Mortgage
Summary
A pledge of property, especially land, as security for a debt, mentioned in the context of economic distress in post-exilic Judah.
☩Biblical Context
During Nehemiah's governorship, the people faced severe economic hardship: 'There were also that said, We have mortgaged our lands, vineyards, and houses, that we might buy corn, because of the dearth' (Nehemiah 5:3). Famine forced families to pledge their inherited property simply to obtain food, creating a debt crisis that threatened to permanently dispossess them.
☩Hebrew Terminology
The Hebrew word arab means 'to pawn' or 'to give as security.' From this comes arabon, meaning 'anything given as a pledge or promise' (Genesis 38:17-18, 20). This term was borrowed into Greek (arrabon) and Latin (arrhabo), signifying 'earnest money' or 'down payment.'
☩Nehemiah's Reform
Nehemiah confronted the nobles and rulers who were exacting usury from their brethren: 'I pray you, let us leave off this usury. Restore, I pray you, to them, even this day, their lands, their vineyards, their oliveyards, and their houses' (Nehemiah 5:10-11). The practice of charging interest to fellow Israelites and seizing mortgaged property violated the Law's protection of the poor.
☩Related Protections
Mosaic law protected debtors by prohibiting the taking of essential items as pledges: 'No man shall take the nether or the upper millstone to pledge: for he taketh a man's life to pledge' (Deuteronomy 24:6). The Year of Jubilee provided for the restoration of ancestral property, preventing permanent alienation of family inheritances (Leviticus 25).
