.e. To an Israelite. <\/em>See Exo 22:25<\/span>. But though they might not lend to Israelites, they are allowed to do so to strangers; <\/em>for, as nothing was more reasonable, than that their neighbours the Sidonians, Tyrians, Egyptians, and others, who made great gain by merchandise, should not borrow money of the Israelites for nothing; so was it no less reasonable, that the Israelites themselves, whose chief profit was by husbandry, and breeding of cattle, <\/em>should have money lent them freely by one another without interest, their land not being a country of traffic, whereby money might be improved, as in other countries. See Grotius on Luk 6:35<\/span>. A benediction, as usual, is added to the performance of this law; which, being made principally for the benefit of the poorer Israelites, as appears from Exo 22:25<\/span> and Lev 25:36<\/span> is to be estimated among those duties of charity to which many promises of spiritual and temporal blessings are annexed. To this purpose Philo, in his Treatise of Humanity, <\/em>says well, “The law forbids an Israelite to take usury of his brother; as thus, neither were the poor liable to be involved in inextricable straits, by being obliged to give back more than they received, nor did the lender lose his gain; for he received a valuable equivalent in the possession of those honours, and that internal applause, which generosity, good-nature, and greatness of mind, bestow.” Mr. Harrington, in his Oceana, <\/em>p. 245, infers from this passage, “first, that usury (by which he means lawful interest) in itself is not unlawful; and, secondly, that usury in Israel was no otherwise forbidden, than as it might come to overthrow the balance or foundation of the government: for when a lot, in general, amounted not perhaps to four acres, a man who should have had one thousand pounds in his purse, could not have regarded such a lot, in comparison of his money; and he that should have been half so much in debt, would have been quite eaten up.” <\/p>\n As an Israelite received his inheritance from GOD it was not alienable. Herein we have a type of the promised inheritance in JESUS. Blessed be GOD! this is not forfeitable. I may be poor; I may be in want; I may be compelled to borrow; but my new birth-right in the Redeemer is not mine to sell.<\/p>\n Deu 23:19 Thou shalt not lend upon usury to thy brother; usury of money, usury of victuals, usury of any thing that is lent upon usury:<\/p>\n Ver. 19. Thou shalt not lend upon usury.<\/strong> ] Heb., Upon biting usury. It must needs bite at length that licks so clean. Amalek, the licking people, I mean the nation of usurers and their factors, as cormorants, fall upon the poor borrower, and with open mouth devour him. <\/p>\n “ E , .”<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Faenus a multiplici foetu, ut<\/em> . In the year 1235, there were spread through England certain Roman usurers, called Caursini, quasi capientes Ursi; <\/em> a<\/em> devouring bears, saith Matthew Paris. These bite to purpose. Others are more cunning and close in their conveyance; like serpents, they can sting without hissing; like dog fish, suck your blood only with licking, and in the end kill you, and cut your throats without biting. “For as much as all usury, being forbidden by the law of God, is a sin, and detestable,” &c., saith the statute, 13 Eliz., cap. 8. And “Verily so many as increase themselves by usury, &c., they have their goods of the devil’s gift” (Homil. of the Church of England, vol. ii. hom. 17, p. 2). Aristotle, b<\/em> by the dim light of nature, saw the evil of it, condemning in one page the usurer and the dicer. And Agis, General of the Athenians, so hated usury, that he made a bonfire of all the usurer’s bills and bonds in the market place, and then said that he never saw a finer fire than that in all his life. c<\/em> <\/p>\n<\/p>\n a<\/em> Speed. <\/p>\n b<\/em> Arist., Eth., <\/em> lib. iv. cap. 1. <\/p>\n c<\/em> Plut., in Solone.<\/p>\n NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Deu 23:19-20<\/p>\n 19You shall not charge interest to your countrymen: interest on money, food, or anything that may be loaned at interest. 20You may charge interest to a foreigner, but to your countrymen you shall not charge interest, so that the LORD your God may bless you in all that you undertake in the land which you are about to enter to possess.<\/p>\n Deu 23:19 You shall not charge interest The Hebrew is literally something bitten off (BDB 675). This is also discussed in Exo 22:25 and Lev 25:35-37.