The Acts and the Epistles give few glimpses of the trade of the time (cf. Jam 4:13 ff., 1Th 2:9; 1Th 4:11, 2Th 3:8 ff., Act 19:24 ff., 1Co 7:30, Rom 13:7 ff., Rev 18:4-20). This may seem all the more remarkable since Christianity touched the commerce of the Roman world at so many points and used the fine Roman roads (see article Trade And Commerce). The allusions to debt are quite incidental, and come in generally in the metaphorical use of words.<\/p>\n
1. Literal use.-The word debt signifying a business transaction is found in Phm 1:18 (), where St. Paul delicately refers to money or valuables stolen from Philemon by Onesimus. St. Paul here uses the technical language of business- . We meet in pagan inscriptions and in an Imperial papyrus letter of the time of Hadrian (Deissmann, Light from the Ancient East2, 79f.). Dibelius (Kol. in Handbuch zum NT, 1912, p. 129) quotes various examples, as [ ] [] (Grenfell and Hunt, ii. 67, 16ff.). In the rest of St. Pauls half-humorous sally with Philemon ( ) he probably has in mind (Col 2:14). The debtor could have another to write for him if unable to write himself (cf. specimen of such a note by an from the Fayym papyri [Deissmann, op. cit. p. 335]). The common word for repay is (cf. Rom 13:7), but St. Paul here uses , which is much stronger than (Deissmann, p. 335 n. [Note: . note.] ; cf. also Moulton and Milligan, in Expositor, 7th ser., vi. [1908] 191f.). St. Paul thus gives Philemon his note of hand to pay the debt of Onesimus. In Php 4:18 St. Paul uses, perhaps in playful vein again, the technical word for a receipt, , in expressing his appreciation of the liberal contribution sent to him by the Philippians (cf. for a tax-receipt on an ostracon from Thebes [Deissmann, p. 111]). The term (Php 4:17) has the atmosphere of book-keeping (cf. also in Php 4:15). In Rom 4:4 we find the figure of credit for actual work as a debt- . This is simply pay for work done (wages). The word , hire for pay, is the common expression (cf. the proverb in 1Ti 5:18 and (hired house) in Act 28:30).<\/p>\n
In Jam 5:4 the curtain is raised upon the social wrong done to labour by grinding employers who kept back () the wages of the men who tilled the fields. James rather implies that there was little recourse to law in such cases, but consoles the wronged workers in that God has heard their cries. There was imprisonment for debt, as was the case in England and America till some 50 years ago, but it was only with difficulty that the workman could bring such a law to bear on his employer. In Rom 13:6-8 St. Paul expressly urges the Roman Christiana to pay taxes, a form of debt paid with poor grace in all the ages. Christianity is on the side of law and order, and recognizes the debt of the citizens to government for the maintenance of order. For this cause ye pay tribute also (Rom 13:6), . In Rom 13:7 he urges the duty of paying () back in full (perfective use of as in above) ones taxes. is the tribute paid by the subject nation (Luk 20:22, 1Ma 10:33), while represents the customs and dues which would in any case be paid for the support of the civil government (Mat 17:25, 1Ma 10:31). So Sanday-Headlam, Romans, in loco.<\/p>\n
In Rom 13:8 St. Paul covers the whole field by . We are not to imagine that he is opposed to debt as the basis of business. The early Jewish prohibitions against debt and interest (usury) contemplated a world where only the poor and unfortunate had to borrow. But already, long before St. Pauls time, borrowing and lending was a regular business custom at the basis of trade. Extortionate rates of interest were often charged (cf. Horace [Sat. i. ii. 14], who expressly states that interest at the rate of 5 per cent a month or 60 per cent a year was sometimes exacted). Jesus draws a picture of imprisonment, and even slavery, for debt in the Parable of the Two Creditors (Mat 18:23-35; cf. also Mat 5:25 f.). But the point of view of St. Paul here is the moral obligation of the debtor to pay his debt. In few things do Christians show greater moral laxity than in the matter of debt. Evidently St. Paul had already noticed this laxity. He makes this exhortation the occasion of a strong argument for love, but the context shows that liberal financial obligations (, common in the papyri in this sense) are in mind as well as the metaphorical applications of .<\/p>\n
