Exodus 22:26 - Exposition

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 the time of Nehemiah, and led to very ill results. See Nehemiah 5:1-19 . Thou shalt deliver it unto him by that the sun goeth down . The reason is given in the next verse. As it could not have been worth while to take the pledge at all, if it was immediately to have been given back for good, we must suppose a practice of depositing the garment during the day, and being allowed to have it out at night.