Usury: A Scriptural, Ethical and Economic View

The word "usury" once meant something far more radical than it does today. In the Hebrew Bible, the Torah forbade Jews from charging interest to fellow Israelites entirely, not as protection against exploitation, but as a foundational principle of community economic life. Calvin Elliott's 1911 examination traces how a concept that occupied central importance in Jewish, Christian, and Islamic religious law came to mean simply "excessive interest," and asks whether something vital was lost in that semantic drift. Elliott builds his case systematically: first defining usury as the term was historically understood, then unpacking the biblical laws that made charging any interest a transgression against divine command, and finally examining the economic arguments for and against interest. His concern is particularly acute for the poor, those most vulnerable to financial exploitation. The book matters now because the questions it raises have not been settled. As predatory lending, payday loans, and debates over responsible finance dominate headlines, Elliott's careful scripture-based argument invites readers to consider whether modern capitalism has simply rebranded an ancient sin as sensible business practice.