2. Metaphorical uses.-The examples in the apostolic period chiefly come under this heading. The debt of love in Rom 13:8 is a case in point. It may be noted that can no longer be claimed as a purely biblical word (cf. Deissmann, op. cit. p. 70). None the less Christianity glorifies the word. The debt of love is the only one that must not be paid in full, but the interest must be paid. For other instances of see Rom 15:1-27, 1Co 5:10. In Rom 13:7 covers all kinds of obligations, financial and moral (cf. also 1Co 7:3 [conjugal duty]). The metaphorical me of appears in Rom 1:14, Gal 5:3 etc. The metaphor of debt is found in various other words. Thus, when St. Paul speaks of Christians being slaves of Christ, he is thinking of the obligation due to the new Master who has set us free from the bondage of sin at the price of His own blood. The figure need not be overworked, but this is the heart of it (cf. Rom 6:18-22, Gal 2:4; Gal 5:1, 1Co 6:20; 1Co 7:23, Rom 3:24, 1Ti 2:6, Tit 2:14; cf. also 1Pe 1:18, Heb 9:12). (See Deissmann, op. cit. pp. 324-44 for a luminous discussion of the whole subject of manumission of slaves in the inscriptions and papyri, as illustrating the NT use of words like , , , , , , , , , , , , etc.) The use of with the figure of paying off a debt is common (cf. Rom 2:6; Rom 12:17, etc.). (Eph 1:14) presents the idea of pledge (mortgage), earnest money to guarantee the full payment (Deissmann, op. cit. p. 340). In Heb 7:22 in the same way is surety or guarantor. It seems clear that in Heb 9:16 f. has the notion of a will (testament) which is paid at death. Deissmann (op. cit. p. 341) argues that no one in the Mediterranean world in the first century a.d. would have thought of finding in the word the idea of covenant St. Paul would not, and in fact did not, That sweeping statement overlooks the Septuagint , however. Cf. article Covenant. The figurative use of occurs in Rom 5:13.<\/p>\n
Literature.-articles in Hasting’s Dictionary of the Bible (5 vols) , Dict. of Christ and the Gospels , Jewish Encyclopedia , and Catholic Encyclopedia , and Commentaries on the passages cited; A. Deissmann, Bible Studies, Eng. translation , 1901, and Light from the Ancient East2, 1911; A. Edersheim, LT [Note: T Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah (Edersheim).] ii. p. 268ff.; E. Schrer, History of the Jewish People (Eng. tr. of GJV).] ii. i. 362f.<\/p>\n
A. T. Robertson.<\/p>\n
DEBT, DEBTOR.The Jews, being an inland people, and not directly interested in the worlds trade, were slow to gain touch with the credit-systems of more commercial communities. But by Christs day their business ideas, modified already in part by the Phnicians, are seen overlaid and radically affected by Roman domination. The people, on the one hand, as they listened to the reading of the Law in public, had the OT ideal before them, which was one of notable mildness, backed by humanitarian ordinances. Debt in their old national life had been regarded as a passing misfortune, rather than a basal element in trading conditions. In the popular mind it was associated with poverty (Exo 22:25), a thing that came upon the husbandman, for instance, in bad seasons (Neh 5:3). Being thus exceptional, and a subject for pity, little or no interest was to be exacted (Exo 22:25), and a strict tariff excluded many things from the list of articles to be taken in pledge (Deu 24:6; Deu 24:17, Job 24:3, Amo 2:8, etc.), while in the Seventh or Fallow year (Exo 23:10-11 ff., Lev 25:1-7), and again amid the joys of Jubilee (Lev 25:30 ff.), the poor debtor had ample reason to rejoice. There was harshness in the tone, on the other hand, of the Roman methods, which were developed more on the lines of modern commerce. Often the more impoverished the debtor, the greater the exaction, as Horace expressly puts it (Sat. 1, 2, 14), 5 per cent. a month (60 per cent. per annum) being cited by him as a rate of interest not unknown.<\/p>\n
In the Gospels we have suggestions of the money-customs of the day at Mat 21:12-13, Mar 11:15-18, Luk 19:45-48, and Joh 2:13-17. There are pictures of indebtedness in the parables of the Two Debtors (Luk 7:41-42), the Talents (Mat 25:14-30), and the Pounds (Luk 19:11-27). Lending and repaying are seen in practice at Luk 6:34; also a credit system at Luk 16:6-7, if the reference there be to merchants, and not simply to those who paid rents in kind. Imprisonment for debt appears in Mat 5:25-26; and in unmitigated form in the story of the Two Creditors (Mat 18:21-35), with selling into slavery, accompanied by the horror of tormentors (Mat 18:34), although the whole passage is to be interpreted with caution, because Jesus in the fancied features of His tale may be reflecting, not the manners of His own land, but the doings of some distant and barbaric potentate. Enough that in the time of Christ there was seizure of the debtors person, and the general treatment of him was cruel.<\/p>\n
