SKU: 62415382519

...and Forgive Them Their Debts: Lending, Foreclosure and Redemption from Bronze Age Finance to the Jubilee Year

Sale price$27.61 Regular price$30.68
Save 10%

Pay in installments of $7.67 with ShopPay, AfterPay and Klarna

Shipping Estimate
USA
  • USA
  • CAN

Ships within 48 hours · Estimated delivery Aug 3 - Aug 8

Promo Codes Available:

For Your Every Summer RSVP, with Code: SUMMER15

Description

...and Forgive Them Their Debts: Lending, Foreclosure and Redemption from Bronze Age Finance to the Jubilee YearSelected"Best Books of 2018: Economics" by The Financial Times In and forgive them their debts, renowned economist Michael Hudson one of the few who could see the 2008 financial crisis coming takes us on an epic journey through the economies of ancient civilizations and reveals their relevance for us today. For the past 40 years, in conjunction with Harvard's Peabody Museum, he and his colleagues have documented how interest bearing debt was invented

Selected"Best Books of 2018: Economics" by The Financial Times

In ...and forgive them their debts, renowned economist Michael Hudson - one of the few who could see the 2008 financial crisis coming - takes us on an epic journey through the economies of ancient civilizations and reveals their relevance for us today. For the past 40 years, in conjunction with Harvard's Peabody Museum, he and his colleagues have documented how interest-bearing debt was invented in Bronze Age Mesopotamia, and then disseminated to the ancient world. What the Bronze Age rulers understood was that avoiding economic instability required regular royal debt cancellations. Professor Hudson documents dozens of these these royal edicts and traces the archeological record and history of debt, and how societies have dealt with (or failed to deal with) the proliferation of debts that cannot be paid - and their consequences. In the pages of ...and forgive them their debts, readers will discover how debt played a central role in shaping ancient societies, and how it continues to shape our world - often destructively.

The Big Question: What happens when debts cannot be paid? Will there be a writedown in favor of debtors (as is routinely done for large corporations), or will creditors be allowed to foreclose (as is done to personal debtors and mortgagees), leading to the creditors' political takeover of the economy's assets - and ultimately the government itself? Historically, the remedy of record was the royal Clean Slate proclamation, or biblical Jubilee Year of debt forgiveness.

The Real Message of Jesus: Jesus's first sermon announced that he had come to proclaim a Clean Slate debt cancellation (the Jubilee Year), as was first described in the Bible (Leviticus 25), and had been used in Babylonia since Hammurabi's dynasty. This message - more than any other religious claim - is what threatened his enemies, and is why he was put to death. This interpretation has been all but expunged from our contemporary understanding of the phrase, "...and forgive them their debts," in The Lord's Prayer. It has been changed to "...and forgive them their trespasses (or sins)," depending on the particular Christian tradition that influenced the translation from the Greek opheilēma/opheiletēs (debts/debtors).

Contrary to the message of Jesus, also found in the Old Testament of Bible and in other ancient texts, debt repayment has become sanctified and mystified as a way of moralizing claims on borrowers, allowing creditor elites and oligarchs the leverage to take over societies and privatize personal and public assets - especially in hard times. Historically, no monarchy or government has survived takeover by creditor elites and oligarchs (viz: Rome). Perhaps most striking is that - according to a nearly complete consensus of Assyriologists and biblical scholars - the Bible is preoccupied with debt forgiveness more than with sin.

In a time of increasing economic and political polarization, and a global economy deeper in debt than at the height of the 2008 financial crisis, ...and forgive them their debts documents what individuals, governments and societies can learn from the ancient past for restoring economic and social stability today.

