Bible Dictionary · D
Debt
The Mosaic law encouraged the practice of lending (Deut 15:7; Ps 37:26; Matt 5:42); but it forbade the exaction of interest except from foreigners. Usury was strongly condemned (Prov 28:8; Ezek 18:8, Ezek 18:13, Ezek 18:17; Ezek 22:12; Ps 15:5). On the Sabbatical year all pecuniary obligations were cancelled (Deut 15:1–11). These regulations prevented the accumulation of debt.
From Easton’s Bible Dictionary (1897), by Matthew George Easton.