But whatever the law and custom, it was not the manner of Jesus to attack it. The civil code was left to change to higher forms in days to come. The exhibition of a certain spirit in face of it was what His heart craved, a spirit which should do justice to the best instincts of a true humanity. We can transcend in loving ways the nether aims even of bad laws; and it was the evasion of clear duty in this respect, by those in the high places of the religious world, which moved Jesus most. He was the champion of the merciful essence of the old enactments (Mat 5:17), while others around Him, prating of orthodoxy the while, were harsh to those unfortunately in their power (Mat 23:14), all in the name of an ancient law whose real inwardness they missed. The Sadducees, whose love of money was whetted by enjoyment of the Temple dues, were not the men to show mercy to a debtor, nor were the Pharisees behind them, more Puritanic in zeal, and rigidly enforcing the letter of their writs. An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth (Mat 5:38), as an old catchword, would infect the spirit in which, in the name of righteousness, they complacently sued. Jesus lays down no outward rules such as might bear upon the modern business world. There fair and square dealing must be a first postulate; but, in the light of His gospel, men should be keener than they are to note hardships, and their hearts warmer towards cases of distress. In the spirit of the Golden Rule (Mat 7:12, Luk 6:31-36) merciful dealings will show themselves in undefined ways; and the love of brothermen should counteract the love of money which prompts to stem exactions in every case alike. The soul saved by Christian feeling from sordid views of life adds to its true treasure by making the circumstances of unfortunate ones an exercise-ground for tender, pitying grace. The metaphors of Jesus in Mat 5:39-42 are exceeding bold, and the generous treatment there inculcated may sound almost incredible, not to say subversive of social order; but the enlightened heart will recognize at once the kindly and sacrificing spirit meant to be strongly emphasized. The dynamic in the whole matter, with Jesus, is the remembrance of the pitiful nature of our own plight before God, to whom on the strict requirements of law we are indebted in countless ways. The more this inward situation is brought home to us, the more we shall outwardly be compassionate in turn. Here comes in the moral grandeur of the Beatitude on mercy (Mat 5:7), a principle which melts into prayer when we connect it with the tender breathing of the Petition on forgiveness (Mat 6:12). The humble and the contrite heart holds the key to magnanimity. See, further, art. Debt in Hasting’s Dictionary of the Bible .<\/p>\n
Debtor.There remains the question of debt as the emblem of moral short-coming (, Mat 6:12. See Lords Prayer), and the Supreme Creditors way with men in this regard, especially as depicted in certain well-known parables. The image is natural which pictures the Deity sitting like a civil judge, to try men for defaults; and while some think more of the majesty of the law, and what must be exacted to satisfy the interests of order, others love to dwell on the prerogative of mercy, and favour judgments which are ameliorative as well as punitive. No reader of the Gospels can fail to see the latter characteristic strong in the teaching of the Master. Pardon befits the royal clemency, and God is known in the kingdom for sovereign displays of grace. Yet due weight is given to the other aspect of the image alsothe satisfaction of the law; for Jesus teaches that it is only the pure in heart who see God (Mat 5:8); the holiness that avails must be inward, not that of the legalist (Mat 5:20), and only they who are merciful obtain mercy (Mat 5:7). But what is characteristic in the Gospel treatment of the subject is not any dwelling upon absolute judgmentsthese are left to the Searcher of Hearts; rather we are taken by Jesus to the sphere of proximate evidence, and shown that in the individual life the presence or absence of the forgiving spirit is sure token of the presence or absence of the Divine condescension as regards the person himself. In other words, principles discovered in the relations of men with each other are a fortiori valid for their relationship to God (Mat 6:14-15).<\/p>\n
The elder brother of the Prodigal (Luk 15:25-32) illustrates the point; representing as he does the Pharisaic type of mindcommon in all ages and pronouncedly so in the time of Jesuswhich complacently fancies itself well within the Kingdom, but shows by its harsh attitude to fellow-mortals that it is inwardly not right with God. The elder brother is pictured, not without point, as remaining outside the banquet-hall, so long as he continued in his implacable mood.<\/p>\n
