Exodus 22:26
If ever you take your neighbor’s cloak in pledge, you shall return it to him before the sun goes down,
English Standard Version (ESV)
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This law highlights a profound understanding of poverty: a poor person might only have one outer garment, which served as their essential warmth and covering for sleeping at night. The command to return it before sunset wasn't about a permanent loan, but a temporary daytime pledge, preserving their ability to survive the night.
This passage is part of a series of laws designed to protect the vulnerable, particularly the poor, within the Israelite community. It addresses the practice of lending and taking pledges, and directly precedes a verse that explains why this specific rule about clothing is so important for a person's well-being. The broader context is about establishing justice and preventing exploitation in everyday transactions.
Imagine needing a single garment for both day and night. This verse reveals a law designed to protect that very basic need.
This law isn't just about clothes; it's about protecting a person's dignity and basic ability to function. The 'raiment' mentioned here was often the only garment a poor person owned, serving as their clothing during the day and their blanket at night. To take it as a pledge meant robbing them of essential warmth and comfort, especially after sundown. The instruction to return it before sunset emphasizes that even when a debt exists, the creditor must not inflict undue hardship. This shows God's heart for the vulnerable and His concern for practical, everyday needs.
What if a pawned item needed to be returned every single day? This law suggests a practice far removed from modern pawning.
The requirement to return the pledge 'before the sun goes down' points to a unique system of lending. It's likely that the garment wasn't permanently held by the creditor. Instead, it was given as security during the day but returned at night so the borrower could use it. This daily return acted as a constant acknowledgment of the debt, similar to a written record in a time when formal documentation was less common. It allowed for lending while preventing the creditor from causing extreme hardship. This practice highlights a community built on mutual reliance and a framework of justice that considered human needs.
Understand the original words
salmah · Hebrew Noun
An outer garment used as protection from the elements, often functioning as a poor man's bed covering; taking it in pledge implies withholding a necessity of life.
chabol · Hebrew Noun
Security or collateral given to ensure the repayment of a debt. Biblical law regulates the taking of pledges to prevent the oppression of the poor.
This passage directly echoes the concern for the vulnerable by reiterating the prohibition against keeping a poor person's essential garment overnight, reinforcing the compassionate intent behind the law in Exodus.
Amos 2:8This prophetic passage condemns the Israelites for taking a poor person's cloak as a pledge, directly alluding to the misuse of this very law and highlighting the spiritual failure to uphold its spirit of justice and mercy.
Luke 6:34Jesus' teaching to 'lend, expecting nothing in return' speaks to the heart of generosity and selfless giving, offering a New Testament parallel to the Old Testament command to return pledges, both emphasizing care for one's neighbor.
Proverbs 20:16This proverb warns against taking a pledge for something of little value ('his pledge that is surety for a stranger'), offering wisdom that aligns with the cautious approach to lending and pledging found in the Exodus law, which prioritizes the borrower's essential needs.
pulpitExodus 22:26: "If thou at all take thy neighbour's raiment to pledge, thou shalt deliver it unto him by that the sun goeth down:"
Verse 26. - If thou take at all thy neighbour's raiment to pledge. Lending upon pledge, the business of our modern pawnbrokers, was not forbidden by the Jewish law; only certain articles of primary necessity were forbidden to be taken, as the handmill for grinding flour, or either of its mill-stones (Deuteronomy 24:6). Borrowing upon pledge was practised largely in…
clarkeExodus 22:26: "If thou at all take thy neighbour's raiment to pledge, thou shalt deliver it unto him by that the sun goeth down:"
If thou - take thy neighbor's raiment to pledge - It seems strange that any pledge should be taken which must be so speedily restored; but it is very likely that the pledge was restored by night only, and that he who pledged it brought it back to his creditor next morning. The opinion of the rabbins is, that whatever a man needed for the support of life, he had the u…
This law highlights a profound understanding of poverty: a poor person might only have one outer garment, which served as their essential warmth and covering for sleeping at night. The command to return it before sunset wasn't about a permanent loan, but a temporary daytime pledge, preserving their ability to survive the night.
This passage is part of a series of laws designed to protect the vulnerable, particularly the poor, within the Israelite community. It addresses the practice of lending and taking pledges, and directly precedes a verse that explains why this specific rule about clothing is so important for a person's well-being. The broader context is about establishing justice and preventing exploitation in everyday transactions.
This passage is part of a series of laws designed to protect the vulnerable, particularly the poor, within the Israelite community. It addresses the practice of lending and taking pledges, and directly precedes a verse that explains this specific rule about clothing is so important for a person's well-being. The broader context is about establishing justice and preventing exploitation in everyday transactions.
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"If ever you take your neighbor’s cloak in pledge, you shall return it to him before the sun goes down," — This law highlights a profound understanding of poverty: a poor person might only have one outer garment, which served as their essential warmth and covering for sleeping at night. The command to ret…
