Issue 1 (15) 2012

THE REGULATION OF DEBT RELATIONS BY THE BIBLICAL PRECEPTS

THE REGULATION OF DEBT RELATIONS BY THE BIBLICAL PRECEPTS

M.V. Samoilova

Tver State University
22, 2 Griboedova st., Tver, 170021
E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The different methods of cognition, concerning special social relations, are used in judicial researches. The authors usually refer to the norms of Roman private law, using historic and comparative methods, which value is undeniable for a modern civilistics. However the appropriate biblical settings have a great importance too. The numerous references of debt ratio in the Bible witnessed , that loan agreement was widely spread at the time of the Old and New Testaments. The debt ratio were regulated by law and ethics in details. The learning of the texts of the Bible, which related to the loan agreement, enrich the knowledge of historic development, the essence and elements of debt ratio.

We analyze in our article the Bible settings concerning participants of the treaty of loan, about its containing, execution and stopping. The voluntary loan relations between Israels are described in several books of the Bible. The commentators of the Old Testament underline, that the ban for the imposting of loan percents from Israels had the purpose not only to help a man in a hard situation, to save him from becoming a slave, but let him preserve the dignity, as people had to treat him with more honor, than stranger or slave, if they were on his side.

The treaty of loan was onerous. For ensuring debenture used bail. The bail had some restrictions. For example, it was banned to take in bail upper or lower millstones. It was banned to take from the widow clothes or an ox. It was established the strict order of passing the things of bail. The term of pledge relations depended on the material position of the debtor, if the debtor was poor, the pledge holder had to return him the thing of the bail before sunset. The general rule was established in the Old Testament in connecting with coming every seventh day (Saturday) and the fiftieth (anniversary) year. Special instruction was made on that case, if the seventh day would come soon.

The texts of the Bible are devoted to the Christian doctrines of forgiveness of sins and kingdom of Heaven. Jesus Christ speaks in parables about requirements, which have to hold, we have to forgive the debt, inspite of its size, we must help the man in need.

The modern Russian legislation operates a number of biblical concepts, which connected with debt ratio, in particular, in cases, par. 3 article 809 Civil Law RF, established a presumption of gratuitous loan.

 Keywords: the Bible; debt ratio; the general rule of loan gratuitousness; bail; forgiveness of a debt

Bibliograficheskij spisok

1. Biblejskaja jenciklopedija: trud i izd. arhimandrita Nikifora. M.: Terra, 1990. 902 s.

2. Biblejskij slovar': jencikl. slovar' / sost. Je. Njustrem; per. so shved.; pod red. I.S. Svensona. Toronto: Mirovaja hristian. missija, 1989. 517 s.

3. Biblija: knigi Svjawennogo Pisanija Vethogo i Novogo Zaveta v russkom perevode s parallel'nymi mestami i prilozhenijami. M.: Ros. biblejskoe ob-vo, 2010. 925, 292, XXXI c.

4. Novaja Zhenevskaja uchebnaja Biblija: sinodal'nyj perevod / rus. izd.; pod obw. red. V.A. Corna. Korntal': Hanssler-Verlag, 1998. 2052 s.

5. Uolton D.H., Mjet'juz V.H., Chavales M.U. Biblejskij kul'turno-istoricheskij kommentarij: v 2 ch. SPb.: Mirt, 2003. Ch. I: Vethij zavet. 983 s.

6. Wedrovickij D.V. Vvedenie v Vethij Zavet. M.: Terevinf, 1997. T. 2: Kniga Ishod. 359 s.

7. Wedrovickij D.V. Vvedenie v Vethij Zavet. M.: Terevinf, 2000. T. 3: Knigi Levit, Chisel i Vtorozakonija. 461 s.