Biblical Law Against Usury
A Comparative Study of Tora Passages (Ex 22:24; Lv 25:35-38; Dtr 23:20-21)
Anna Rambiert-Kwaśniewska
Papieski Wydział Teologiczny we WrocławiuAbstract
Among other moral or law regulations in ancient Close East, biblical law against usury should be treated as an exception due to the fact, that Tora recognized borrowing money at interest, especially to the compatriots, as definitively wrong. In order to present this exceptional status of biblical codifications, a careful exegesis as well as insightful analysis of terms nešek and tarbît has been performed. Both words turned out to be unclear when it comes to their origin and semantics. Besides mentioned analysis, a comparison of passages from three different Codes of Pentateuch has been performed. All above led to an attempt of explaining if – and how – differences between codifications can be brought together, as well as answering the question: why all three regulations were treated by Jews as obligatory, despite a serious internal incompatibilities.
Keywords:
Usura, nešek and tarbît, Biblical Law, Holiness Code, Covenant Code, Deuteronomic CodeReferences
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