The story of the Two Debtors (Luk 7:36-50) shows the vital contrast of the matter in the persons of the Woman who was a Sinnertruly gracious in her doings, because full now of penitence and faith and loveand Simon, hide-bound and censorious like his class, with no disciplined sense of having been humbled like her before God. The latter, like the debtor of the trivial fifty pence, had little reaction of wholesome feeling in his mind; the former had manifestly much, like the man over-joyed to find himself relieved from a financial peril ten times greater. This is a concrete instance of the method of the Master. Certain visible acts of the woman at the banquet bespoke the inward action of Gods Spirit, and argued a state of reconciliation with Him. From the scanty graciousness of Simon, on the other hand, one inferred just as truly a heart imperfectly attuned to goodness, and knowing little of the joy of pardon. To whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little (Luk 7:47). As to which is the root and which the fruit, rival systems of theology may battle; but the fact is, the two graces are eternal co-relatives, and either may be first in the order of thought when neither is entitled to absolute precedence in fact. See Forgiveness.<\/p>\n
The parable of the Two Creditors (Mat 18:23-35) shows the other side of the shield from the Womans case, in a person of downright inhumanity concerning whom it is equally clear that he had no saving experience of Gods mercy himself. The story, as a story, is remarkable for simple force; we feel the horror of the implacable attitude of the servant forgiven for a great indebtedness, who failed to show goodwill in turn to a subordinate for a default infinitely less. Nemesis descends (Mat 18:34) when he finds he is not forgiven after allhe loses that which he had seemed to have (Mat 18:27). So likewise shall my Heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses (Mat 18:35).<\/p>\n
Jesus saw many around Him glorying in fancied privilege and very zealous for the Law, yet omitting its essential mattersjustice, mercy, faith. To such especially this Gospel message was addressed; broadening out in what for Him was the supreme truth, that love to God is seen and tested in love to man. To be sympathetic, sacrificing, generous, is not only the pier from which the heavenward arch springs, but the pier to which it returns. The forgiving God cannot possibly be seen in those who hide themselves from their own flesh (Luk 6:36).<\/p>\n
Literature.Besides art. Debt in Hasting’s Dictionary of the Bible , the Comm. on the passages referred to, and the standard works on the Parables, the following may be consulted:Edersheim, Life and Times, ii. p. 268 ff.; Schurer, HJP [Note: JP History of the Jewish People.] ii. 1. 362f.; Expositor, i. vi. (1877) p. 214 ff.; Ker, Serm. 1st ser. p. 16 ff.<\/p>\n
George Murray.<\/p>\n
det, deter: It is difficult nowadays to think of debt without associating with it the idea of interest, and even usury. Certain it is that this idea is associated with the Old Testament idea of the word, at least in the later period of Old Testament history. This is true of the New Testament entire. The Hebrew word (, nesh) always carries with it the idea of biting interest (compare 2Ki 4:7). The Greek words , daneion (Mat 18:27), and , opheile (Mat 18:32), may point only to the fact of indebtedness; the idea of interest, however, is clearly taught in the New Testament (compare Mat 25:27).<\/p>\n
Quite extensive legislation is provided in the Old Testament governing the matter of debt and debtors. Indebtedness and loaning had not, however, the commercial aspect among the Jews so characteristic of the nations surrounding Palestine. Indeed the Mosaic legislation was seemingly intended to guard against just such commercialism. It was looked upon as a misfortune to be in debt; it indicated poverty brought on probably by blighted harvests; consequently those in debt were to be looked upon with pity and dealt with in leniency. There must be no oppression of the poor under such circumstances (Exo 22:25; Deu 23:19, Deu 23:20; Eze 18:18). Even where a pledge is given and received, certain restrictions are thrown around it, e.g. the creditor must not take a mill, nor a necessary garment, nor a widow’s ox, etc., in pledge (Exo 22:25-27; Deu 24:6, Deu 24:10-13; Job 22:6; Amo 2:8). And further, the pledge is to be restored in some instances before the sun goeth down (Exo 22:26, Exo 22:27), and in all cases full redemption in the seventh and jubilee years (Neh 10:31, etc.). The Jews were strictly exhorted to take no interest at all from their own nation (Exo 22:25; Deu 23:19, Deu 23:20). Strangers, however, might be charged interest (ibid.). A devout Jew would not lend money to another Jew on interest.<\/p>\n
