δανείζω

From the study of Luke 6:35

Range of meaning

To lend money or goods, usually at interest. In the middle voice it means to borrow. It is ordinary commercial and village-economy vocabulary, common in the papyri (everyday documents written on papyrus) for loan contracts.

Against the English

'Lend' is accurate. A modern reader may picture a bank or a small favour between friends. In first-century Galilee a loan was often a lifeline for a peasant family facing hunger, taxes or a failed harvest, and debt could end in losing one's land or being sold into slavery.

Used elsewhere in the period

The Septuagint uses δανείζω in the Torah's lending laws: Deuteronomy 15:6–8 ('you shall surely lend him enough for his need'); 28:12; and the ban on interest to a poor fellow Israelite (Exodus 22:25; Leviticus 25:35–37; Deuteronomy 23:19). Psalm 37:26 (LXX 36:26) and Psalm 112:5 (LXX 111:5) praise the righteous person who 'is gracious and lends'. Deuteronomy 15:9 warns against refusing a loan because the release year is near, when debts would be cancelled. That is exactly the case of lending with little hope of getting the money back.

From the study of Matthew 5:42

Range of meaning

Active: to lend money, often at interest in ordinary Greek commerce. Middle (as here): to have money lent to oneself, borrow.

Against the English

English 'borrow' and 'lend' now suggest banks, credit and interest. In Israel the law framed lending to a poor fellow Israelite as charity: no interest (Exod 22:25; Lev 25:35–37; Deut 23:19–20), and debts were cancelled in the seventh year (Deut 15:1–2).

How it drifted

Modern credit is a commercial service priced by interest. That makes 'lending' sound like business and separates it from charity. In the Torah's world the two overlapped.

Used elsewhere in the period

The LXX uses δανείζω in Deut 15:6–8 ('you shall lend to many nations… you shall surely lend him what he needs') and in Ps 37:26 (36:26 in the LXX: 'the righteous is merciful and lends all day long'). Sirach 29:1–2 says 'whoever shows mercy lends to his neighbour.' Luke's parallel (6:34–35) says to lend 'expecting nothing back'.

From the study of Luke 6:34

Range of meaning

In the active voice, to lend (money, grain, goods). In the middle voice, to borrow (Matt 5:42). The related noun daneion means 'loan, debt' (Matt 18:27). The verb itself is neutral on interest. Greek loans were commonly made at interest, but the word was also used for interest-free loans.

Against the English

English 'lend' is accurate. The NLT's 'lend money' narrows it: most village loans were in kind, such as seed grain, oil or food in a lean season, as well as coin.

Used elsewhere in the period

In the Septuagint (the Greek Old Testament), daneizō translates the Hebrew lāwâ and nāšâ in the lending laws: Deut 15:6–8 ('you shall surely lend him enough for his need'), Deut 28:12, 44; Ps 37:26 (36:26 in the Greek) and Ps 112:5 (111:5 in the Greek), where 'the righteous is gracious and lends'. Sirach 29:1–2: 'The one who shows mercy will lend to his neighbour… lend to your neighbour in his time of need.' In the Greek papyri it is the standard verb in loan contracts.