I recently published a short piece on Exodus 22:24, normally taken as the prohibition on charging interest. It appears at thetorah.com, and is “reprinted” below. My own interest in this topic (pun intended) grows out of my work on the collection I’m editing, Judaism and the Economy: A Sourcebook, which is forthcoming from Routledge. What Is Wrong with Charging Interest? thetorah.com/what-is-wrong-with-charging-interest/ What Is Wrong with Charging Interest? The Torah prohibits lending to poor people with interest. Why did Jewish law include business loans and how did this effect the law’s original purpose? Prof. Michael L. Satlow The Law The Torah’s earliest collection of laws, referred to by scholars as the Covenant Collection, contains a prohibition to lend money with interest to fellow Israelites: שמות כב:כד אִם כֶּ֣סֶף תַּלְוֶ֣ה אֶת עַמִּ֗י אֶת הֶֽעָנִי֙ עִמָּ֔ךְ לֹא תִהְיֶ֥ה ל֖וֹ כְּנֹשֶׁ֑ה לֹֽא תְשִׂימ֥וּן עָלָ֖יו נֶֽשֶׁךְ: Exod 22:24 If you lend silver (=money) to my people, to the poor among you, do not act toward them as a creditor; exact no interest from them.[1] The biblical prohibition against charging interest is the only such restriction known to us from the Ancient Near East.[2] What exactly is the Torah prohibiting in this verse? Let us look at […]
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