It would seem that as Israel came into contact with the surrounding nations, debt became increasingly a commercial matter. The Mosaic laws regarding clemency toward the poor who were compelled for the time being to become debtors were utterly disregarded, and the poor were oppressed by the rich. An illustration of the severity with which debtors came to be dealt with is to be found in 2Ki 4:1-7, in which, because of the inability of a widow to pay a small debt contracted by her dead husband, the woman complains to the prophet that the creditors have come to sell her two children in order that the debt might be paid. Strangely the prophet, while helping the widow by miraculously multiplying the oil in order that the debt might be paid, says nothing by way of condemnation of such conduct on the part of the creditors. Are we to understand by this that commercialism had already so powerful a grip upon Israel that even to a prophet the practice had come to seem proper, or at least expected? The debtor himself or his family might be sold for debt, or the debtor might become a slave for a certain length of time until the debt was paid (Lev 25:39, Lev 25:47; Isa 50:1). So oppressive had the commercial system in Israel become that the debtor cursed the creditor and the creditor the debtor (Jer 15:10). Sometimes debtors were outlawed, as in the case of the men who came to David in the cave of Adullam (1Sa 22:2). That the matter of borrowing and lending had assumed very grievous proportions is evident from the very sharp warnings concerning the matter in the Book of Prov (2Ki 6:1; 2Ki 11:15; 2Ki 20:16, etc.).<\/p>\n
The teaching of the New Testament on this subject is confined very largely to the parables of our Lord. Some think that the expression, Owe no man anything (Rom 13:8), is an absolute warning against indebtedness. Quite a noticeable advance in the matter of debts and debtors is noticed as we enter the time of the New Testament. We read of bankers, exchangers, moneychangers, interest, investments, usury (Mat 25:16-27; Joh 2:13-17). The taking of interest does not seem to be explicitly condemned in the New Testament. The person of the debtor, as well as his family and lands, could be seized for non-payment of debt (Mat 18:21-26). Indeed, the debtor was often cast into prison and tormented because of non-payment (Mat 18:30, Mat 18:34). That compassion and leniency should be exercised toward those in debt is the clear teaching of Christ in the parables of the Unmerciful Servant (Mat 18:23-35) and the Two Debtors (Luk 7:41-43).<\/p>\n
Figurative: Debt and debtor are used in a moral sense also as indicating the obligation of a righteous life which we owe to God. To fall short in righteous living is to become a debtor. For this reason we pray, Forgive us our debts (Mat 6:12). Those who are ministered to in spiritual things are said to be debtors to those who minister to them (Rom 15:27). To make a vow to God is to put one’s self in debt in a moral sense (Mat 23:16-18; the Revised Version, margin bound by his oath). In a deeply spiritual sense the apostle Paul professed to be in debt to all men in that he owed them the opportunity to do them good (Rom 1:14).<\/p>\n
The parables of Jesus as above named are rich with comforting truth. How beautiful is the willingness of God, the great and Divine Creditor, to release us from our indebtedness! Just so ought we to be imitators of the Father in heaven who is merciful.<\/p>\n
Debt, Debtor The Acts and the Epistles give few glimpses of the trade of the time (cf. Jam 4:13 ff., 1Th 2:9; 1Th 4:11, 2Th 3:8 ff., Act 19:24 ff., 1Co 7:30, Rom 13:7 ff., Rev 18:4-20). This may seem all the more remarkable since Christianity touched the commerce of the Roman world at so … Continue reading “Debt, Debtor”<\/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-42050","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-encyclopedic-dictionary"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/dictionaries\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42050","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/dictionaries\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/dictionaries\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/dictionaries\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/dictionaries\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=42050"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/dictionaries\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42050\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/dictionaries\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42050"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/dictionaries\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=42050"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/dictionaries\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=42050"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}