Debtor

Debtor in the Old Testament referred to a person who owed money and whose rights were protected by Mosaic law against harsh treatment: a creditor was forbidden to enter the debtor's house to take his pledge (Deuteronomy 24:10–11) and could not take essential items like millstones or a widow's garment (Deuteronomy 24:6, 17). A cloak taken as security had to be returned before nightfall (Exodus 22:26–27). In the New Testament, Paul describes all Gentiles as debtors to receive the gospel (Romans 1:14–15), and uses the analogy of slavery to debt to describe life under sin contrasted with life in the Spirit (Romans 8:12). The spiritual dimension of indebtedness — to God, to neighbor, and to the gospel call — runs throughout Pauline theology.