Shipping Notes
  • Free Standard Shipping on $100+ Orders to the USA.
  • Except Preorder products are shipped in 48 hours.
  • Delivery to the USA:
  1. Standard Shipping : 3-10 business days
  • If time is of the essence, please consider selecting expedited delivery for faster service.
Exchange/Return Notes
  • We offer a 30-day return/exchange service after receiving.
  • Final sale items are not eligible for returns or exchanges.
  • To process your return/exchange, please contact us at [email protected]
  • Please click here for more details>>> Return & Exchange Policy
SKU: 62415382519

Discover Niche Categories That Outsell

Top-Converting Item to Boost Your Average Order

4.6 ★★★★★
Based on 18 reviews
Sort
Highest Rating
Newest First
Oldest First
Product Reviews
L
Verified Purchase
Luis N
Houston, US
★★★★★ 5
Perfect
Size: 9, Color: Optic White/Navy Blazer/Optic White
Great and comfortable
WAS THIS REVIEW HELPFUL?YesReportShare
Reviewed in the United States on March 14, 2026
R
Verified Purchase
Rudy H
Carnegie, US
★★★★★ 5
Highly recommend
Size: 11, Color: Optic White/Optic White
Great looking pair of shoes very comfortable and stylish. Recommend them highly
WAS THIS REVIEW HELPFUL?YesReportShare
Reviewed in the United States on February 18, 2026
J
Verified Purchase
Jimmy
Battle Creek, US
★★★★★ 5
Takes a Licking and Keeps on Ticking
Color: Green/Black
I love this watch despite the fact that it is really a toy. I love the look of the watch, I love how lite the weight of the watch is on my wrist, and it really does keep good time if you manage the solar charge properly. Other than looking cool on your wrist, this watch has absolutely no functions other than time keeping. The black plastic bezel is molded into the case and does not turn, so don't plan on using that. The watch has no light, the dial numbers are non-luminous and the hands are very limited in terms of luminosity. No buttons. All you can do is adjust the time and date by pulling out what used to be a winding stem in the good old days. The small tag on the strap with Geographic coordinates shown on it indicate the location of the old Timex manufacturing facility (SW of Waterbury, CT). I have a nice ledge at my bedroom window and it gets good western sun for a good part of the day regardless of the time of year. On this ledge you will find a half dozen solar powered watches (mostly Casio) properly aligned to maximize the charge they may receive each day. Note that the description for this Timex watch specifically states that a lightbulb won't charge this watch. You need direct sunlight for several hours if you want to get more than a 3-week charge into this watch. So, I'll leave you with a couple of tips, my friends; 1.) If you are looking for a first watch to give your outdoorsy oriented Son or Daughter, then give them this one. Why? Because it is cool looking, fairly well built, and it actually works, 2.) After you receive your Timex watch, be sure to keep the display mount it is packaged with. It makes a great fixture to mount your watch on for charging and allows you to maximize the position of the solar cells on the dial so that you can optimize charging time. Have Fun! Jimmy
WAS THIS REVIEW HELPFUL?YesReportShare
Reviewed in the United States on February 28, 2026
N
Verified Purchase
Nuka Shroom Soup
Chelsea, US
★★★★★ 5
Excellent value, flawless performance for well over a year and no signs of quitting.
Color: Green/Black
Excellent value, had this for well over a year and it still keeps perfect time, still water resistant. No worries about having to change batteries. Owned a fancy expensive (battery) watch once and the dept. store repair intentionally sabotaged the watch in the hopes I would purchase another from them. Yeah, good luck with that, lost my business forever. This is the 21st century, cell phones are the new time pieces, but solar is totally reliable and Timex makes it happen. Holds a charge for many months, although I prop it in a bright window for a few days every few months or so just to make sure the cells are always fully charged, although it's probably unnecessary, just being over cautious. I haven't actually experienced this watch ever running out of power even after months of use. Damn impressive, as it should be.
WAS THIS REVIEW HELPFUL?YesReportShare
Reviewed in the United States on October 12, 2025
B
Verified Purchase
Bill
Fort Morgan, US
★★★★★ 4
Good value for solar watch
Color: Black/Orange
Nice watch! It is plastic like but it is solar. No indiglo button only a little luminous on the hands so you don't want to wear it in tje dark and expect to check the time. 45mm case is good size for my wrist and the band works good also, Not too long not too short. Overall a good watch with no problems
WAS THIS REVIEW HELPFUL?YesReportShare
Reviewed in the United States on May 6, 2026

recommand products