Bible Dictionary
Pledge
A pledge was security given for a debt, promise, wager, or guarantee. Israelite law protected the poor by restricting what could be taken as security and requiring certain pledges to be returned promptly.
Biblical Usage
Pledges appear in accounts of debt, guarantees, wagers, and tokens. The law forbade a creditor from entering a borrower’s house to take a pledge, required a garment taken as security to be returned at night, and exempted a widow’s clothing and a handmill.