Debtor

Boyd’s Bible Dictionary:

(ower). Lands or the person might be taken for debt, and held till the year of jubilee (Ex. 21:22If thou buy an Hebrew servant, six years he shall serve: and in the seventh he shall go out free for nothing. (Exodus 21:2); Lev. 25:29-3429And if a man sell a dwelling house in a walled city, then he may redeem it within a whole year after it is sold; within a full year may he redeem it. 30And if it be not redeemed within the space of a full year, then the house that is in the walled city shall be established for ever to him that bought it throughout his generations: it shall not go out in the jubilee. 31But the houses of the villages which have no wall round about them shall be counted as the fields of the country: they may be redeemed, and they shall go out in the jubilee. 32Notwithstanding the cities of the Levites, and the houses of the cities of their possession, may the Levites redeem at any time. 33And if a man purchase of the Levites, then the house that was sold, and the city of his possession, shall go out in the year of jubilee: for the houses of the cities of the Levites are their possession among the children of Israel. 34But the field of the suburbs of their cities may not be sold; for it is their perpetual possession. (Leviticus 25:29‑34); 2 Kings 4:11Now there cried a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets unto Elisha, saying, Thy servant my husband is dead; and thou knowest that thy servant did fear the Lord: and the creditor is come to take unto him my two sons to be bondmen. (2 Kings 4:1); Neh. 5:3-53Some also there were that said, We have mortgaged our lands, vineyards, and houses, that we might buy corn, because of the dearth. 4There were also that said, We have borrowed money for the king's tribute, and that upon our lands and vineyards. 5Yet now our flesh is as the flesh of our brethren, our children as their children: and, lo, we bring into bondage our sons and our daughters to be servants, and some of our daughters are brought unto bondage already: neither is it in our power to redeem them; for other men have our lands and vineyards. (Nehemiah 5:3‑5)).

From Manners and Customs of the Bible:

Deuteronomy 24:10,1110When thou dost lend thy brother any thing, thou shalt not go into his house to fetch his pledge. 11Thou shalt stand abroad, and the man to whom thou dost lend shall bring out the pledge abroad unto thee. (Deuteronomy 24:10‑11). When thou dolt lend thy brother anything, thou shalt not go into his house to fetch his pledge. Thou shalt stand abroad, and the man to whom thou dost lend shall bring out the pledge abroad unto thee.
This was a humane law designed to protect the poor man from the intrusion of the money lender. “ The strict laws regulating Oriental intercourse sufficiently guard the harems of all but the very poor. When the money lender goes to any respectable house he never rudely enters, but stands ‘abroad’ and calls, and the owner comes forth to meet him” (Thomson, The Land and the Book, vol.1, p. 500). Another advantage of this law was, that it prevented the usurer from selecting his pledge, giving the choice to the poor debtor. He could “bring out” what he pleased, provided its value was sufficient to meet the claim of the creditor. The latter was compelled to accept it, whether pleased with it or not.

Related Books and Articles:

204. Debtors Protected
Narrator: Chris Genthree
Duration: 1min