<\/p>\n Deu 23:20 There was a different set of guidelines between covenant partners and Gentiles (BDB 648, cf. Deu 14:21; Deu 15:3).<\/p>\n so that the LORD your God may bless you in all that you undertake Notice YHWH’s blessing, which was meant to be a sign which attracted the world to Him, was conditioned on Israel’s covenant obedience. The old covenant, like the new covenant, was grace-based, but performance to the covenant obligations was expected between God and His people because God wants to reflect His character through His people to a spiritually lost and needy world. New Covenant salvation is absolutely free in the finished work of Christ, but it too has conditions and expectations (i.e., repentance, faith, obedience, perseverance). The goal of knowing God is living in His revealed will and character. See Special Topic: YHWH’s ETERNAL REDEMPTIVE PLAN .<\/p>\n It is interesting that several of these blessing texts occur in the context of Israel helping the poor and needy (e.g., Deu 14:29; Deu 24:19).<\/p>\n usury. Compare Exo 22:25. Lev 25:35-37. <\/p>\n Exo 22:25, Lev 25:35-37, Neh 5:1-7, Psa 15:5, Eze 18:7, Eze 18:8, Eze 18:13, Eze 18:16-18, Eze 22:12, Luk 6:34, Luk 6:35 <\/p>\n Reciprocal: Exo 22:14 – borrow Lev 25:36 – usury Neh 5:7 – Ye exact usury Jer 15:10 – I have Mat 25:27 – with Luk 19:23 – usury<\/p>\n Deu 23:19. Thou shalt not lend upon usury to thy brother To an Israelite. They held their estates immediately from God, who, while he distinguished them from all other people, might have ordered, had he pleased, that they should have all things in common. But instead of that, and in token of their joint interest in the good land he had given them, he only appointed them, as there was occasion, to lend to one another without interest. This, among them, would be little or no loss to the lender, because their land was so divided, their estates so settled, and there was so little merchandise among them, that it was seldom or never they had occasion to borrow any great sums, but only for the subsistence of their families, or some uncommon emergence. But they might lend to a stranger upon usury who was supposed to live by trade, and therefore got by what he borrowed: in which case it is just the lender should share in the gain. This usury, therefore, is not oppressive; for they might not oppress a stranger.<\/p>\n Lending with interest 23:19-20<\/span><\/p>\n The Israelites could charge interest when they made loans to non-Israelites, but they were not to charge their brethren interest (Deu 23:19-20; cf. Exo 22:25; Lev 25:35-37).<\/p>\n ". . . the evidence shows that ancient rates of interest were exorbitant." [Note: Payne, p. 132.] <\/span><\/p>\n God’s people should be especially gracious with their needy brethren (cf. Gal 6:10).<\/p>\n 8. Laws arising from the eighth commandment 23:19-24:7<\/span><\/p>\n The eighth commandment is, "You shall not steal" (Deu 5:19). All these laws have some connection with respecting the possessions of others.<\/p>\n "Respect was to be shown to all those dignified by the status of covenant servant to the Lord. This section of stipulations was designed to guarantee this sanctity of the theocratic citizen by regulations which assured peace, prosperity, and liberty within the covenant commitment to all God’s people, but especially to those classes whose welfare was jeopardized by various circumstances." [Note: Kline, "Deuteronomy," p. 187.] <\/span><\/p>\n Thou shalt not lend upon usury to thy brother; usury of money, usury of victuals, usury of any thing that is lent upon usury: Verse 19. Usury] See Clarke on Le 25:36. Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible i.e. So as to receive thy principal money or thing left with such … Continue reading “Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Deuteronomy 23:19”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5528","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-commentary"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5528","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5528"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5528\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5528"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5528"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5528"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible <\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
20 You may lend on interest to a foreigner; but to your brother you shall not lend on interest, that the Lord your God may bless you in all that you undertake in the land to which you go to possess it.<\/p>\nFuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"